Pills ‘n’ Thrills and Bellyaches: The Story of Madchester – Part 1: From Punk to Dance Music

This BBC documentary goes deeper into exploring an era of music that has already been mentioned in The Mancunian Way and The Great Bleep Forward: Madchester, or how in the late 80s, Manchester became the world capital of pop. Who could have predicted that such an industrial city, characterised by massive unemployment and bad weather, would give birth to such a vibrant and hedonistic scene?

In part 1, Stuart Maconie tells the story of how Manchester’s effervescent post punk scene inspired New Order members and head of Factory Records’ Tony Wilson to create the Hacienda, a place that quickly went from being an art space to an eclectic club venue. Its cheap drinks and no door policy allowed bohemian working class Mancunians to escape their hard lives and enjoy Chicago’s and Detroit’s all new techno and acid house rhythms. A mix of two cultures that established Manchester as the coolest place on earth and inspired The Happy Mondays, The Stone Roses, and many more.

Listen here:

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Pills ‘n’ Thrills and Bellyaches – Part 1

The Mancunian Way: Manchester and its Music – Part 3: Factory Records

This is the third part of the Mancunian Way, a BBC documentary series about Manchester and its music. Listen to the previous parts here: Part 1, Part 2.

The 3rd part of the Mancunian Way explores the world of the quintessential Manchester record label: Factory Records. Founded in the rise of punk, it lead the way during the post-punk era due to its specific way of working with artists. It soon became the first record company outside London to achieve international succes.

Mark Radcliffe talks to Factory founder Tony Wilson, in-house producer Martin Hannett and many others about record sleeve design, urban angst, raincoat sales and the tremendous influence of the label and its bands such as Joy Division, New Order or the Happy Mondays.

    

Listen here:

Download Link (right-click > save as):
The Mancunian Way – Part 3

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