LIVERPOOL V’S MANCHESTER

Disclaimer: The author of this piece would like to say right upfront that none of this is meant to be taken seriously. Well, apart from the central fact that Liverpool music is loads better than Manchester (obviously).

All opinions are my own. If you disagree with any of the nonsense that follows, then you can only blame me and not my employer, my family or any other organisation I may be associated with. I can reassure you that absolutely minimal thought/research has gone into this piece, so it is highly likely to be littered with inaccuracies, omissions and mistakes (but  let’s not let such trivia get in the way of an argument, shall we?) To prove my point, the first person I showed this to – a so-called ‘friend‘- told me I was an idiot because I’d failed to mention Liverpool’s  influential art school rock outfit  Deaf School. And finally, to try and head off pain in the bum nit-pickers when I refer to bands being from Liverpool, this means the wider city region. It’s just easier to go with the city brand even though I’m well aware that many of our greatest artists come from the Wirral, Knowsley etc., okay?

There’s a handful of important questions that have occupied great minds since time began. Is there really a God? Do other life forms exist in the Universe?  Is there a monster in Loch Ness? Did people really elect Donald Trump and Boris? I mean, really. But most important of all, which city is responsible for producing the greatest music of the last 60 years – Liverpool or Manchester?

What brought this fascinating debate to mind was the news that the Metro Mayors of Liverpool and Manchester are going to have a city DJ Battle fundraiser on 2nd February at Camp and Furnace. I’m sure this event will trigger lots of impassioned arguments about the musical merits of the two great cities. So to get ahead of the curve on this heavyweight topic, we’re going to start the discussion here with some well researched arguments from that renowned musical expert, Kevin McManus (or me, as I like to refer to myself).

The younger me would have responded to a debate like this with fire, passion and complete and utter bias on behalf of Liverpool, whilst dismissing Manchester with bitterness and bile. But I’m older and wiser now, a respected member of the community and a Council Officer to boot. So, for the following piece, please think of me like a musical equivalent to the blessed Laura Kuenssberg of the BBC: completely neutral, fair and absolutely trustworthy.

Clearly we shouldn’t personalise such an important debate, but it’s my piece so I’m going to start by doing exactly that: by looking at the two individuals representing their respective city regions. Firstly, in the interest of fairness, we should acknowledge that they are both good men doing great jobs for the communities they represent over what has been a very difficult period. I’ve met both men and worked with Steve Rotheram a little, so know about his history growing up as a music-loving mod. He’s someone who still retains affection for all things Jam/Paul Weller-related, in addition to a passionate love of music emanating from his home city. I also know he can drum a bit, which makes him a musician in my eyes. He also masterminded the 2012 Christmas Number One single ‘He Ain’t Heavy’ in support of the Hillsborough families. He is a lifelong Liverpool fan too. From my completely unbiased viewpoint, what’s not to like?

Andy Burnham seems like a decent enough man on the tele and he even bought me a drink once (although it was in the Mayflower, one of Bootle’s finest drinking establishments so it will only have cost about two quid). Apparently he was born in Aintree, just down the road from me, which gives him some credibility in my eyes. But he didn’t hang around there for long, so that’s some minus points and he supports Everton, which makes him doubly dubious. While Steve is responsible for a number one single, Andy’s musical claim to fame is that on a few occasions he played guitar while Fergal Sharkey sang ‘Teenage Kicks’. I witnessed this in the flesh when they ‘performed’ this at Knotty Ash Youth Centre (Andy was Culture Minister and Fergal headed up UK Music). I have to say, it’s something I wish I could wipe from my memory. Even with the actual vocalist from The Undertones singing, they somehow ruined one of the greatest songs of all time. I am a reasonable man but I found this particular crime against music to be unforgivable.

