New Order are an English rock band formed in Salford in 1980 by vocalist and guitarist Bernard Sumner, bassist Peter Hook, and drummer Stephen Morris. Their fusion of post-punk with electronic and dance music made them one of the most acclaimed and influential bands of the 1980s. The band regrouped after the disbandment of their previous band, Joy Division, following the suicide of lead singer Ian Curtis. Keyboardist Gillian Gilbert joined them later that year. They became the flagship band for Manchester-based independent record label Factory Records and its nightclub, The Haçienda, and 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.
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 saw its artists merging indie rock with elements of acid house, psychedelia, and 1960s pop.
Happy Mondays are an English rock band formed in Salford in 1980. The original line-up consisted of brothers Shaun Ryder (vocals) and Paul Ryder (bass), Gaz Whelan (drums), Paul Davis (keyboard), and Mark Day (guitar). Mark "Bez" Berry later joined the band onstage as a dancer and maracas player. Rowetta joined as a second vocalist and percussionist in 1990. They were initially signed to Tony Wilson's Factory Records label.
Peter Hook is an English musician, best known as the bassist and co-founder of the post-punk band Joy Division and its successor New Order. He 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.
Mark Berry, better known as Bez, is an English percussionist, dancer, DJ and media personality. He is best known as a member of the rock bands Happy Mondays and Black Grape.
Shaun William George Ryder is an English singer, songwriter and poet. As lead singer of Happy Mondays, he was a leading figure in the Madchester cultural scene during the late 1980s and early 1990s. In 1993, he formed Black Grape with former Happy Mondays dancer Bez. He was the runner-up on the tenth series of I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!. Ryder collaborated with Gorillaz on "Dare", which peaked at number one on the UK Singles Chart in September 2005, becoming the band's only UK number one single. Ryder is known for his distinctive sprechgesang and lyricism.
Inspiral Carpets is an English rock band, part of the late-1980s/early-1990s Madchester movement. Formed in Oldham in 1983, the band's most successful lineup featured frontman Tom Hingley, drummer Craig Gill, guitarist Graham Lambert, bassist Martyn Walsh and keyboardist Clint Boon.
Pills 'n' Thrills and Bellyaches is the third studio album by the English rock band Happy Mondays, released on 5 November 1990 by Factory Records. Disc jockey (DJ) Paul Oakenfold and collaborator Steve Osborne were previously enlisted by the band for remixes. The success of these led to the pair producing "Step On", a cover of the John Kongos song, for Happy Mondays. The band went on a tour of the United States, and by the end of which, had started recording their next album with Oakenfold and Osborne at Capitol Studios in Los Angeles, California. They returned to the United Kingdom, where further recording took place at Eden Studios in London until September 1990. Described as a Madchester album, Pills 'n' Thrills and Bellyaches saw substantial input from Oakenfold and Osborne, with the former making loops while the latter handled song arrangements.
Cornershop are an English indie rock band best known for their single "Brimful of Asha", originally released in 1997 and, in a remixed version, topping the UK chart in 1998. The band was formed in 1991 by Wolverhampton-born Tjinder Singh, his brother Avtar Singh, David Chambers (drums) and Ben Ayres, the first three having previously been members of Preston-based band General Havoc, who released one single in 1991. The band name originated from a stereotype referring to British Asians often owning corner shops. Their music is a fusion of Indian music, indie rock, alternative and electronic dance music.
Yes Please! is the fourth studio album by British rock band Happy Mondays, released on 22 September 1992 through Factory Records. Following the non-album single "Judge Fudge", Factory allotted the band a budget of £150,000 for their next album. After settling on producers Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth, both members of Talking Heads and Tom Tom Club, Happy Mondays decamped to Blue Wave Studio in Saint Philip, Barbados, in February 1992. The sessions were plagued by a variety of issues, such as frontman Shaun Ryder developing a crack habit and dancer Bez breaking his arm three times. With little finished material and a lack of lyrics, the band returned to the United Kingdom; Ryder was admitted into a detox centre. Recording continued for two weeks in May 1992 at Comfort's Place Studio in Lingfield, Surrey, where Ryder did his vocals. Yes Please! is a soul funk album with a bleak sound that earned it a comparison to Unknown Pleasures (1979) by Joy Division.
Cerys Elizabeth Matthews is a Welsh singer, songwriter, author, and broadcaster. She was a founding member of Welsh rock band Catatonia and a leading figure in the "Cool Cymru" movement of the late 1990s.
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.
Carolynne Willey is a British singer-songwriter, actress and former model from Leeds, England. She is a founding member of the Carolynne Good Band, based in Leeds and London. She is best known for finishing in third place on the second series of the BBC singing competition Fame Academy in 2003. In 2011, Willey was a contestant on The X Factor and made it to the judges' houses' stage of the competition. She returned to the show the following series in 2012 and made it to the live shows, but was eliminated after the first live show following a sing-off against Rylan Clark.
Paul Anthony Ryder was an English musician. He was a bass player and a founding member of the Manchester band Happy Mondays with his brother Shaun Ryder.
Gaydio is a radio station for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBTQ+) community in the United Kingdom, and is broadcast on 88.4 FM in Greater Manchester, 97.8 FM in Brighton, on DAB digital radio in Greater London, parts of the Home Counties, Manchester, Stockport, Brighton, Birmingham, Glasgow, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Leeds, Liverpool, Sheffield, Bristol, Newcastle upon Tyne and Portsmouth, and online through its website, mobile apps, Smart Speakers and the UK Radio Player. Since October 2018 a separate company, Gaydio Brighton, also operates a service in Brighton on 97.8FM and DAB Radio. The majority of Gaydio is networked with several content splits and bespoke local programming in Brighton & Manchester.
Gary Whelan, also known as Gaz, is a British musician. He is the drummer and a founding member of the Manchester band Happy Mondays and is currently performing with Yogi G and The Family Tree
Stacey Chanelle Clare Solomon is an English television personality and singer. She was a contestant on the sixth series of the ITV singing competition show The X Factor in 2009, in which she finished in third place. The following year, she appeared on the tenth series of the ITV reality show I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!, which she won.
Peter Hook & The Light are an English post-punk band, formed in May 2010 by bassist and vocalist Peter Hook, formerly of the influential post-punk bands Joy Division and New Order. The band also features Hook's son Jack Bates (bass), as well as Andy Poole (keyboards) and Paul Kehoe (drums), who both played with Hook as part of Monaco, one of Hook's previous groups. From the first gigs in May 2010, Nat Wason was the group's guitarist, however in July 2013 he was replaced by David Potts, another former member of Monaco.
Sweet Mercy are an English house music duo formed in the late 1980s, consisting of Eric Gooden and Eric Powell. In 1992 in Manchester, the duo founded their own house and techno record label, Bush Records.
