Madchester

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Madchester

The "Madchester" wordmark that appeared on the Happy Mondays' 1989 EP Madchester Rave On
Years active	Late 1980s – early 1990s
Location	Manchester, England
Major figures	The Stone Roses Happy Mondays Inspiral Carpets The Charlatans James 808 State
Influences	Second Summer of Love Acid house Indie rock Psychedelia
Influenced	Britpop Alternative dance Electronic rock

Madchester was a musical and cultural scene that developed in the English city of Manchester in the late 1980s, closely associated with the indie dance scene.^[1][2][3][4] Indie-dance (sometimes referred to as indie-rave^[5]) saw artists merging indie rock with elements of acid house, psychedelia,^[6] and 1960s pop.^[7]

The term Madchester was coined by Factory Records' Tony Wilson,^[8][9][10] and was popularised by the British music press in the early 1990s.^[11] However, the origin of the term can be traced back to a script meeting between Factory Records video directors Philip Shotton and Keith Jobling, known as the Bailey Brothers. They coined "Madchester" while developing a script and later suggested it to Tony Wilson. Subsequently, Wilson instructed the Happy Mondays to rename their EP from "Rave On" to "Madchester Rave On".^[12] The Happy Mondays' lead vocalist, Shaun Ryder, recalls, "It was our video directors, the Bailey Brothers, who came up with the term 'Madchester', but we said, 'Great, yeah, go with it', because Manchester was mad at the time."

Its most famous groups include The Stone Roses, Happy Mondays, Inspiral Carpets, The Charlatans, James, and 808 State. The scene was heavily influenced by the widespread use of drugs, especially MDMA.

A major catalyst for the distinctive musical ethos in the city was the Haçienda nightclub, co-owned by members of New Order, which played a pivotal role in what became known as the Second Summer of Love.^[13]