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.
It started in the 60s when bands such as the Bee Gees, the Hollies and Wayne Fontana put Manchester on the map. Top of the Pops, the BBC weekly musical low down, was also recorded in the city at this time. The early 1970s saw names such as Barclay James Harvest and 10cc populate the charts too. However, it was in the latter part of the 1970s that Manchester really became integrated into the history of the UKs music scene.
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, and releases such as the Buzzcocks' 'Spiral Scratch EP', which was the first independent label punk record, are proof that it was Manchester that saw the birth of punk rock. Tony Wilson, who put on an acclaimed late night Granada Television show So It Goes which exposed the Sex Pistols before the likes of London Weekend Television, created The Factory event night at the old Russell club in Hulme. He would later start Factory records bringing the likes of Joy Division to fame.
The 1980s saw bands such as The Smiths rise to fame, who sang explicitly about Manchester in songs like 'Rusholme Ruffians' and 'Suffer Little Children'. The end of the 80s marked a change in the music scene, coinciding with the rise in popularity of the nightclub the Hacienda (part of Factory records), and the drug Ecstasy. Bands like the Happy Mondays and The Stone Roses were a part of this scene which was the subject of Michael Winterbottom's film '24 Hour Party People'. Since then Manchester has been known for its top quality clubbing scene.
It started in the 60s when bands such as the Bee Gees, the Hollies and Wayne Fontana put Manchester on the map. Top of the Pops, the BBC weekly musical low down, was also recorded in the city at this time. The early 1970s saw names such as Barclay James Harvest and 10cc populate the charts too. However, it was in the latter part of the 1970s that Manchester really became integrated into the history of the UKs music scene.
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, and releases such as the Buzzcocks' 'Spiral Scratch EP', which was the first independent label punk record, are proof that it was Manchester that saw the birth of punk rock. Tony Wilson, who put on an acclaimed late night Granada Television show So It Goes which exposed the Sex Pistols before the likes of London Weekend Television, created The Factory event night at the old Russell club in Hulme. He would later start Factory records bringing the likes of Joy Division to fame.
The 1980s saw bands such as The Smiths rise to fame, who sang explicitly about Manchester in songs like 'Rusholme Ruffians' and 'Suffer Little Children'. The end of the 80s marked a change in the music scene, coinciding with the rise in popularity of the nightclub the Hacienda (part of Factory records), and the drug Ecstasy. Bands like the Happy Mondays and The Stone Roses were a part of this scene which was the subject of Michael Winterbottom's film '24 Hour Party People'. Since then Manchester has been known for its top quality clubbing scene.
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