Rip&Burn April 2005 Issue



THE MADCHESTER TOP 10


01 A Guy Called Gerald - Voodoo Ray
Madchester's acid house anthem received twice the votes of any other song. It's not hard to see why - despite its age, Gerald Simpson's track sounds as fresh as it did back 1988. As Ian Brown put it, Voodoo Ray was 'a brand new voice for music in this country'.

02 Happy Mondays - Step On
The moment that Happy Mondays - and Madchester - went truly mainstream, thanks to slick production from Paul Oakenfold and an epoch-defining video. Steve Diggle: 'A Manchester classic, and sums up that great period for the city's music. I remember the original John Kongos song, which was Number 1 in the 70s, and the Mondays took it a step further and made it really danceable.'

03 Stone Roses - Waterfall
Epic and uplifting, this tale of a girl who finally sees the light thanks to drugs became the anthem for a generation of indie fans who finally 'got' ectasy. Ian Brown: 'I think there was magic in the air'.

04 Happy Mondays - Wrote For Luck (Vince Clarke remix
Simultaneously shambling and uplifting, WFL was cited by many of our panel as the moment that Madchester began, thanks to remixes from electropop supremo and Depeche Mode alumni Vince Clarke and DJ Paul Oakenfold.

05 New Order - Confusion
Whether it's the original mix, the Arthur Baker remix or the recently discovered 808 remake, this is a crucial track in New Order's move from gloom merchants to disco kings. Gerald Simpson: 'It's a track that's always inspired me; the production, especially the drums are fantastic'.

06 Stone Roses - Fools Gold
A little reminder of what could have been, if only the Roses had kept the momentum going. The band's most dancefloor-friendly tune still receives heavy rotation, and yet even at ten minutes it's never tiresome: 'Credit to Mr Brown', as Tony Wilson put it.

07 Charlatans - The Only One I Know
The Charlatans don't consider themselves 'Madchester', and they've certainly outlived the scene, but this track was the closest they came to the sound, style and spirit of The Stone Roses - while still maintaining their own identity.

08 Inspiral Carpets - This Is How It Feels
A kitchen-sink drama that never gave in to the bandwagon... the best is military and clipped rather than baggy, and the organ dominates over guitars, but the heavily accented vocals and gritty subject-matter make this a Mancunian classic.

09 New Order - Fine Time
Tony Wilson: 'Everyone says Madchester broke through in November '89 when Stone Roses and Happy Mondays appeared on Top Of The Pops, but exactly a year before New Order were on with Peter Hook doing an impression of Bez when only 400 people knew who he was'.

10 Black Grape - Kelly's Heroes
Proof, if it were needed, of Sean Ryder's genius: after being written off as a has-been following the Monday's messy implosion, he returned with a song as anthemic and hedonistic as anything off Pills'n'Thrills. Then again, maybe it was Bez who was the true genius...


The Panel: Ian Brown (Stone Roses), Peter Hook (New Order), Anthony Wilson (Factory Records), Gerald Simpson (A Guy Called Gerald), Bez (Happy Mondays), Steve Diggle (Buzzcocks), Tom Dunmore (Editor Of Rip&Burn) and our writers (Paolo Hewitt, Linsey Fryatt, Derek Hammond, Gary Parkinson, Si Hawkins, Daniel Radley, Andy Mitten, Jon Bentley, Nick Moore and Kevin Cummings.





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