Madchester refers to the scene that originated in Manchester during the late 1980s and early 1990s when bands recording for the city's successful Factory Records amongst others began to attract a lot of popularity.
During this period rock bands such as Inspiral Carpets (from Oldham), The Stone Roses, The Farm (from Liverpool), and The Happy Mondays emanated from Manchester as well as electronic music outfits such as 808 State and A Guy Called Gerald. The city had earlier seen punk rock outfits such as Buzzcocks, The Fall and Joy Division (from which New Order grew), and Manchester band The Smiths were one of the most popular indie groups of the 1980s. These earlier groups are not properly Madchester bands, but they are often compared to Madchester bands because of their origin in Manchester.
The Madchester sound is difficult to define, but generally includes a combination of psychedelia, guitar rock, and house music, and encompasses bands as disparate as The Stone Roses, who were more reminiscent of 60s guitar rock than dance music, and the Happy Mondays, who were an integral part of the rave scene in Manchester. As many Manchester bands unrelated to the club scene were labelled Madchester, the term is somewhat disputed. Producers such as Paul Oakenfold, Martin Hannett, Andrew Weatherall and Stephen Hague had a significant impact on the Madchester scene, frequently incorporating elements of the mid-tempo "Balearic" dance style associated with Ibiza nightclubs at that time.
It was also during this time that there was an influx of drug culture into the city (predominantly Ecstasy) that helped fuel the rise of some of the most popular dance music clubs of the time, such as Fac 51 Haçienda. "The Haçienda" was run by Factory Records record label impresario Tony Wilson and Factory Records also signed many of the artists associated with the Madchester scene, such as the Happy Mondays, New Order and The Other Two.
The 2002 film 24 Hour Party People is a semi-satirical depiction of the rise of Factory Records and many of the bands associated both directly and indirectly with the record label.
