Madchester

Madchester
The "Madchester" wordmark that appeared on the Happy Mondays' 1989 EP Madchester Rave On
Years activeLate 1980s – early 1990s
LocationManchester, England
Major figures
Influences
Influenced

Madchester was a musical and cultural scene that emerged in the English city of Manchester during the late 1980s, closely associated with the indie dance movement.[1][2][3][4] Indie dance (also referred to as indie rave[5]) blended indie rock with elements of acid house, psychedelia,[6] and 1960s pop.[7]

The term Madchester was coined by Factory Records' Tony Wilson,[8][9][10] and was popularised by the British music press in the early 1990s.[11] However, the origin of the term can be traced to a script meeting between Factory Records video directors Philip Shotton and Keith Jobling, known as "the Bailey Brothers." They coined Madchester while developing a script and later suggested it to Tony Wilson. Subsequently, Wilson instructed the band Happy Mondays to rename their EP from "Rave On" to "Madchester Rave On."[12] The Happy Mondays' lead vocalist, Shaun Ryder, recalled: "It was our video directors, the Bailey Brothers, who came up with the term 'Madchester,' but we said, 'Great, yeah, go with it,' because Manchester was mad at the time."

The scene's most famous groups include The Stone Roses, Happy Mondays, Inspiral Carpets, The Charlatans, James, and 808 State. The movement was heavily influenced by the widespread use of drugs, particularly MDMA, also known as "MD" or "Ecstasy."

A major catalyst for the distinctive musical ethos in the city was the Haçienda nightclub, co-owned by members of New Order, which played a pivotal role in the movement known as the Second Summer of Love.[13]

  1. ^ "Madchester remembered: 'There was amazing creative energy in Manchester at the time'". The Guardian. 21 April 2012. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  2. ^ "The Madchester scene – in pictures". The Guardian. 21 April 2012. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  3. ^ "Madchester 1989 – How one year changed a city and the way we looked". Fluxmagazine.com. 20 June 2019. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  4. ^ "The influential musical legacy of Madchester 30 years on". Ilovemanchester.com. 4 March 2020. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  5. ^ "Twisting my melon, man! The baggy, brilliant indie-rave summer of 1990". The Guardian. 7 July 2020. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  6. ^ Echard, William (2017). Psychedelic Popular Music: A History through Musical Topic Theory. Indiana University Press. pp. 244–246. ISBN 9780253026590.
  7. ^ "Madchester – Genre Overview". AllMusic. Retrieved 25 March 2017.
  8. ^ "Trailblazers: Madchester – S1". Radio Times. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  9. ^ ""Trailblazers Of" Madchester (TV Episode 2016) – IMDb". IMDb. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  10. ^ "Trailblazers". Sky UK. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  11. ^ Shuker, Roy (2005). "Madchester". Popular Music: The Key Concepts. Psychology Press. p. 157. ISBN 978-0415347693. Retrieved 26 December 2016.
  12. ^ "Madchester remembered: 'There was amazing creative energy in Manchester at the time'". The Guardian. 21 April 2012. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  13. ^ Anderson, Penny (18 February 2009). "Why are the Stone Roses adored?". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 July 2014.