The Madchester Thread.

surfingelectrode · Oct 1, 2009

In an attempt to keep the Stone Roses Reissue thread on topic...

Wikipedia said:

Madchester was an alternative rock genre that developed in Manchester, England, towards the end of the 1980s and into the early 1990s. The music that emerged from the scene mixed indie rock, psychedelic rock and dance music. Artists associated with the scene included The Stone Roses, Happy Mondays, Inspiral Carpets, 808 State, James, The Charlatans, A Guy Called Gerald and other notable bands. At that time, The Haçienda nightclub was a major catalyst for the distinctive musical ethos in the city that was called the Second Summer of Love.

The music scene in Manchester immediately before the Madchester era had been dominated by bands such as The Smiths, New Order and The Fall. These bands were to become a major influence on the Madchester scene, but just as important was the Haçienda nightclub.

The Haçienda had been opened by Factory Records in May 1982. For the first few years of its life it played predominantly indie music, but gradually began featuring more disco, hip-hop and electro (in this respect, the club enjoyed a relationship of mutual influence with its part-owners New Order).

In 1986, it became the first club in the UK to take house music seriously with DJs Mike Pickering and Little Martin aka MP² hosting the Nude night on Fridays. This night quickly became legendary, and helped to turn around the reputation and fortunes of the Haçienda, which went from making a consistent loss to being full every night of the week by early 1987.

Other clubs in the Manchester area started to follow the Haçienda's lead: The Boardwalk, Devilles, Isadora's, Konspiracy, House, Soundgardens and Man Alive in the city centre, the International (and later the International 2) in Longsight, Bugsy's in Ashton-Under-Lyne and the Osbourne Club in Miles Platting.

Another key factor in the build-up to Madchester towards the end of that year was the sudden arrival of the drug ecstasy in the city - legend has it that a friend of the Happy Mondays was a pioneer in bringing the drug into the country from Amsterdam. According to Haçienda DJ Dave Haslam: "Ecstasy use changed clubs forever; a night at the Haçienda went from being a great night out, to an intense, life changing experience".

During 1988 acid House became popular throughout the UK, another influence on the club culture building in Manchester.

Although the Madchester scene cannot really be said to have started before the autumn of 1988 (the term "Madchester" was not coined until a year after that by Philip Shotton who directed many music videos for Factory Records), many of its most significant bands and artists were around on the local scene before then.

The Stone Roses were formed in 1984 by singer Ian Brown and guitarist John Squire, who had grown up on the same street in Timperley, a leafy suburban town to the south of Manchester. They had been in bands together since 1979, when they were both 16, but the Stone Roses was the first to release a record, "So Young", in 1985. The line-up was completed by Alan "Reni" Wren on drums and, from 1987, Gary "Mani" Mounfield on bass. The band disliked being associated with Madchester, but the media - which is always responsible for bringing regional scenes to a vastly wider public - places them solidly at the heart of the movement.

Happy Mondays were formed in Salford in 1985. The members between then and the break-up of the band in 1992 were Shaun Ryder, his brother Paul, Mark "Bez" Berry, Paul Davis, Mark Day and Gary Whelan. They were signed to Factory Records, supposedly after Haçienda DJ Mike Pickering saw them at a Battle of the Bands contest in which they came last (the winners being, Manchester band, The Brigade.). They released two singles - "45", produced by Pickering in 1985, and "Freaky Dancin'", produced by New Order's Bernard Sumner in 1986 - before putting out an album produced by John Cale and bearing the snappy title Squirrel and G-Man Twenty Four Hour Party People Plastic Face Carnt Smile (White Out) in 1987.

Inspiral Carpets were formed in Oldham, Greater Manchester in 1986. The line-up was Clint Boon (organ), Stephen Holt (vocals - Tom Hingley would not join up until the beginning of 1989), Graham Lambert (guitar), Martyn Walsh (bass) and Craig Gill (drums). They released a flexi-disc a year later, and in 1988 the Planecrash EP (on their own Cow Records) brought them to the attention of John Peel, placing them well in the frame for the onset of Madchester.

