The sound and styles of two cities

Snookie · May 21, 2006

There is a good piece by Paul Morley in the Observer [here] on the Pistols impact on the music scene in Manchester. Actually, like much of Morley's better writing it is about quite a lot of things - aging, nostalgia, the random but significant connection between individual actions and social history - but probably the most interesting parts of it are his thoughts on the profound differences between the music scene in Liverpoool and Manchester.

Manchester and Liverpool were only 30-odd miles apart, and Eric's was one of the best music clubs of the period, so a few of us in Manchester would often make the journey in less than an hour, but the way the two cities' music developed during the few years after punk was vastly different. You can tell by the names of the groups. Liverpool names were eccentric, told stories and showed off: Echo and the Bunnymen, Teardrop Explodes, Big In Japan, Wah! Heat, Lori and the Chameleons, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, Dalek I Love You, Frankie Goes To Hollywood. The Manchester names were more discreet and oblique: Magazine, the Fall, Joy Division, Ludus, Durutti Column, the Passage, New Order and, ultimately, the Smiths. The music, while it shared the same influences, and was inspired by the same English punk personalities, sheared off in different directions. Only the Bunnymen and Joy Division retained any kind of remote atmospheric contact, feeding right into U2 .

The thing that struck me when reading it was the contraditctions between both cities musical and football characters. In foorball, its Manchester, and in particular United, who are the show off [for some reason Lee Sharpe's Club 18-30 hip wiggles and Cantona's tourette-ic posturing symbolise United for me], Liverpool the discreet, focused and ultimately more successful/important, just like the Manchester musical scene. This is partly traceable back to the people who have defined both clubs identity in the last 40 years [shankly/Paisley/Dalglish Vs. Best/Ferguson/Cantona] but what other factors are at work here?

BTW I cant think of two other UK cities that come close to matching the sounds of the two cities. The five 70s/80s classics selected by Morley illustrate that pretty well.

Five classics from Manchester

1 'Boredom' by Buzzc***s from the Spiral Scratch EP (New Hormones)

2 'Transmission' by Joy Divsion (Factory)

3 'Shot By Both Sides' by Magazine (VIrgin)

4 'Bingo Masters Breakout' by the Fall (Rough Trade)

5 'This Charming Man' by the Smiths (Rough Trade)

And five from Liverpool

1 'Read It In Books' by Echo and the Bunnymen (Korova)

2 'Reward' by Teardrop Explodes (Mercury/ Island)

3 'Big In Japan' by Big In Japan (Zoo)

4 'Better Scream' by Wah! Heat (Inevitable)

5 'Relax' by Frankie Goes To Hollywood (ZTT)

Edited May 21, 2006 by snookiejane

pipnasty · May 21, 2006

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