In the North West of England, within the country's second biggest larger urban zone, is the city of Manchester. It is a place with an influential musical heritage that has produced many of the country's most popular names in music. Oasis and Joy Division are just a few of these names, but a list of all the popular musicians from this city cannot do justice to its contribution to the UKs, even the world's, music scene.
In the 1960s Manchester's contribution began with bands such as the Bee Gees and the Hollies. It was also the location for the BBC's weekly overview of popular music Top of the Pops. Barclay James Harvest and 10cc, of the 1970s, were also names that Manchester produced. The late 1970s, however, was when Manchester really began to contribute to music at large.
On the 4th June 1976, at the Lesser Free Trade Hall in the area of Manchester called Castlefield, there was a gig that would go down in history. Less than 42 people stood to watch The Sex Pistols, and though it was a small crowd, in it were names such as Tony Wilson (creator of Factory Records), Bernard Summer of Joy division and New Order, Morrissey of The Smiths, and Paul Morely who subsequently became an influential musical journalist.
This show, and the release of the first independent label punk record 'Spiral Scratch EP' by the Buzzcocks, makes Manchester an important part of the rise of Punk in the 70s. Tony Wilson, who at the time hosted So It Goes, which was a late night Granada Television show, exposed the Sex Pistols before London Weekend Television, and later organised a night at the Old Russell Club in Hulme called the Factory. He would later start a record label bearing the same name, which was home to the likes of Joy Division.
In the 1980s the Smiths were Manchester's greatest offering to music, and they included their place of origin in many of their songs, such as 'Rusholme Ruffians' and 'Suffer Little Children'. The opening of the Hacienda night club and the introduction of the drug Ecstacy brought a big change to the music scene at the end of the 80s. The Happy Mondays and the Stone Roses rose to fame on the back of this scene which was the subject matter for Michael Winterbottom's comedy '24 Hour Party People'. Manchester, since then, has been famed for its great clubbing scene.
In the 1960s Manchester's contribution began with bands such as the Bee Gees and the Hollies. It was also the location for the BBC's weekly overview of popular music Top of the Pops. Barclay James Harvest and 10cc, of the 1970s, were also names that Manchester produced. The late 1970s, however, was when Manchester really began to contribute to music at large.
On the 4th June 1976, at the Lesser Free Trade Hall in the area of Manchester called Castlefield, there was a gig that would go down in history. Less than 42 people stood to watch The Sex Pistols, and though it was a small crowd, in it were names such as Tony Wilson (creator of Factory Records), Bernard Summer of Joy division and New Order, Morrissey of The Smiths, and Paul Morely who subsequently became an influential musical journalist.
This show, and the release of the first independent label punk record 'Spiral Scratch EP' by the Buzzcocks, makes Manchester an important part of the rise of Punk in the 70s. Tony Wilson, who at the time hosted So It Goes, which was a late night Granada Television show, exposed the Sex Pistols before London Weekend Television, and later organised a night at the Old Russell Club in Hulme called the Factory. He would later start a record label bearing the same name, which was home to the likes of Joy Division.
In the 1980s the Smiths were Manchester's greatest offering to music, and they included their place of origin in many of their songs, such as 'Rusholme Ruffians' and 'Suffer Little Children'. The opening of the Hacienda night club and the introduction of the drug Ecstacy brought a big change to the music scene at the end of the 80s. The Happy Mondays and the Stone Roses rose to fame on the back of this scene which was the subject matter for Michael Winterbottom's comedy '24 Hour Party People'. Manchester, since then, has been famed for its great clubbing scene.