In 1985 two Manchester bands release their first records on the very same day. The Stone Roses and The Happy Mondays barely register beyond the city. They are promising, scruffy… and largely ignored. But elsewhere in Manchester, something far more seismic is taking shape. In community halls, tower blocks and semi-legal parties, imported house records from Chicago and Detroit begin changing the temperature in the room. A new chemical arrives and with it a new way of feeling. Strangers embrace. Dance floors dissolve old boundaries. The Haçienda, once awkward and half empty, starts to pulse.Episode 3 of The Rise and Fall of Madchester tells the story of the moment when guitars collided with house, when ecstasy rewired a generation and when Manchester stopped documenting its decline and started losing itself in the dark.Featuring archive interviews from Noel Gallager, Liam Gallagher, Shaun Ryder, Bez, Peter Hook, Mani, Chris Jam, and Tony Wilson alongside new interviews with Angela Matthews, Mike Pickering and Kermit. A BBC Audio Production.

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“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.

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