Twistin’ my Melon Man: a Deep Dive into the Rise and Fall of the Madchester Scene

Twistin’ my Melon Man: a Deep 

Dive into the Rise and Fall of the Madchester Scene

It’s the year of bucket hats, Adidas and Mancunian accents. With Britpop stars Oasis back, music lovers all over the globe are being hit with a monumental wave of 90s nostalgia; whether that means arguing over if, “Country House” or “Roll With It” was the better song, or rocking 30-year-old football jerseys. With this revolution being led by the Gallagher brothers, the news sources are stating it's a Britpop summer.

However, reminiscing on the 90s Britpop scene, it is impossible to ignore the pioneers of the scene - the scene that exploded right before the storm of Britpop, and inspired nearly every British band of the 90s and beyond: Madchester.

Naturally, the name Madchester sounds a lot like a typo of the city of Manchester; however, the name actually refers to the Mancunian rave-alternative fusion music scene that emerged in the late 1980s and continued into the early 1990s. Leading bands of this movement include The Stone Roses, Happy Mondays, The Charlatans and Inspiral Carpets. The name ‘Madchester’ derives from the 1989 Happy Mondays EP, Madchester Rave On, which caught fire in British media and quickly became the name of the scene formerly referred to lightly as “indie dance” and “alternative”.

EP Madchester Rave On by Happy Mondays

Origin and the Haçienda 

Before its emergence in the late 1980s, Manchester had already established a musical reputation, being the powerhouse of post-punk and indie music; It had produced some of the most influential bands of the time, including The Smiths, Joy Division, The Fall and New Order. These bands were celebrated for their raw sound. They reflected the rainy city they called home in their lyrics and became famous for their gritty sound, which had shaped Mancunian music as far back as the punk scene of the 1970s.

It was in 1982 that post-punk group New Order, along with their label Factory Records, opened what is often referred to as the most important nightclub in England’s musical history: The Haçienda nightclub on Whitworth Street West. This venue aimed to replicate the New York club scene and hosted a large array of indie and post-punk live acts from bands such as The Smiths and Culture Club.

The Haçienda nightclub

During its first two years, the club struggled financially, and there was little engagement from people in the city. However, around 1985, the venue decided to shift its genre focus and introduced more dance and rave music rather than live, moodier gigs. The club leaned into the influence of the prominent Ibiza party scene and brought in more DJs to spin house tunes. This new shift picked up amongst club-goers, and by 1987, the Haçienda was unofficially the venue for acid house and dance music. The venue was a hub for the young, working-class music lovers and was a catalyst in popularising dance music in the city; eventually having a vast impact on the dance influence in the Madchester scene.

The rise of the bands

With all eyes on the Haçienda and its dance culture, bands began incorporating the new scene's elements into alternative and indie genres. A notable example is The Stone Roses, who used conventional guitars to create indie-dance tunes. This experimentation led to an overlap of music that could be both danced to at a rave and also played in a live gig setup.

The noticeable widespread buzz of the emerging scene traces back to late 1988, with the release of the Stone Roses’ single “Elephant Stone” and the Happy Mondays’ single “Wrote For Luck”. Later on, artist A Guy Called Gerald put out his debut single “Vodoo Ray”, which did well and brought a large amount of attention to the city’s scene from critics and the media. However, British media initially sniffed their noses at this young musical movement, often printing negative press about the bands, calling it a “phase” among working-class northerners. As the press often works, by late 1989, critics and journalists had completely changed their view on the phenomenon they had previously badmouthed and moved on to praise the bands.

Bez and Shaun Ryder of Happy Mondays (1989)

This press, although intentionally negative, only benefited the scene. A prominent example of this can be seen in the Stone Roses’ live television debut in 1989. Not even fully through the first chorus of “Made of Stone”, the power in the studio cut off, and the band was unable to finish their performance. While the show’s host attempts to move on to the next segment, we can see Ian Brown cross in the background yelling at the show’s crew with statements such as “you're wasting our time” and even calling the crew “amateurs” over and over. This incident created a lot of attention around the band, with some furiously calling the four Mancs “angry” and “unprofessional”, while a large number of others saw it as an introduction to the band and scene’s music and northern, bold attitude. In a way, this failed TV attempt was one of the best things to happen to the Madchester scene in terms of nationwide recognition.

