Before 1989: How Manchester Became MADchester

In November 1989, two bands from Manchester appeared together on Top of the Pops and it changed indie music forever. The Madchester sound was the unity of jangly guitars and thumping dance music: big, psychedelic, even funky and a perfect companion to taking Ecstasy. Artists like The Stone Roses, Happy Mondays, Inspiral Carpets, A Guy Called Gerald, 808 State and The Charlatans would bridge this formerly insurmountable musical gap. It is the story of punk and disco colliding, how Manchester became for a brief moment the centre of the musical universe, and why Bez is one of the most important figures in British music. This is Before 1989: How Manchester Became Madchester. #madchester #indiemusic #musicdocumentary Additional Writing & Fact-checking by Serenity Autumn. 00:00 Introduction 00:51 The Pre-History of Jangle & Funk 05:00 Punk’s Influence on Manchester 10:17 When Punk Met Funk 13:02 Orange Juice & Postcard Records 15:44 New Order & The H