MANCHESTER … so much to answer for

Some of us will remember the impact that Punk Rock had in Britain and then the rest of Europe during the 70’s, and even older generations will look back at the time when Liverpool gave us The Beatles, while The Rolling Stones created similar waves from London. Younger generations will recall the impact created by the emergence of music tv channels in the early 90’s and the introduction of bands like Nirvana from Seattle.

Musical influences keep changing all the time and we often see shifts towards different locations across the globe. But ever since guitar driven bands entered the music charts across the world in the early 60’s there has been one city that has probably had more impact on the subsequent shifts in musical taste than any other – MANCHESTER



Back in the 60’s while Lennon & McCartney were gigging between Hamburg’s seedy bars and Liverpool’s The Cavern, Manchester were about to give the world The Hollies and The Bee Gees, and by the time punk hit London’s 101 Club in the late 70’s, people up in Manchester were already going to gigs by The Buzzcocks and then Joy Division. I suppose you could say that it was during this period that Manchester began to establish itself as the most creative alternative place on earth...




Below is a selected list of bands and artists (not necessarily alternative) who have all since emerged from this former industrial city in the North West of England over the past 40 years. MANCHESTER - so much to answer for...



THE SMITHS, NEW ORDER, THE CHAMELEONS, THE DURUTTI COLUMN, HAPPY MONDAYS, INSPIRAL CARPETS, STONE ROSES, THE FALL, JAMES, 808 STATE, ELECTRONIC, A CERTAIN RATIO, THE MOCK TURTLES, CHARLATANS, LAMB, MORRISSEY, M PEOPLE, THE VERVE, MOLLY HALF HEAD, PURESSENCE, BLACK GRAPE, STEREO MC’s, THE LONGCUT, I AM KLOOT, SOLAR RACE, IAN BROWN, TAKE THAT, HOOP LA BABY, CHEMICAL BROTHERS, BADLY DRAWN BOY, THE LOVERS, OASIS, GOLD BLADE, WIRELESS, ELBOW, MINT ROYALE, DOVES, JOY DIVISION, THE BUZZCOCKS, MARION, SIMPLY RED, STARSAILOR, NINE BLACK ALPS, OCEANSIZE, CHERRY GHOST, ENGINEERS, THE COURTEENERS, THE TING TINGS, THE WHIP, THE BEEP SEALS, DELPHIC ...















Somehow Seattle suddenly seems a very small place indeed!