Cargo Studios was a recording studio located on Kenion Street, off Drake Street, Rochdale, Greater Manchester, England. [1] It was opened in 1977 by John Brierley (who had gained notoriety in the early 1970s as producer of Tractor's first two albums) and lasted in its first incarnation until 1984. The studio is synonymous with the rise of the post-punk music scene in the North of England and as the incubator of many bands that would go on to make their mark in the UK and worldwide, including Joy Division, the Fall, the Teardrop Explodes, Blue Orchids, the Membranes, Echo and the Bunnymen, Flight and Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark.
One of the best known songs recorded at the studio is Joy Division's "Atmosphere".
On 23 September 2009, a blue plaque was placed on the building, [2] in recognition of the role it played in the British music scene.
New Order are an English rock band formed in 1980 by vocalist and guitarist Bernard Sumner, bassist Peter Hook and drummer Stephen Morris. The members regrouped after the disbandment of their previous band Joy Division due to the suicide of lead singer Ian Curtis. They were joined by Gillian Gilbert on keyboards later that year. New Order's integration of post-punk with electronic and dance music made them one of the most acclaimed and influential bands of the 1980s. They were the flagship band for Manchester-based independent record label Factory Records and its nightclub The Haçienda, and they worked in long-term collaboration with graphic designer Peter Saville.
Factory Records was a Manchester-based British independent record label founded in 1978 by Tony Wilson and Alan Erasmus.
The Haçienda was a nightclub and music venue in Manchester, England, which became famous during the Madchester years of the 1980s and early 1990s. It was run by the record label Factory Records.
Peter Hook is an English musician, best known as the bassist and co-founder of the rock bands Joy Division and New Order. Hook often used the bass as a lead instrument, playing melodies on the high strings with a signature heavy chorus effect. In New Order, he would do this, leaving the actual basslines to keyboards or sequencers.
24 Hour Party People is a 2002 British biographical comedy drama film about Manchester's popular music community from 1976 to 1992, and specifically about Factory Records. It was written by Frank Cottrell Boyce and directed by Michael Winterbottom. The film was entered into the 2002 Cannes Film Festival to positive reviews.
The Boardwalk was a nightclub in Manchester, England, which was open from 1986 to 1999. This medium-sized club, owned by David, Colin and Donald Sinclair, was a popular live music venue and nightclub in the late 1980s and early 1990s. It had multiple floors, with a rehearsal space in the basement.
Manchester's music scene produced successful bands in the 1960s including the Hollies, the Bee Gees and Herman's Hermits. After the punk rock era, Manchester produced popular bands including Joy Division, New Order, The Smiths and Simply Red. In the late 1980s, the ecstasy-fuelled dance club scene played a part in the rise of Madchester with bands like the Stone Roses, Inspiral Carpets and Happy Mondays. In the 1990s, Manchester saw the rise of Britpop bands, notably Oasis.
Heart and Soul is a box set by English rock band Joy Division containing nearly every track the band recorded between 1977 and 1980. The first two discs contain almost their entire studio output, including the albums Unknown Pleasures and Closer, along with singles and compilation appearances. Discs three and four collect rare demos and live recordings, many of which were previously unreleased. All tracks are digitally remastered. It reached #70 in the UK.
Castleton railway station serves Castleton in the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale, Greater Manchester, England. It is 8¾ miles (14 km) north of Manchester Victoria on the Caldervale Line operated and managed by Northern.
The Night & Day Café is a café bar and live music venue in Manchester, England.
Gerrard Street is a street in the West End of London, in the Chinatown area.
Denmark Street is a street on the edge of London's West End running from Charing Cross Road to St Giles High Street. It is near St Giles in the Fields Church and Tottenham Court Road station. The street was developed in the late 17th century and named after Prince George of Denmark. Since the 1950s it has been associated with British popular music, first via publishers and later by recording studios and music shops. A blue plaque was unveiled in 2014 commemorating the street's importance to the music industry.
Strawberry Studios was a recording studio in Stockport, historically in Cheshire, now within Greater Manchester, England. Founded in 1968, it operated until the early 1990s. Strawberry Studios became one of the finest professional recording studios in the United Kingdom outside London used by a range of artists including 10cc, Joy Division, Neil Sedaka, Barclay James Harvest, The Smiths, The Stone Roses, The Moody Blues, Paul McCartney, Wax and Cliff Richard.
Tractor is an English rock band founded in Rochdale, Lancashire by guitarist/vocalist Jim Milne and drummer Steve Clayton in 1971. Both had been members of a beat group, The Way We Live, since 1966. They are notable both for their appreciation by John Peel and Julian Cope, but also for their longevity because as of 2007, they were still performing. The band was produced initially by schoolfriend sound engineer John Brierley.
"Atmosphere" is a song by the English post-punk band Joy Division. It was originally released in March 1980 by the Sordide Sentimental label as the "Licht und Blindheit" package, a France-only limited edition single featuring the track "Dead Souls" as the B-side. Following Ian Curtis's death in May, it was re-released as a 12" single by Factory Records in August with "She's Lost Control" as the B-side.
The Deeply Vale Festivals were free festivals held near Bury in northwest England in 1976, 1977, 1978 and 1979 and at a different site in 1980 and 1981. They are regarded as significant events that united punk music into the festival scene. Anniversary festivals took place in March 2015 and September 2016.
The River Tib is a minor tributary of the River Medlock in Manchester, England. It has been culverted along its entire length since about 1783 and now runs beneath Manchester city centre. Tib Street and Tib Lane are named after the watercourse.
The Teardrops were an English punk/new wave band formed in Manchester, England, in 1978. The founders and always the core of this band were Trevor Wain, John Key and Jimmy Donnelly with various good friends from the Prestwich music scene:- Buzzcocks bassist Steve Garvey, members of The Fall; Martin Bramah, Karl Burns and Tony Friel and former member of V2 Ian Nance, as well as occasional contributions from Dave Brisbane, Helen Harbrook, Dave Price and Rick Goldstraw.
Spirit Studios, formerly known as SSR and The School of Sound Recording, is a music and media training academy producing graduates within the music, television, film and radio industries. It is based in Manchester in northern England, and has offshoots in London and Jakarta.
The Motor Museum is a music recording studio based in Liverpool, England, and owned by Andy McCluskey of Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD). A number of popular music artists have recorded at the premises, including Oasis, The La's, The Coral, Ben Howard, Jake Bugg, The 1975, Atomic Kitten, Tom Odell Easy Street Big Band and Tribes. Music producer Mike Crossey used it as a base for recording the Arctic Monkeys and Blood Red Shoes.