Madchester

Madchester was a musical and cultural scene that developed in the English city of Manchester in the late 1980s, closely associated with the indie dance scene. Indie-dance (sometimes referred to as indie-rave) saw artists merging indie music with elements of acid house, psychedelia and 1960s pop. The term Madchester was coined by Factory Records' Tony Wilson, with the label popularised by the British music press in the early 1990s, and its most famous groups include the Stone Roses, Happy Mondays, Inspiral Carpets, the Charlatans, James and 808 State. It is widely seen as being heavily influenced by drugs, especially MDMA. At that time, the Haçienda nightclub, co-owned by members of New Order, was a major catalyst for the distinctive musical ethos in the city that was called the Second Summer of Love. Pre-Madchester The music scene in Manchester immediately before the Madchester era had been dominated by the Smiths, New Order, and the Fall, who were to become a significant influence on the Madchester scene. The May 1982 opening of the Haçienda nightclub, an initiative of Factory Records, was also influential in the development of popular culture in Manchester. For the first few years of its life, the club played predominantly club-oriented pop music and hosted gigs by artists including New Order, Cabaret Voltaire, Culture Club, Thompson Twins, and the Smiths. It had DJs such as Hewan Clarke and Greg Wilson and switched focus from being a live venue to being a dance club by 1986. In 1987, the Hacienda started playing house music with DJs Mike Pickering, Graeme Park, and "Little" Martin Prendergast hosting "Nude Night" on Fridays. The Festival of the Tenth Summer in July 1986, organised by Factory Records, helped to consolidate Manchester's standing as a centre for alternative pop culture. The festival included film screenings, a music seminar, art shows, and gigs by the city's most prominent bands, including an all-day gig at Manchester G-Mex featuring A Certain Ratio, the Smiths, New Order, and the Fall. According to Dave Haslam, the festival demonstrated that "the city had become synonymous with larger-than-life characters playing cutting edge music. [...] Individuals were inspired and the city was energised; of own accord, uncontrolled". The Haçienda went from making a consistent loss to selling out by early 1987. During 1987, it hosted performances by American house artists including Frankie Knuckles and Adonis.