James were formed in 1981 by Paul Gilbertson and Jim Glennie (after whom the band was named), recruiting Drama student Tim Booth on vocals and Gavan Whelan on drums (Gilbertson and Whelan were to leave the band before it attained commercial success). They released their first EP, Jimone on Factory Records in 1983, and attracted critical enthusiasm, as well as a loyal local following and the patronage of Morrissey. However, sales of their two albums for Sire Records, Stutter in 1986 and Strip-mine in 1988, were disappointing and, at the time Madchester hit, the band was using t-shirt sales to fund its own releases through Rough Trade Records. Madchester helped bring them their belated commercial success and the single "Sit Down" became one of the most popular anthems of the era.

808 State were formed in 1988 by the owner of the Eastern Bloc Records shop on Oldham Street, Martin Price, together with Graham Massey and Gerald Simpson. The three put together an innovative live acid house set, performing at various venues around town, and releasing an acclaimed and influential album Newbuild on Price's own label. Simpson left soon after the release of Newbuild, but went on to record as A Guy Called Gerald.

In late 1988, a series of record releases came together as the first rumblings of a serious new music scene in Manchester.

In October, the Stone Roses released "Elephant Stone" (produced by Peter Hook of New Order) as a single. Also in October, Happy Mondays released the single "Wrote for Luck" (followed by the Bummed album, produced by Martin Hannett, in November). In November, A Guy Called Gerald released his first solo single, "Voodoo Ray".

Although none of these singles achieved mainstream success, all three got attention in Manchester, and "Wrote for Luck" and "Voodoo Ray" were recognised as significant records nationally within the indie and dance communities respectively.

The growth of the local scene had been boosted by the success of the Haçienda's pioneering Ibiza nights in the summer of 1988 and the launch of the Hot acid house night (hosted by Mike Pickering and Jon DaSilva) in November.

Interest in the Stone Roses increased as they gigged around the country and released the "Made of Stone" single in February 1989. This didn't chart, but was well-received and the band were looking like they were on the brink of being the biggest thing in the country by the time they released their eponymous debut album (produced by John Leckie) in March.

During mid-1989, interest in the Manchester scene continued to grow, and media hype was well underway by the time the Happy Mondays released a Vince Clarke remix of "Wrote for Luck" as a single in September.

November was the month when Madchester seemed to have conquered the consciousness of the country, though, with four of the defining singles of the movement being released: "Move" by the Inspiral Carpets, "Pacific" by 808 State, The Madchester Rave On EP by the Happy Mondays and "Fools Gold"/"What the World is Waiting For" by the Stone Roses.

The Happy Mondays record, featuring the lead track "Hallelujah!", coined the term "Madchester" - it had originally been suggested by their video directors the Bailey Brothers as a potential t-shirt slogan.

November was a further triumphant month for the Stone Roses in particular, who performed an ecstatically-received gig at London's Alexandra Palace, and were invited onto BBC2's high-brow Late Show (where they caused a stir when the electricity cut out during their performance and they stormed off). On 23 November 1989, the Stone Roses and the Happy Mondays appeared on the same edition of Top of the Pops. The "Fools Gold" single made number 8 in the UK singles chart, at that time a major feat for an indie band.

Madchester's role as an industry bandwagon from this time on is hard to deny. James were amongst the first beneficiaries of this. The local success of their self-financed singles "Come Home" and "Sit Down" (the latter becoming something of a Manchester anthem during 1989, with clubs full of people ritually sitting on the floor to it) led to a deal with Fontana, and they were to score chart hits with "How Was it For You" and a re-recorded version of "Come Home" (sounding distinctly baggier) in the summer of 1990.

The Charlatans were originally from the West Midlands, but their singer, Tim Burgess, was from Northwich in Cheshire. They came to prominence through appearances in Manchester, particularly as a support act to the Stone Roses, and given similarities in their sound to several Madchester bands, they became strongly associated with the scene in the minds of both fans and the press. They released a debut single "Indian Rope" in February 1990 and their second "The Only One I Know" quickly became seen as a classic, making the UK top ten.

A number of other bands joined the fray during 1990, including World of Twist, New Fast Automatic Daffodils, The High, Northside, Paris Angels, and Intastella. These bands are sometimes seen as bandwaggoners (Northside in particular are sometimes, probably unfairly, seen as a cynical invention of Factory Records to cash in on the Madchester scene). Others would point to a pioneering exploration of the possibilies of indie-dance crossover - a journey to which minor players gave an invaluable contribution.

Due to its limited promotional resources and its predominantly anti-commercial ethos, indie music had, for the most part, represented a specialist market during the 1980s.

