Madchester Part Four

The Happy Mondays, from the left: Paul Ryder, Shaun Ryder, Paul Davis, Mark Day, Mark "Bez" Berry and Gary Whelan.

During the summer of 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 gigs 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 23rd November, one of the defining moments of Madchester occurred when 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 Birmingham, but having a singer (Tim Burgess) from Northwich in Cheshire and some support slots with the Stone Roses, they became accepted as a central band to the Manchester scene. They released a debut single "Indian Rope" in January 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 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.

New Order

In May, the Happy Mondays released the single "Lazyitis" and the Inspiral Carpets put out their first single with new singer Tom Hingley, "Joe". Like the Stone Roses, the Inspiral Carpets were producing sixties - inspired indie music. All three of the main players in the emerging scene took a dance influence, particularly from 70s funk, with disco basslines and wah-wah guitar being added to their indie jingle-jangle. The Inspiral Carpets added the distintive sound of the Farfisa organ, a style which would also be adopted by later Madchester bands, such as The Charlatans.

This sound, which was to become known as "baggy", generally includes a combination of funk, psychedelia, guitar rock and house music. In the Manchester context, the music can be seen as mainly influnced by the indie music that had dominated the city's music scene during the 80s, but also absorbing the various influences coming through the Haçienda.

Alongside the music, a way of dressing emerged that gave baggy its name. Baggy jeans (often flared) alongside brightly coloured casual tops and general sixties style became the standard uniform of Manchester youth - frequently topped off with a fishing hat in the style sported by the Stone Roses drummer Reni. The fashion, like the music, was somewhere between rave and retro.

The majority of bands on the Madchester scene would produce music that could be described as "baggy", including James, The Charlatans, Northside and The Mock Turtles. However, in the early 1990s the sound spread across the country, with bands such as The Farm, Flowered Up, Candy Flip, Such Perfect Liars, and (early on) Blur treading where mancunians had gone before.

Baggy wasn't restricted to Manchester, but it should be remembered that Manchester wasn't restricted to baggy either. The return of 808 State with the seminal "Pacific" single later in 1989 reminds us of the role electronic music played, but the Madchester scene also gave a home to hip-hop artists Ruthless Rap Assassins and MC Tunes.