Manchester’s Music Soul: Oasis and beyond Mike Pickering and John Robb
Event details
Oasis, The Stone Roses, Happy Mondays, James: the Mancunian music scene is legendary.
Join ultimate industry insiders Mike Pickering and John Robb for a journey through Manchester’s musical soul, from the 1950s backstreets to the present day. Hear revelatory accounts from their lives at the heart of the industry and the icons they’ve met along the way - including the Gallagher brothers and the city’s most explosive export, Oasis.
Mike, author of Manchester Must Dance: A Life of Music, Madness and Moving On Up, has lived through decades of rapid change in popular music. As an influential DJ he introduced house music into the legendary Haçienda. He signed Happy Mondays and James to Factory Records before working with Kasabian, Gossip and Calvin Harris at Sony. His Mercury Prize-winning, multi-million-selling group M People transformed the music industry's attitude to dance music.
John, author of Live Forever: The Rise, Fall and Resurrection of Oasis and Punk Rock Ruined My Life. And Other Stories, has lived a life in music. From touring the world with postpunk band the Membranes to being the first person to interview Nirvana, he has seen it all. An on-screen commentator, journalist, DJ and bestselling author, he discovered The Stone Roses for weekly newspaper Sounds and did early interviews with The Jesus and Mary Chain and The Manics, before moving on to legends such as Mark E Smith, Nick Cave and Patti Smith.
Join Mike and John as they explore the place and people that have shaped British musical and cultural history.
Please note: This event will be taking place in the Ron Cooke Hub, not the Piazza Building as previously advertised in the Festival brochure.
Book sales
You can buy copies of many of our speakers’ books from Fox Lane Books, a local independent bookseller and Festival partner. In some cases, author signed bookplates are available too.
Image credit: John Robb photo by John Middleham.
About the speakers
Mike Pickering is a musician and DJ. He began his career DJing at the Haçienda's Nude and Hot nights and was a founding member of the bands Quando Quango and M People. As an A&R executive he worked with a string of legendary artists, including Happy Mondays, James, Gossip and Calvin Harris. He is a lifelong Manchester City fan. His memoir Manchester Must Dance: A Life of Music, Madness and Moving On Up is published by Manchester University Press.
John Robb is bassist and singer for postpunk dark energy mainstays the Membranes. A bestselling author, presenter, journalist, DJ, publisher, model and talking head, he also founded the music and culture website Louder Than Words. He was chosen by Noel Gallagher to do the exclusive Definitely Maybe 30th-anniversary interview. His latest books are Live Forever: The Rise, Fall and Resurrection of Oasis (HarperNorth) and Punk Rock Ruined My Life. And Other Stories (Manchester University Press).
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