It is in this context that the chart success of Madchester bands should be measured. It should not be seen as confusing that on the one hand a review of the UK music press of the time would give the impression that Madchester was an all-conquering cultural force, whilst on the other hand, sales of records by the bands involved seem decent but unspectacular by later standards. There is no doubt that the scene broke new commercial ground during 1990.

"Step On" and "Kinky Afro" by the Happy Mondays both made number 5 in the singles charts, whilst James scored the biggest Madchester hit, making number 2 in 1991 with a re-recording of "Sit Down". In the album charts, the Happy Mondays made number 4 with Pills 'n' Thrills and Bellyaches, and the Inspiral Carpets got to number 2 with Life. The Charlatans were the only Madchester band to take the number 1 spot, with the album Some Friendly in the autumn of 1990.

Outside the UK, the success of Madchester was limited, although some releases gained recognition in specialist charts around the world. In the U.S., the albums The Stone Roses, Pills 'n' Thrills and Bellyaches and Some Friendly reached the lower echelons of the U.S. album chart. Several singles by The Stone Roses, The Inspiral Carpets, The Happy Mondays and The Charlatans were successful on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart, which measures radio airplay on alternative rock formatted radio stations in the United States. The most notable of these was The Stone Roses' "I Wanna Be Adored", which remains a staple of American alternative radio. The Happy Mondays toured the US in 1990 and, thanks in part to generous airplay on MTV's Buzz Bin feature, were alone amongst Madchester bands in troubling the Billboard 100, with "Step On" reaching number 57 (The band would however, reach #1 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart with "Kinky Afro" in 1990 and on the US dance charts for their single "Stinkin, Thinkin", from Yes Please!, in 1992).

The peak of Madchester was in mid-1990. On 27 May, the Stone Roses performed at Spike Island in the Mersey Estuary, supported by DJs Frankie Knuckles and Dave Haslam. This concert was seen by many as a one-band Woodstock for the times.

A rapid succession of chart hits followed during the summer, including "One Love" by the Stone Roses, "This Is How It Feels" by the Inspiral Carpets, "The Only One I Know" by The Charlatans and "Kinky Afro" by the Happy Mondays.

After this, however, Madchester's recorded output slowed, although well received and well attended live performances continued into the autumn, notably successive sellout performances by Northside, at the Academy, in November. The end of the year saw triumphal concerts by James and a double-header with the Happy Mondays and 808 State, both at Manchester G-Mex, which seem, in retrospect, to mark the end of the era.

The Stone Roses cancelled their June 1990 tour of the US, issuing a press statement saying: "America doesn't deserve us yet". The real reasons are probably more complicated - the Roses also cancelled a gig in Spain and an appearance on the UK chat show Wogan. They did not face the public again until the end of 1994, spending the intervening time in and out of studios in Wales (where they recorded at leisure a second album, Second Coming) and fighting in court to release themselves from their contract with Silvertone Records.

The making of the next Happy Mondays album, Yes Please! was also problematic, and it would not be released until October 1992. The band flew to Barbados to record it, making repeated requests of Factory Records for extra time and additional funds (almost certainly in part to fuel growing drug habits). This is reputed to have been the major factor in the bankruptcy of the label in November 1992.

With the two bands seen as the most central to the scene out of action, media fascination with Madchester dwindled. James, Inspiral Carpets, The Charlatans and 808 State continued to record, with varying degrees of success, during the 1990s, but ceased to be seen as part of a localised scene.

Local bands catching the tail-end of Madchester, such as The Mock Turtles, became part of a wider baggy scene. The music press in the UK began to place more focus on shoegazing bands from the south of England and bands emerging through US grunge.
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Discuss.

Destroyer · Oct 1, 2009

WOW...not much more to discuss!!! They already said it all!!!

John54 · Oct 2, 2009

I think the Stone Roses' debut is brilliant, I have two or three Inspiral Carpets CDs, plus material by The Charlatans, The High, and Northside. And maybe even Paris Angels. But as fate would have it I've never heard a note by Happy Mondays ...

surfingelectrode · Oct 2, 2009

John54 said: ↑

I think the Stone Roses' debut is brilliant, I have two or three Inspiral Carpets CDs, plus material by The Charlatans, The High, and Northside. And maybe even Paris Angels. But as fate would have it I've never heard a note by Happy Mondays ...
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Try these on for size. (Each word = different song link).

Am I the last person to realize that the portrait on the cover of Bummed ISN'T of a woman, but actually of Shaun Ryder? I honestly thought it was a woman.

