Tomato ketchup up the bum...

Manchester (home town) is a place that has changed a lot since the late 90's. Not too many people realise but Manchester was one of the recent(ish) cities to be damaged by terrorism. On June 15th 1996 a bomb was detonated in the centre of Manchester (causing £411m of damage) by the IRA, thankfully no one was hurt. The city was devestated as half of its commercial district was ripped apart in a time where bomb attacks were unheard of. Since that time however there has been an amazing change in the city centre, £1.2 billion in fact, and its now a truly wonderful city. At the time of all this I was at school, and was actually within close proximity of the bomb blast (about 900ft away), I was also working for a Manchester radio station, and the music in Manchester has always thrived. At the time there were a lot of famous up-coming local music acts and some have grown along with the town. The first band, Doves, who have always been a personal favourite performed some amazing sets on our radio and this song, The Man Who Told Everything, is a true fave which is the perfect Indie song. The other performer that we saw a lot of was Damon Gough (Badly Drawn Boy) who provides a perfect example of a typical mancunian, don't let those Irish Gallagher brothers fool you. Elbow, who are now known very well throughout the UK have always had their own brand of happy cheeky indie, Newborn, reminds me of the first time I heard the song, in the middle of Manchester in the rain where time almost slowed down (make sure you listen to the organ-age at the end). The final two, I am Kloot and Alfie, are two that are still struggling for the limelight, but still provide us with some brilliant music......enjoy!

Badly Drawn Boy - Once Around the Block
Doves - The Man Who Told Everything
Elbow - Newborn
Alfie - Bookends
I am Kloot - Titanic