So now that we have established the merits of the two key individuals, based purely on actual, unarguable facts, it’s time to move on to the music of these two great cities (well one great city, and one that is miserable and full of Mancs).
To be honest, I’ve always loved music emanating from the North West of England. When I was a young lad my affections were probably shared fairly equally between music from Liverpool and Manchester. I was lucky enough to be around 15/16 when punk exploded, and even luckier that I was able to see some of the best bands of the time at the legendary Eric’s club in town. At one point, me and my mates were standing a couple of feet away from the frenetic whirling dervish that was singer Ian Curtis. You always felt like you were part of something special there, but when someone like Joy Division played, you felt like your head was going to explode. From that same period, gigs by Buzzcocks and early Magazine were also big stand-outs from that period.

But after this initial love, I’d argue that with a couple of exceptions the city has produced little else of note. I saw The Smiths early on in their career and it’s impossible to deny the huge impact they had. But let’s be honest, neither Morrissey or Marr have done anything truly great since (although at least Johnny Marr has retained his dignity and decency). We shouldn’t forget New Order either, who have been incredibly influential over the decades. Of course there were some other decent bands that followed – James, The Verve, The Fall, Happy Mondays, Stone Roses – but I believe that much of this good work is undone by the fact that this same city also gave us Simply Red.

Since then, I can only think of Oasis who have really made a mark and if you look at the facts, they are a Liverpool band in all but name. I met them early on when they were hanging around in Liverpool with The Real People, who were a huge influence on the early days of their career. Their debt to all things Scouse has continued throughout their career, and Noel still wants to be in a scouse band so much that he has made sure his High Flying Birds rhythm section is made up of two brilliant Liverpool musicians.

Now on to Liverpool. It’s a bit obvious to start with The Beatles, but I’m going to do it anyway. They are still the greatest Rock ‘n’ Roll band ever whose records stand the test of time. Just look at the body of their work – 12 astounding albums produced in a seven year span. George, John and Paul all went on to deliver even more musical greatness in their solo careers. Let’s be blunt – The Beatles changed the world – it’s as simple as that. If that wasn’t enough, Merseybeat produced many other great artists that enriched the world of music, such as Billy Kinsley, Jimmy Campbell, Cilla Black and Gerry Marsden.

I was only just born when The Beatles were on the rise, so my first brush with Liverpool musical greatness was at the already mentioned Eric’s club. What a breeding ground for talent this was. I saw Echo and The Bunnymen (when they still had a drum machine), Teardrop Explodes, OMD and many more emerge from this scene. My favourite band from this period was Big In Japan, whose chaotic brilliance barely contained the mercurial talents of Holly Johnson (later of Frankie Goes To Hollywood), Jayne Casey (all round cultural legend in the city), Ian Broudie (Lightning Seeds and much more), Budgie (Banshees) and big Bill Drummond (KLF, author, artist and general genius disruptor).

Around the same time as punk was taking off, The Real Thing were having chart success with a string of hit singles including ‘You To Me Are Everything’ and ‘Children of The Ghetto’. They are often forgotten about when people look at Liverpool music, but are a vitally important band in UK music history. They played at Liverpool International Music Festival a few years ago and had the whole of Sefton Park bouncing.

The 80s also bred China Crisis, Pale Fountains, The Christians… But the next big moment was the rise of Frankie Goes To Hollywood, whose first three singles all reached number one. For a few years they were the biggest band in the world and the ‘Frankie Says’ t-shirts were everywhere.

The late 80s saw a whole new raft of Liverpool guitar bands breaking through (The Real People, Top, Rain, The Stairs and Ian Prowse’s Pele). The goths in the city also had their own basement venue based around Planet X, with The Boo Radleys the most notable of those to emerge. Ian Broudie moved away from his successful production career around the same time to prove his own songwriting abilities with the Lightning Seeds.

In the hip-hop world, Bantu and First in Command were pioneers of the Liverpool scene. The success they deserved never came, but that doesn’t dilute how powerful they were.  The La’s finally released their debut album The La’s in 1990,  and The Farm finally broke through too. Always loved locally and championed by John Peel amongst others, the wider world became aware of their talents with the release of ‘Groovy Train’ and ‘All Together Now’. They were a band of the moment, had a number one album and chimed perfectly with the rise of house music and the indie/dance scene.

