Manchester 1976: Cambridge educated Tony Wilson, Granada TV presenter, is at a Sex Pistols gig. Totally inspired by this pivotal moment in music history, he and his friends set up a record label, Factory Records, signing first Joy Division (who go on to become New Order) then James and the Happy Mondays, who all become seminal artists of their time. What ensues is a tale of music, sex, drugs, larger-than-life characters, and the birth of one of the most famous dance clubs in the world, The Hacienda - a mecca for clubbers as famous as the likes of Studio 54. Graphically depicting the music and dance heritage of Manchester from the late 70's to the early 90's, this comedy documents the vibrancy that made Mad-chester the place in the world that you would most like to be.
Written by IGB
In an interview with Q magazine in the April 2003 issue, a reader asked Mick Hucknall his view to the comment about the insult on him at the end. Hucknall retorted that "Steve Coogan plays 'Alan Partridge' well because he is Alan Partridge in real life".
See more »
Goofs
Factual errors:
At the Sex Pistols concert, Tony Wilson identifies one of the groups there as "Stiff Kittens, later Warsaw, later Joy Division, and finally New Order". The band never officially went by the name Stiff Kittens; they did allow it to be used on a poster for a show because they didn't have any other name they could use, but the first official name for that particular band was Warsaw.
See more »
Quotes
[first lines]
Tony Wilson:
Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it's the latest craze sweeping the Pennines, and I've got to be honest, I'd rather be sweeping the Pennines right now. See more »