BBC Sounds is launching a new eight-part podcast charting the rise of the Madchester music scene ahead of the 6 Music Festival in Greater Manchester.
The Rise and Fall of Madchester is presented by Steve Lamacq and music and cultural PR creative Alison Bell.
The series follows the growth of Factory Records and the Haçienda, alongside the emergence of The Stone Roses, Happy Mondays and New Order, capturing the point where guitar music and club culture met.
Drawing on the BBC archive and new interviews, the podcast revisits the late 80s and early 90s, a period that reshaped British music and culture.
New contributions come from musician and A&R executive Mike Pickering, Haçienda manager and licensee Ang Matthews, musician and poet Kermit Leveridge, The Stone Roses’ tour manager Steve Atherton, Tim Booth of James, and designer and shop owner Leo B Stanley.
Archive material features voices including Joy Division’s Ian Curtis and Bernard Sumner, Shaun Ryder and Bez of Happy Mondays, singer Rowetta, broadcaster and Factory Records co-founder Tony Wilson, Mani, and Gillian Gilbert.
The Rise and Fall of Madchester launches on BBC Sounds on Monday 16 March and will also air on 6 Music on Sunday into Monday 23 March from 12am to 2am.
The podcast forms part of the station’s wider coverage around the 6 Music Festival, with a focus on the city that defined the sound and spirit of the era.
