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For Mancunians the popular musical heritage of the city has always been a source of great pride. The city's eclectic mix of music has created the sense, among its inhabitants, that Manchester is the most important city in world music.
Although Manchester had an impressive music scene before 1976 (with groups like The Hollies, The Bee Gees and 10cc, and with Top of the Pops being recorded by the BBC in the city), undoubtedly the key moment in Manchester’s musical history occurred on June 4th 1976 when the Sex Pistols at the invitation of Howard Devoto & Pete Shelley (of the Buzzcocks) arrived at the Lesser Free Trade Hall in Castlefield to play a legendary gig - legendary, because in spite of an audience of less than 42 people, several key members of Manchester’s future music scene were present - Tony Wilson Granada TV presenter and creator of Factory Records, Ian Curtis, Peter Hook Bernard Sumner (of Joy Division & New Order), Morrissey later to form The Smiths with Johnny Marr, producer Martin Hannett and Mick Hucknall of Simply Red.
Soon after this gig Tony Wilson created Factory Records and signed Joy Division.
With the industrial revolution as its model, Factory Records played upon Manchester's traditions, invoking at once the apparently incongruous images of the industrial north and the glamorous pop art world of Andy Warhol. It was Factory's Joy Division who somehow managed to grimly define what exactly it was to be a Mancunian as the 70's drew to an end. At the same time and out of the same post punk energy emerged Mark.E.Smith’s ground breaking group The Fall who would become one of the most inventive, original and prolific groups of the next three decades. But the group that would ultimately become the definitive Manchester group of the 80's were The Smiths lead by Morrissey and Johnny Marr. With songs like Rusholme Ruffians and Suffer Little Children, Morrissey sang explicitly about Manchester, creating images that are as iconic of Manchester as the paintings of L.S.Lowry.
As the 80’s drew to a close a new energy arrived in Manchester, fuelled by the drug ecstasy.
A new scene developed around The Haçienda night club (again part of the Factory Records ‘empire’) to create what would be come known as the Madchester scene – the main proponents being the Happy Mondays, The Inspiral Carpets and The Stone Roses
The history of the Manchester music scene over this period was dramatised in Michael Winterbottom's 2002 film 24 Hour Party People.
After the Madchester period Manchester music lost much of it provincial energy, though many successful and interesting acts were still to emerge. Other notable musical acts in Manchester have been Take That, 808 State, M People, Oasis, James, Badly Drawn Boy, Michael McGoldrick, Elbow, Mr Scruff and Doves. Morrissey and The Fall still continue to produce original ground breaking music.
Manchester's main popular music venue is the Manchester Evening News Arena, which seats over twenty thousand and is the largest arena of its type in Europe Other venues major include the Manchester Apollo and the Manchester Academy. The many smaller venues throughout the city such as the Roadhouse and Night and Day Cafe ensure that Manchester’s music scene is always vibrant and interesting.
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