Also, how were the Mondays able to put Lazyitis on Bummed (it swiped the melody of Ticket to Ride), but had to take Desmond off of Squirrel G-Man (Ob-la-di, Ob-la-da)? Anyways, Lazyitis only really swipes the melody on two lines.

camrock · Oct 2, 2009

surfingelectrode said: ↑

Also, how were the Mondays able to put Lazyitis on Bummed (it swiped the melody of Ticket to Ride), but had to take Desmond off of Squirrel G-Man (Ob-la-di, Ob-la-da)? Anyways, Lazyitis only really swipes the melody on two lines.
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It also uses a bit of the melody of "Gonna Make You A Star" by David Essex IIRC. They cleared it, is why.

heliocentric · Oct 2, 2009

I really like the Inspiral's, for me they follow a tradition of the great "singles" band. Such a shame that later singles like "Please be Cruel" seemed largely ignored.

A question though - i thought "Planecrash" was never released as a single, being pulled because of the title? Possibly around the time of Lockerbie?!?

I'm sure i can remember "when's planecrash coming out?" being scratched in the dead wax of one of the later singles?

ROLO46 · Oct 2, 2009

24 hr Party People + Control tells all you need

fortherecord · Oct 2, 2009

I remember hearing about the whole Madchester thing through seeing copies of NME and Melody Maker in the late 80's, but I didn't really take an interest or seek out the groups and hear their music, although I was a huge New Order fan at the time. I didn't discover The Stone Roses until Second Coming came out. I never heard Happy Mondays until I saw the 24 Hour Party People film. I was more into the early Factory bands like JD/NO, Section 25, Durutti Column, A Certain Ration, each of whom were the predecessors for the Madchester scene bands.

hutlock · Oct 2, 2009

Good to see the love for Inspiral Carpets here, who I think have always been pretty underrated as a pop band -- "Find Out Why" is like the greatest garage rock record that no one talks about for instance.

And big ups for the High mention above too -- "Box Set Go" is such a great tune.

I_Zimbra · Oct 2, 2009

Please don't forget James. They were never "baggy" in the way some Manc bands were, but they were closely linked to Factory in their early days....and they've definitely stood the test of time.

A question though - i thought "Planecrash" was never released as a single
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I'm pretty sure it appeared on a couple of CD singles - "Find Out Why" and the "Cool as F**k" EP.

hutlock · Oct 2, 2009

I_Zimbra said: ↑

Please don't forget James. They were never "baggy" in the way some Manc bands were, but they were closely linked to Factory in their early days....and they've definitely stood the test of time.

I'm pretty sure it appeared on a couple of CD singles - "Find Out Why" and the "Cool as F**k" EP.
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Ah yes! James were great, but you're right, they weren't really in on the whole "baggy" thing, though they gave it a great shot with "Come Home" and the Weatherall remixes.

And yes, "Planecrash" is on both of those Inspirals CD singles.

hutlock · Oct 2, 2009

I should mention that there are Beggars Archive editons of the first two Charlatans albums due out soon-ish, both very well worth a listen.

Amazing to think about it but some of the B-level "Madchester" bands ended up outlasting the A-level bands by far in terms of career longevity and time at the top. The Roses and the Mondays peaked out and flamed out pretty quick, but Inspiral Carpets, The Charlatans, James, 808 State (OH how I love 808 State!)... they kept it going for years.

rediffusion · Oct 2, 2009

surfingelectrode said: ↑

Am I the last person to realize that the portrait on the cover of Bummed ISN'T of a woman, but actually of Shaun Ryder? I honestly thought it was a woman

Also, how were the Mondays able to put Lazyitis on Bummed (it swiped the melody of Ticket to Ride), but had to take Desmond off of Squirrel G-Man (Ob-la-di, Ob-la-da)? Anyways, Lazyitis only really swipes the melody on two lines.
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I guess you need to see the full painting to see it's Ryder...

I think Lazyitis [One Armed Boxer] is credited to Happy Mondays, David Essex, Lennon & McCartney, Sly & The Family Stone

hutlock · Oct 2, 2009

rediffusion said: ↑

I guess you need to see the full painting to see it's Ryder...

I think Lazyitis [One Armed Boxer] is credited to Happy Mondays, David Essex, Lennon & McCartney, Sly & The Family Stone
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Yeah, I think they all split royalties on that one.

