When England's North West Ruled (The World?)

Buckley

Well-Known Member
I didn't want to mess up the RIP thread with loads of my memories, but the news of 808 State's Darren Barker passing, made me recall the gig below. I was 16 and felt bands from England's North West ruled the world. The certainly ruled my world, I wore flared jeans and a haircut like Dougal from the magic roundabout, from '89 until at least 2 years too late in '92:lol:. My decision to chose Manchester for University was heavily influenced by the culture of the times. Arriving there in late '92, I'd missed the the halcyon days of The Hacienda, but it still had a bit of a buzz and a night out in Manchester felt exotic, even having grown up in late 80s/early 90s London.

Did others around the world feel this was all as big as we did? I remember documentaries charting the global travels of the 'Madchester' bands and the music paper feverish coverage of The Mondays at Rock in Rio. I'd really appreciate views from those non-UK Spotlighters old enough, whether the international impact was as touted by the press here

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I was amazed when I did my Erasmus year mid-90s and local students were telling me how much they loved the stone roses, smiths, inspirals and co. Obv it wasn't all mythologised in quite the same way but there was a Merseybeat/Carnaby St style schtik to how it was seen as another British explosion (this was pre-internet when everything was word of mouth, niche radio or via magazines). There was a programme on Catalan tv called Sputnik which showcased all the latest bands from the UK and US alongside the local scene, and a club called Karma in Plaça Reial played all the jangly baggy stuff. So yeah the cult of Madchester was well known outside the UK, and there was a similar 'breaking down the borders' when the chemical brothers (huge!) crossed over. Not only that but the Roses, Mondays and others actually turned up in Valencia when Valencia was the coolest place in mainland Spain, where the whole bakalao rave scene kicked off in the late 80s - something which entered local legend. There is even a bar called Manchester in Barcelona, still running to this day http://manchesterbar.com/ I think it was only when Oasis turned up in Spain totally twatted and featured on national news spewing in the airport, that the Manc cool dissipated a bit, perhaps also because the arty kids had moved on by then. I had forgotten all about it tbh until I met some guys at the last Weatherall festival in France who were Spanish but had previously travelled to the UK to see the Roses and were pushing 50 but still really passionate about it. The one dedicated baggy DJ I know in town still plays 100% Manchester sets occasionally at Sala Upload on the hill overlooking the city, which can feel a bit surreal but good fun though!
 
24 hour party people is not the worst documentation on it. Its funny. Think Ibiza would be different without these post punk
bands and culture. A lot of the bands converted from Post Punk guitar heroes to Dance with guitars.. New Order for example : What a distance from Joy Division to Technique ( ok , Joy D was not NO ). Jesus and mary Chain ( Bobby ) : From Just like honey to Loaded ... with a little help from Weatherall ... Suddenly Italo House ( Blackbox ) was around , it was played in Manchester , people told me. And then Ibiza.

The white man CAN dance , definitely.

And yes : It is a part of mine and many other peoples life. My absolute favourit Band is New Order. Not usual , the people normally say Joy Division , if you ask.

And then : Happy Mondays. What a cool f***er shaun was. And Bez , too. Buzzcocks , all the factory bands , all the synth bands ( DM , H17 , Cabaret Voltaire ( sometimes forgotten ) and so on. What a time ...
 
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24 hour party people is not the worst documentation on it. Its funny. Think Ibiza would be different without these post punk
bands and culture. A lot of the bands converted from Post Punk guitar heroes to Dance with guitars.. New Order for example : What a distance from Joy Division to Technique ( ok , Joy D was not NO ). Jesus and mary Chain ( Bobby ) : From Just like honey to Loaded ... with a little help from Weatherall ...

And yes : It is a part of mine and many other peoples life. My absolute favourit Band is New Order. Not usual , the people normally say Joy Division , if you ask.

I love New Order. I often heard The Perfect Kiss at the end of parties and nearly crying because it was such a brilliant end of the night tune.
 
Also interested to know if Tony Wilson was known worldwide. Visionary. I remember seeing him at the garage across from our house in Fallowfield - everything you'd wanted to see him in - Jag, suit, Travel Fox trainers. :cool:

 
Also interested to know if Tony Wilson was known worldwide. Visionary. I remember seeing him at the garage across from our house in Fallowfield - everything you'd wanted to see him in - Jag, suit, Travel Fox trainers. :cool:


You can see here : To have fun is hard work ... Gnihihihihi
 
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