Madchester refers to a period during the late 1980s and early 1990s when Manchester was the focus for a lot of the new musical talent hitting the UK indie music scene.
During this period rock bands such as Inspiral Carpets (from Oldham), The Stone Roses, The Farm (from Liverpool!!), The Charlatans and The Happy Mondays emanated from Manchester as well as electronic music outfits such as 808 State and A Guy Called Gerald. The city had earlier seen punk rock outfits such as Buzzcocks, Magazine and Joy Division (from which New Order grew), and Manchester band The Smiths were one of the most popular indie groups of the 1980s.
The Madchester music was a combination of indie rock, psychedelia, and dance. In many instances it came out of collaboration between guitar-based groups and dance music producers. Producers such as Paul Oakenfold, Martin Hannett, Andrew Weatherall and Stephen Hague had a significant impact on the Madchester scene, frequently incoporating elements of the mid-tempo "Balearic" dance style associated with Ibiza nightclubs at that time.
It was also during this time that there was an influx of drug culture into the city (predominatly Ecstasy) that helped fuel the rise of some of the most popular dance music clubs of the time, such as Fac 51 Haçienda. "The Haçienda" was run by Factory Records record label impresario Tony Wilson and Factory Records also signed many of the artists associated with the Madchester scene, such as the Happy Mondays.
Although Manchester has remained a key city on the UK music scene, 'Madchester' itself fizzled out by the mid-1990s; in part this was a consequence of the aforementioned drug culture, which greatly slowed the release schedule of the movement's key acts. The Stone Roses' disappointing second album was not released until 1994, whilst both the Happy Mondays and New Order found themselves caught up in the 1992 demise of Factory Records, the loss of which affected Manchester's music scene badly. By the time of Oasis' 1994 debut Definitely Maybe, Madchester was history; within eighteen months it would be replaced by Britpop, a movement tied to no particular city.
The 2002 film 24 Hour Party People is a semi-satirical depiction of the rise of Factory Records and many of the bands associated both directly and indirectly with the record label.
Major Madchester recordings
External links
Last updated: 05-07-2005 12:45:34
Last updated: 05-13-2005 07:56:04