Over in the Stone Roses thread, folks were talking about their autographed Happy Mondays stuff... I actually hung out backstage with the Mondays twice when they were here in the States (once on the Cleveland stop of the Bummed tour when they opened for... THE PIXIES?!? Yes, really! and once in Detroit on their own headlining tour after the Hallelujah EP was released in the US, but still pre-Pills...) It was fun, and I've got a couple of really good stories that I'll roll out here when I have time to type them (I'm at work now).

rediffusion · Oct 2, 2009

I've always thought that the Rolling Stones - '2000 Light Years From Home' sounds like a Madchester/baggy song

I_Zimbra · Oct 2, 2009

The Madchester scene was one of the great examples of music and fashion going hand in hand. Hooded Tops and baggy jeans were everywhere. The band t-shirt became the ultimate fashion item - The old story went that James made more money out of their daisy t-shirts then they did from record sales. I bought all their singles and albums around that time, but I did also have 6 of their t-shirts!

Slicing Eyeballs · Oct 2, 2009

hutlock said: ↑

I should mention that there are Beggars Archive editons of the first two Charlatans albums due out soon-ish, both very well worth a listen.

Amazing to think about it but some of the B-level "Madchester" bands ended up outlasting the A-level bands by far in terms of career longevity and time at the top. The Roses and the Mondays peaked out and flamed out pretty quick, but Inspiral Carpets, The Charlatans, James, 808 State (OH how I love 808 State!)... they kept it going for years.
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No kidding. First time I heard the Charlatans on the radio ("The Only One I Know") it was like, "Hey, it's the Stone Roses with keyboards!" But they went on to have a pretty nice career...

KeninDC · Oct 2, 2009

Slicing Eyeballs said: ↑

No kidding. First time I heard the Charlatans on the radio ("The Only One I Know") it was like, "Hey, it's the Stone Roses with keyboards!" But they went on to have a pretty nice career...
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No kidding. Very Deep Purple, too.

hutlock · Oct 2, 2009

Yeah, that song pushed a lot of familiar buttons. Truth be told, I prefer the actual debut single, "Indian Rope," a nice moody, dark groover, as well as the third single, "Then." Good stuff.

hutlock · Oct 2, 2009

Any love for the New Fast Automatic Daffodils? The first few singles/EPs and the debut album (Pigeonhole) are just awesome.

Slicing Eyeballs · Oct 2, 2009

hutlock said: ↑

Yeah, that song pushed a lot of familiar buttons. Truth be told, I prefer the actual debut single, "Indian Rope," a nice moody, dark groover, as well as the third single, "Then." Good stuff.
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Yeah, the bassline on "Then" still kills me. I also was a big fan of that "Over Rising" single they put out between the first two albums. I also recall preferring the "Imperial 109" version on the "The Only One I Know" single over the version they ended up using on Some Friendly, but now that I look, I'm not sure I have either of those singles anymore... Hmmm...

keef00 · Oct 2, 2009

I have a strange relationship with Madchester... I'm sure I'm the only person that prefers Second Coming to the Stone Roses debut album. Never explored Happy Mondays or Inspiral Carpets at all, but own all of the Charlatans albums and several singles up until the last couple of releases. Guess I need to dig a little further.

Downsampled · Oct 2, 2009

hutlock said: ↑

I should mention that there are Beggars Archive editons of the first two Charlatans albums due out soon-ish, both very well worth a listen.
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Cool, thanks for the news, I hadn't heard. The Charlatans are one of my very favorite bands; I went out of my way to find import CDs of all their albums so that I wouldn't have to look at the "UK" next to their name. I saw them a few times and they put on a great show. (One at the Warfield in SF, still around their first album, had a great, retro thing going with crazy swirling color liquids and an overhead projector. Went great with "Opportunity".) By contrast, I saw Happy Mondays at the Warfield around the same time and it was one of the worst shows I've ever seen.

The Charlatans have cycled up and down, but they really had another great peak with Us And Only Us and Wonderland. UAOU is my favorite album of theirs, I think.

rediffusion · Oct 2, 2009

I saw the Charlatans play many times. The best was in the Hacienda around 1995ish. They finished with a storming version of Sproston Green.

Johnny Strangler · Oct 2, 2009

hutlock said: ↑

Any love for the New Fast Automatic Daffodils? The first few singles/EPs and the debut album (Pigeonhole) are just awesome.
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I love them! one of the best baggy albums ever! also my fave music scene ever!

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