It’s difficult to imagine that Chappell Carpenter and Sabrina Roan fans will ever become pawns of a media class war. Three decades ago, the UK music scene was a much more tribal one. Manchester and LondonIn retrospect, it was a bizarre and vitriolic period in which your musical preferences became a measure of your class.
According to the tabloids, Oasis was the northern rabble-rousers, while Blur was the Southern pretty boy. This made all parties involved a lot of money.
Blur was the first to reunite with two concerts at Wembley in the summer of 2002. While London’s clubbing scene and nightlife has been decimated, Manchester is able to adapt more effectively to the new habits of music fans.
I grew in Cheshire just 40 minutes from Manchester via train. And I’ve danced (appallingly) in the Hacienda, bought Stone Roses posters in Afflecks and even gone to see Blur live on enemy territory (aka the Manchester Academy)—albeit in 1994 when Oasis were still a year away from global, ubiquitous fame.
Manchester has its own unique, uncontrollable, wide eyed shuffle. But it is just as fascinating today as when Ian Curtis used to contort himself on the stage, or Ian Brown would shake his maracas laconically. Below I have rounded up some of my favorite Mancunian musicians, both past and current.
Band on the Wall
Morrissey said not so long ago, “diversity is conformity”. But it’s unlikely that he’s spent much time at the Band on the Wall – for my money, the most eclectically interesting and user-friendly gig venue in Manchester – of late. The George and Dragon was formerly known as this venue. In the early days, live concerts were held at the George and Dragon. To create more space for the drinkers, a stage was built half way up the wall. The current name of the venue and its history include concerts by the Buzzcocks. This venue serves as a counterargument against the idea that young musicians are still trying hard to copy Noel Gallagher. You’ll find world music, jazz, experimental dance and other subgenres at the Wall.
