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Manchester’s greatest band…

Joy Division seem to me to be the only truly great, once in a generation, band to come from Manchester ( assuming I get a vote being a southerner?) There are quite a few very fine bands mentioned but Joy Division were something more than that IMO.

Surprised not to see Buzzcocks mentioned in dispatches.

I tried to play my Smiths albums a few weeks back. I was a huge fan in the 80s and bought pretty much all of the records on the day of release when I was a student. To my ears they've not aged at all well, even discounting the huge embarrassment Morrissey has become ( and possible always was). I think all I need is the 7" of This Charming Man which is everything I like about them condensed into 3 near perfect minutes.
 
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Does Oldham count?


+1 for JD, NO, Duruttis, Fall, Magazine, Buzzcocks and the Chameleons. Obvs.
 
We're probably just showing our age but there is a very 70's / 80s / 90s skew in our lists. What decent bands have come from Manchester this century?


And not provoking any regional rivalries from the comfort of my southern home, but it is interesting to consider that the most successful band from Liverpool were the Beatles and the most successful from Manchester were probably Take That.

Just saying....:D

PS. Just had a browse online - The 1975, who many of my kids friends think are brilliant, are from Manchester ( via Wilmslow)
 
This thread is fascinating, I’d never have placed Barclay James Harvest as Mancs (Oldham is like bad Manchester, but worse). I always assumed they were part of that pastoral Canterbury thing, but I know little about them. The Future Sound Of London is the one that really threw me.

PS If we are moving right out into the wilderness then Rochdale’s finest bleep and beat exporters, Autechre, certainly deserve a mention.
 
Good point, I missed that upthread.

I've more records by Matthew Halsall and Nat Burchill than any other contemporary Manchester artists. Not bands though although maybe the Gondwana Orchestra qualifies.
 
For me it would have to be Joy Division, The Smiths (despite Mozzer being a twat) and The Stone Roses (1st LP only) , Chemical Bros and I guess the Mondays, James, Elbow and the Charlatans are worthy of a mention.
 
The more I think about this one the more I just want to pick Factory Records as my favourite Manchester band! It is unquestionably one of the most significant labels in the entire history of recorded music and had a time, place and identity as strong as Blue Note, Stax or Motown. That core period from say 79-89 can be viewed as a cohesive block spreading from Joy Division, Durutti Column, A Certain Ratio, Section 25, Crispy Ambulance etc through New Order, to the creation of the Hacienda, Happy Mondays and the whole ‘Madchester’ thing. Everything hangs together from Hannett’s icy production that just captured the dank grey post-industrial gloom of the late-70s-early-80s to Saville’s perfect aesthetic and then the explosion of E/rave culture. Manchester pulled it together into a cohesive thing far better than Liverpool ever did despite some amazing bands over there too.
 
Tony L said:
The more I think about this one the more I just want to pick Factory Records as my favourite Manchester band! It is unquestionably one of the most significant labels in the entire history of recorded music and had a time, place and identity as strong as Blue Note, Stax or Motown. That core period from say 79-89 can be viewed as a cohesive block spreading from Joy Division, Durutti Column, A Certain Ratio, Section 25, Crispy Ambulance etc through New Order, to the creation of the Hacienda, Happy Mondays and the whole ‘Madchester’ thing. Everything hangs together from Hannett’s icy production that just captured the dank grey post-industrial gloom of the late-70s-early-80s to Saville’s perfect aesthetic and then the explosion of E/rave culture. Manchester pulled it together into a cohesive thing far better than Liverpool ever did despite some amazing bands over there too.
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That cheating though;)
 
Tony L said:
This thread is fascinating, I’d never have placed Barclay James Harvest as Mancs (Oldham is like bad Manchester, but worse). I always assumed they were part of that pastoral Canterbury thing, but I know little about them. The Future Sound Of London is the one that really threw me.

PS If we are moving right out into the wilderness then Rochdale’s finest bleep and beat exporters, Autechre, certainly deserve a mention.
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Here's some you may have missed first time around with lots of Factory / Durutti connections.

https://www.discogs.com/artist/3027063-Greasy-Bear

https://www.discogs.com/artist/1270779-Gammer-And-His-Familiars

And no-ones mentioned this lot yet
 
I liked Doves, and thankfully bought the first three on vinyl which have been a nice investment! I find Elbow dull as ditchwater, but they have a huge following so what do I know?!

As for other current stuff I really like Marconi Union (chilled electronica) and most things on Gondwana Records (Matthew Halsall & GoGo Penguin being from Manchester, the label spanning a far wider area right through to Hania Rani in Poland).
 
Tony L said:
I liked Doves, and thankfully bought the first three on vinyl which have been a nice investment! I find Elbow dull as ditchwater, but they have a huge following so what do I know?!

As for other current stuff I really like Marconi Union (chilled electronica) and most things on Gondwana Records (Matthew Halsall & GoGo Penguin being from Manchester, the label spanning a far wider area right through to Hania Rani in Poland).
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I also have the first 3 Doves albums on vinyl. It took me far too long to realise how dull Elbow are though. Think I have at least a couple of their early albums on vinyl though, some consolation.
 
Seeker_UK said:
Not my cuppa at all but a lot of people like Doves and Elbow?
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I bought the first two Doves albums and Elbow’s debut. Quite liked Doves, but Elbow just seem like all the samey beigecore male artists around whose names I mostly can’t even remember... James Bay, etc.
 
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