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It
was interesting meeting up with Tom and Graham from the Inspiral
Carpets for the radio show Saturday gone...and a timely reminder
of just what an exciting time that whole Madchester period was in
the late 80s and early 90s.
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Still
baggy...the Inspirals on stage in 2003
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It
was a scene, of course, that gave us some truly great, influential
bands like the Stone Roses, Happy Mondays, the Inspirals and some
utterly brilliant records.
Madchester was the period when Indie finally broke out of its dark
and cramped bedroom and shambled onto the dance floor for the first
time - caught somewhere between a Rock and a Dance place if you
like, with the press soon dubbing it Baggy!
awesome
The
north-west seemed like a truly happening place for a good while.
That's not to say London didn't swing during this time because the
clubs and the DJs were equally as awesome.
But
in the band department Manchester certainly led the capital. And
apart from those colourful madcap characters Flowered Up, who else
was challenging the Mancs for supremacy?
I've
got some extremely fond memories of going to clubs like Shoom, Land
Of Oz and Paul Oakenfold's Project Club in Streatham during that
time and hearing a mix of music that I hadn't really been exposed
to in a club environment before.
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Between
a Rock and a Dance place...Manchester's Hacienda club, as
seen in the movie '24 Hour Party People'
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A
blend of the latest house, rap and dance mixed in with everything
from The Residents, to Thrashing Doves to the latest Mandy Smith
remix, would you believe?!?
hedonistic
Going
back to the Inspirals, the last time I saw Clint Boon from the band,
he was going off to a screening of the movie '24 Hour Party People'.
A
film which I still haven't seen but which I've heard on good authority
paints a wonderful pitcher of Manchester and the record label Factory
during those exciting and hedonistic days.
That'll
be my next DVD purchase, methinks.
listen
 hear
a BBCi audio feature on the Stone Roses (by Stuart
Bailie in 1989) click
here
(Real
Player required)
listen
hear
a BBCi audio feature on the Happy Mondays (by Stuart
Bailie in 1989) click
here
add
your opinion
email me direct at: yourlondon@bbc.co.uk
more
music
review: the
inspirals at brixton
buzzcocks:
still going steady
gigs
this week
music out this week: choice cuts
the
interview vault
useful
links
inspiral
carpets webshrine
inspiral
carpets - official site
stone
roses - official site
(The BBC is not responsible
for the content of external sites)
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Listen live
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through amazing shots of London from high up in a helicopter!