Manchester Music Scene

A city rich with musical heritage,

Manchester and music

have always gone hand in hand.

On the 6th day, God created Manchester.

A brief history of our city’s rich musical heritage

Manchester and music have always gone hand in hand with each other.

The city’s popular music roots in the jazz cafes and ‘blues’ parties of the 1950s and 60s spawned the cult Northern Soul scene, putting Manchester on the musical map even before the dawn of punk.

It was with the ‘do-it-yourself’ ethic of Punk that Tony Wilson began his infamous Factory empire, borrowing a few hundred pounds to record Joy Division’s first album. Later, as New Order, they returned the favour, investing money into an old yacht warehouse… the Haçienda was built.

Along with the Boardwalk, the Haçienda provided a stage for up-and-coming bands such as The Smiths and James, before the Happy Mondays and Stone Roses hit the headlines, and plain old Manchester became ‘Madchester’, the most talked about city on earth… until of course it became ‘Badchester’. The legendary Konspiracy Club was lost, and even the Haçienda’s doors closed. For a time it seemed that it was all over.

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Fresh clubs; new independent record shops; well over one hundred city centre bars; the stunning Bridgewater Hall; a massive BBC relocation; and a thriving underground music scene sum up the city today With this rich musical heritage it is no wonder that Manchester is such a focus of productivity in music.

it’s not just a question of unique talents or Mercury prize winners. Manchester has the unique position in the UK – outside of the capital – of having a fully developed music business infrastructure; for lawyers, accountants, promo people, even the annual UK music conference, you don’t have to get the train to London.

The late Tony WilsonFounder and manager of the Haçienda nightclub & Factory Records

The thing about Manchester is…it all comes from here.

Noel Gallagher, pointing to his heart

I remember taking my demo to every dance person in London. People were like, ‘We don’t know what this is!’ The first people to champion me were a club in Manchester. M.I.A.

Forward to the mid-2010‘s and we’re seeing a huge revival.

Superclubs such as the Warehouse Project (housed in disused railway arches) , the Albert Hall (a 2,000 capacity Wesleyan chapel) and Sankeys (voted the best club in the world 2010), along with Parklife Festival hosted in Heaton Park (Europe’s largest park) have all contributed to Manchester’s legendary status in dance music culture.

On the band scene we’re seeing a similar correlation with the likes of Oasis, and more recently Elbow, Delphic and Egyptian Hip Hop reaching a global appeal. It’s a fantastic place to be if you want to work in music.

Open Events

Free music production and DJ workshops, seminars, and a chance to speak with industry professionals. We’ll also be having a prize draw and course offers on, applicable across the range of training we provide in the school. If you want a career in the music industry, or would simply like to learn a new skill, come and check us out. Family and friends are very welcome too!

Register for the next open day as places are limited

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