With the release of the Stone Roses’ debut album in March of 1989, they were instantly skyrocketed into lists of the greatest albums of all time. It didn't take long for the band to do what is arguably the most notable moment in Madchester history, and play a 30,000 capacity Spike Island concert in 1990.

It wasn’t only the Stone Roses hitting the charts on behalf of all Madchester bands. Happy Mondays shot straight to number 5 on the singles charts with their 1990 songs “Kinky Afro” and “Step On”. In that same year, the band played a monumental gig, headlining Glastonbury Festival in June. James and Inspiral Carpets also both peaked at number 2 on the charts. The Charlatans, however, were the only band of the scene to hit number 1 on the charts with their 1990 album Some Friendly.

Adidas and bucket hats

Fashion and football were, of course, a crucial part of the Madchester scene. A typical “Madchester fan” can be characterised by their heel-bitten baggy jeans, Adidas sneakers, bucket hat and a (of course baggy) football jersey or bootlegged T-shirt. The style was heavily influenced by the working-class youth culture of Manchester at the time, which was the origin of the bands themselves. The baggy attire allowed for movement, especially in the situation of a rave, where there was a lot of dancing involved, and limiting clothing was not ideal.

Stone Roses fans 

The bucket hat became a symbol of the movement and was largely popularised by Stone Roses drummer Reni, who was never seen without it. The hat became a staple piece in British style, moving into the 90s and further, with Britpop bands adopting the attire - the most notable of them being the Gallagher brothers of Oasis and Damon Albarn of Blur.

                      Reni (The Stone Roses), in     Liam Gallagher (Oasis), wearing       Damon Albarn (Blur), wearing a 

                          his classic bucket hat                a bucket hat in 1996                         bucket hat in the late 90s

The impact of football in Madchester culture was extremely prominent, with the most famous being the involvement of the Stone Roses with Manchester United Football Club, even leading to a collaboration between the club and the band, along with Adidas in 2024. The importance of football in the movement is more than just a side-hobby, but a symbol of pride for their city and team. Naturally, with football becoming a symbol in the culture, so was Adidas. The classic SPEZIAL sneakers and three stripes defined the era and were rocked by bands and fans all over the scene. The importance of Adidas only grew in the 90s with the Britpop phenomenon growing from its Madchester influences, solidifying its importance in British music culture.

              The Stone Roses X Manchester United Collaboration (2024)

The end

All good things must come to an end, and that was truly the case for the short-lived Madchester era, which declined into an eventual halt in the early 90s. By 1997, the Haçienda had been shut down as a result of a multitude of gang and drug-related issues, along with financial struggles. The mainstream bands, such as the Stone Roses, began cancelling numerous shows and an entire American tour, accompanied by the statement “America doesn’t deserve us yet”. The band only ever released one other album after their successful hit, and spent the vast majority of their time battling legal disputes with their record label.

Happy Mondays had their share of struggles too, as the band began struggling with substance abuse during the recording of their 1992 album Yes Please!. The album was regarded as a “disaster” with its disappointing reviews from fans and a commercial rate of only 50,000 copies sold. By 1993, the band had parted ways.

Review of Yes Please! by Happy Mondays (1992)

With the pioneering bands and venues seemingly disappearing, music listeners and press alike were in search of the next new scene to take over the country - incoming Britpop.

Everlasting influence on music

Although momentary, the impact of Madchester continues to be prominent over three decades later, and has worked to shape the music and culture we know today. From Britpop tunes and lad culture to football anthems and clothing styles, Madchester was more than a brief music scene, but a legacy on Manchester’s musical significance and impact in Britain.

2025 might sound like the year of the Britpop return, but taking time every time you walk past an Oasis fan wearing a Reni-style bucket hat and SPEZIALs, or hear Pulp’s new Stone Roses-inspired single “Spike Island”, it’s easy to analyse the Madchester influences all these years later. 

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