Popular Music of Manchester & the NorthWest

Manchester
Popular & Rock Music (3 of 11)
Around Manchester and the Northwest Region

James

James

Originally championed by Morrisey and "The Smiths", James signed up with Factory Records in 1983, and were hailed immediately as a synthesis of Folk and New Wave music. Group included Timothy Booth, James Glennie, James Gott and Gavin Whelan.

They were typical products of Manchester and reflected the upsurge in musical inventiveness and originality which the city produced during the 1980s. By the late 80s, Manchester had already become the focus for the music media press and this facilitated their rise from local independents to nation-wide acclaim and commercial success.

Lyrics were direct and lyrical. Major albums and songs include:

• What's the World?
• Stutter
• Strip Mine
• One Man Clapping
• Come Home
• Sit Down
• Gold mother
• Seven

The Charlatans

The group emerged in Manchester in 1989, and with its distinctive fusion of 1960s melodies, extensive use of Hammond organ and loose rhythms, they immediately found favour with devotees of The Stone Roses and Happy Mondays.

Group members included Tim Burgess, Martin Blunt, Jon Baker, Jon Brookes and Rob Collins. Their live performances were highlighted by superb psychedelic light effects, (produced by a Californian lighting expert known as "Captain Whizzo").

With Top Ten UK Hits such as "Some Friendly" and "The Only One I Know" they ascended swiftly into national and international limelight with critical acclaim and commercial success.

Their major songs and albums include:

• Indian Rope
• The Only One I Know
• Then
• Some Friendly
• Over Rising
• Between 10th and 11th.

The Man From Delmonte

"The Delmontes" were an overtly effeminate, teetotal and camp group of Manchester-based musicians, though few of them originated in the city. Seen as a revolt against the popular "scally" music, they include Glaswegian Sheila Seal, Martin Vincent, Howard Goody and Mike West.

Their origins were largely unmusical, Seal having run a local art gallery, Goody having attended Winchester School of Art, Vincent having been a painter and art critic, and West, the son of a millionaire author from Australia.

Seal was classically music trained at the Royal Northern College of Music. Their music reflected their middle- class origins, consciously and intentionally offering an alternative to the rougher, direct and more brutal music of their contemporaries. Their camp image caused controversy, with themes including transvestism and bisexual love.

They were banned in Australia, and had to withstand a lawsuit from Delmonte Fruits for damaging their product image.

Music & Songs include:

• Bachelor Flat Affairs
• One Day My Prince Will Come
• Drive Drive Drive * Water in my Eyes
• Will Nobody Save Louise?
• Expecting Ian Brown

Distractions

A Manchester-based new wave band formed in 1975 by a group of college friends, which included Mike Finney (vocals), Steve Perrin-Brown (guitar), as well as Lawrence Tickle (bass) and Tony Trap (drums).

After some restructuring in 1977, the band included Pip Nicholls (bass) Adrian Wright (guitar) and Alec Sidebottom (drums). After many punk-60s performances in which they had supported most of Manchester's contemporary bands, they secured a contract with Tony Wilson of Factory Records in 1979, and released the double A side single "Time Goes By So Slow"/ "Pillow Fight", which failed to make commercial success.

A move to Island Records and several releases still failed to achieve success, and the group split up in 1981.

Other music includes:

• Waiting For Lorraine
• Doesn't Bother Me
• Do The
• Nobody's Perfect (Album)
• Boys Cry
• Something for the Weekend

Drones

One of the most independent punk bands ever to come out of Manchester, the Drones only released 3 singles and 1 album, and included M J Drone (lead vocals & rhythm guitar), Gus "Gangrene" Callender (lead guitar and vocals), Pete Perfect (drums), and Steve "Whisper" Cundall (bass).

Being unwilling to "soften" their music for the more politically correct recording companies, meant they had difficulty in securing recording contracts. With little or no real commercial success, the band had a struggling career and finally broke up in 1981.

Music included:

• Temptations of a White Collar Worker
• Further Temptations (Album)
• Streets
• Short Circuit - Live at the Electric Circus
• Bone Idol
• Can't See (these last 2 singles feature Ellis of the Vibrators on guitar).

Dub Sex

Dub Sex grew out of the 60s and 70s atmosphere and ethos of slum-bound Manchester - it was dark, huge, bleak and frightening - (and so was Manchester).

The group included Mark Hoyle, born in Hulme, Manchester, (lyricist and vocalist), Lee Pickering, and Cathy Brookes (bass) from Maidstone in Kent.

Their debut album "Tripwire" demonstrated the noise, coarseness and tensions of the time and the place, as did all of their music, and epitomised the sound of streetwise and street-weary Manchester Indie music.

Music included:

• Swerve
• Live at the Klub Foot
• Push!
• Then and Now
• The Underneath
• Barber Barber

Durutti Column

One of Manchester's punk bands which emerged in the mid-1970s. The group featured Vincent ("Vini") Reilly - born in Manchester in 1953, Dave Rowbotham (guitarist), and Chris Joyce (drums), who were urged by Tony Wilson of Factory Records to form the group in January 1978.

They made few recordings, notably their work appeared on the famous "A Factory Sampler EP" produced by Martin Hannett at Factory. Though the group soon split up, Reilly continued alone under the band's name, and soon established a local cult following, and occasionally accompanied several other Manchester bands, including his friend Morrissey.

With innumerable visiting artists, the band survived well into the early 1990s.

Music includes:

• The Return of Durutti Column
• Another Setting
• Vini Reilly
• Obey The Time
• Dry
• The Sporadic Recordings