Manchester

Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England, with a population of 514,417 as of 2013. It lies within the United Kingdom's second-most populous urban area, with a population of 2.55 million. Manchester is fringed by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east and an arc of towns with which it forms a continuous conurbation. The local authority is Manchester City Council. Manchester is the third-most visited city in the UK by foreign visitors, after London and Edinburgh. It is notable for its architecture, culture, musical exports, media links, scientific and engineering output, social impact, sports clubs and transport connections. Manchester Liverpool Road railway station was the world's first inter-city passenger railway station and in the city scientists first split the atom and developed the stored-program computer.

Links To Peel


As well as his close ties with Liverpool, Peel also had an affinity with the Manchester area, stemming from the period in 1959 when he worked at the Townhead cotton mill in Rochdale. In 2009, a plaque was unveiled at the location of the former Tractor Sound Studios on Market Street in Heywood, which was financed by John Peel in 1973 after the Rochdale band Tractor had sent him a demo tape. During the unveiling of the plaque, Peter Hook, a former member of Joy Division and New Order who was present, revealed the significance of Tractor Sound Studios:


 * "For me the weird thing is that John Peel started here – starting this [Tractor Sound Studios], which led to Cargo [Studios], which led to Joy Division and then Factory Records."

Peel signed Manchester bands Stackwaddy and Tractor to Dandelion and throughout the decades was supportive of Manchester-based bands who did sessions for his shows, including mainstays such as the Fall and Smiths, as well as those on local labels such as Factory. In a unique move, Strange Fruit released a dedicated album of session performances by Manchester artists.

The DJ himself was even forced to concede, reluctantly, that there were times when Manchester held the musical edge over its northern neighbour, Liverpool. In 1987, looking back at the post-punk years – and the emergence of the Fall and Joy Division, alongside the Liverpool bands of the era – he told John Walters:


 * “I resented the fact that the best and the most interesting bands seemed to be coming out of Manchester. I’m afraid this is something that is still true.”

Away from music, in the world of football, Liverpool FC fan Peel was far less likely to be won over by top talent from Manchester:


 * "At the first boarding school I went to, there were about 80 boys. Seventy-eight of them supported (Manchester) United, I supported Liverpool and there was one boy who wasn't interested in football. So my prejudice against United has been lifelong."