Joy Division were an English rock band formed in Salford in 1976. The group consisted of vocalist, guitarist and lyricist Ian Curtis, guitarist/keyboardist Bernard Sumner, bassist Peter Hook and drummer Stephen Morris.
The Sex Pistols were an English punk rock band formed in London in 1975. Although their initial career lasted just two and a half years, they became one of the most culturally influential acts in popular music. The band initiated the punk movement in the United Kingdom and inspired many later punk, post-punk and alternative rock musicians, while their clothing and hairstyles were a significant influence on the early punk image.
Factory Records was a Manchester-based British independent record label founded in 1978 by Tony Wilson and Alan Erasmus.
James Martin Hannett was a British record producer, musician and an original partner/director at Tony Wilson's Factory Records. Hannett produced music by artists including Joy Division, the Durutti Column, Magazine, John Cooper Clarke, New Order, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark and Happy Mondays. His distinctive production style embraced atmospheric sounds and electronics.
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.
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.
An Ideal for Living is the first EP by the English post-punk band Joy Division. It was released on 3 June 1978 by the band's own label, Enigma, shortly after the group changed their name from Warsaw.
Penetration is a punk rock band from County Durham, England formed in 1976. They re-formed in 2001 with several new members. Their debut single, "Don't Dictate", is now acknowledged as a classic punk rock single and their debut album, Moving Targets (1978), is still widely admired.
John Cooper Clarke is an English performance poet and comedian who styled himself as a "punk poet" in the late 1970s. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, he released several albums. Around this time, he performed on stage with several punk and post-punk bands and continues to perform regularly.
The Fall released many recordings following their inception in 1976. The band’s debut on vinyl came in June 1978 when "Stepping Out" and "Last Orders" were released by Virgin Records on Short Circuit: Live at the Electric Circus, a compilation of live recordings made at the Manchester venue The Electric Circus in October 1977 just before it was closed. Their first actual release as a group was the EP Bingo-Master's Break Out! (1978), and they released a studio album at a rate of almost one a year from their debut Live at the Witch Trials in 1979 to their final album New Facts Emerge in 2017.
Live 1977 is a live album by the Fall, first released in March 2000. Although the sound quality is poor and live documents of the Fall are plentiful, this album is of particular note as it is the earliest available recording of the group performing, apart from two tracks on the Short Circuit: Live at the Electric Circus compilation. It dates from December 1977, about six weeks after the group had recorded their debut single "Bingo-Master's Break-Out!". It is the only release on which the early song "Hey! Fascist" may be heard, though it was reworked as "Hey! Student" and released on Middle Class Revolt 17 years later. Live 1977 also contains very early versions of the 1984 single and "Oh! Brother" and the song "Cop It", later found on The Wonderful and Frightening World Of... but retitled "Copped It". The group's reworking of "Louie Louie", with John the Postman, is featured only on this recording. This was Tony Friel's last performance with the band. After a couple of short-stay replacements, his place as bassist was taken by Marc Riley.
Jon the Postman was an English punk rock singer from Manchester. Among his various jobs, the best known was that of a postman, hence the nickname.
The Invisible Girls were a British rock band, formed in Salford, Greater Manchester in 1978, to provide a musical backdrop to the recorded output of Salford punk poet John Cooper Clarke. The band's nucleus was Joy Division and New Order producer Martin Hannett and keyboardist Steve Hopkins, with contributions from, amongst others, Pete Shelley of Buzzcocks and Bill Nelson of Be-Bop Deluxe. The band also played on the first solo album by Pauline Murray, the eponymous Pauline Murray and the Invisible Girls and some singles, and later with Nico for the single "Procession".
Una Baines is best known as the keyboard player in the first line-up of British post-punk/new wave band the Fall. Her feminist viewpoint helped shape the band's early political stance and she was one of the very few Fall members, other than frontman Mark E. Smith, who contributed lyrics to the group’s songs.
The Drones are an English punk rock band from Manchester, England. For a period of time, the band were in their early days produced and managed by Paul Morley.
Garth Smith and sometimes credited as Garth, was known for being one of the bassists of the Bolton formed punk rock band, Buzzcocks.
A mini-LP or mini-album is a short vinyl record album or LP, usually retailing at a lower price than an album that would be considered full-length. It is distinct from an EP due to containing more tracks and a slightly longer running length. A mini-LP is not to be confused with the Japanese CDs issued in a "mini LP sleeve" or "paper jacket".
This is a timeline of music in Greater Manchester
The Electric Circus was a music venue in Collyhurst, Manchester, England, situated at the corner of Teignmouth Street and Collyhurst Street. It was an iconic and seminal venue for punk rock in 1970s Manchester.