The Coral and The Zutons emerged from the Bandwagon scene at the beginning of the noughties and both went on to have mainstream success. Like many other Liverpool groups they have refused to conform, which has allowed them to develop their twisted psych pop in their own fascinatingly contrary way (original Coral guitarist Bill Ryder Jones has gone on to have a successful solo career in his own right).

Let’s not forget the women taking over the charts. Melanie C, Atomic Kitten and then Sugababes (featuring our own Heidi Range) dominated the Number One slot for a significant period. They were carrying on a grand tradition set by a real trailblazer in the shape of Lita Rosa, the first British woman to have a Number One hit, and of course Cilla who topped the charts with ‘Anyone Who Had A Heart’.

What sets Liverpool apart is a mysterious quality that means year after year, the city continues to produce an incredible array of musical talent. Music somehow matters more in Liverpool. It is all around us; it flows through the river, it seeps through the soil and permeates the air.

I’ve just worked on the ‘Discover the New Beat’ campaign with VisitLiverpool. It brilliantly captures the vibrancy of our current music scene, featuring the incredible talents of Koj, Lauren Lo Sung, Michael Aldag and Red Rum Club. A small snapshot of what is a really exciting time for the city, with artists such as Jamie Webster, The Mysterines and Crawlers all setting the world alight. Record label Modern Sky are a real industry powerhouse at the centre of the city’s rise to national musical prominence. Its roster boasts Michael Head, Red Rum Club, Keyside and Jamie Webster, who alongside Rebecca Ferguson, will be flying the flag for Liverpool music at the DJ Battle. His stunning new record ‘10 For The People’ is released on the same day via Modern Sky.

And of course, how could we overlook Liverpool’s electronic music scene? I mentioned the importance of the Hacienda in relation to Manchester, but I’d argue that Cream has had a bigger, longer lasting cultural importance. It was one of the first global super clubs and anyone who was there, particularly during the Oakenfold residency, will never forget it. We also have hugely talented DJs from Yousef (who first made his name at Cream before creating Circus), Camelphat, Girls Don’t Sync, Lauren Lo Sung and Sosa. We can’t not mention veterans Craig Charles and Greg Wilson either, who are still delighting dance-floors everywhere. Bringing it right back to date is Formby born Hayla, who has sung on several big dance tunes recently, including the massive ‘Where You Are’ with John Summit.

I could go on for hours, but as it is I’ve probably gone on for too long. In summary, I think any reasonable human being would come to the following conclusion: Liverpool is a city that is responsible for producing some of the greatest music ever made. We’re a city that is synonymous with music all around the world, producing some of the greatest songwriters ever. We’ve had more Number Ones than any other city, the biggest club, the most famous venue in the world in the shape of The Cavern, plus the ability to keep on producing intriguing new talent. Oh, and we delivered the biggest and best ever Eurovision (on behalf of Ukraine) in 2023 and we just so happen to be a UNESCO City of Music.

The final scores are in and have been ratified by an independent team of experts. They are as follows:

Manchester – 6/10
Liverpool  – 10+/10

This proves that Liverpool is the one true Music City.

Note: This piece is purely fun. A provocation aimed at raising awareness of the Steve Rotheram and Andy Burnham DJ Battle, raising funds for homeless charities across both Liverpool and Manchester. If you are able to, please buy tickets or donate to this very worthy cause here.

This piece doesn’t represent the official view of the council or the combined authority. In fact, it only represented my view in the hour it took to write it. No doubt if I bothered to read it back I would find myself arguing with large parts of it. Crucially, I made sure to ignore any facts that didn’t fit with my arguments. Steve and Andy are well aware that both cities have a glorious musical heritage and continue to produce the most exciting music. Despite the light-hearted views put forward here, it is my firm belief that we are two immensely powerful city regions and when we come together, we are stronger.

Written by Kevin McManus