“Mad fer it.” The phrase most associated with Oasis is a pronouncement of enthusiasm. And if you’re mad fer it, “it” might also be biblical. It’s one of many examples of how British culture, and specifically, Manchester culture, became ubiquitous through rock bands.
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Manchester is the largest city in Northern England and, after London, might be the second most famous English city behind Liverpool. The Beatles introduced the world to Liverpool. And the following five bands did the same for Manchester. Like The Beatles, they also changed rock history.
Joy Division
In Joy Division’s brief career, the band created a monumental shift in rock music. First, they helped pioneer the transition from punk to post-punk. Drummer Stephen Morris also made use of electronic drums, which further evolved post-punk to new wave. Then there was the emergence of TV personality Tony Wilson, who signed Joy Division to Factory Records. Wilson was pivotal to exporting Manchester culture.
New Order
Following Ian Curtis’s suicide, the remaining members of Joy Division continued as New Order. With continued experimentations using sequencers, drum machines, and synthesizers, New Order became the most consequential new wave band of the 1980s. The band, along with Factory Records’ co-founder Tony Wilson, subsidized The Haçienda nightclub, launching the indie dance scene called Madchester.
The Smiths
It’s not wrong to consider The Smiths the most influential British group of the 1980s. Led by singer Morrissey and guitarist Johnny Marr, they blended jangly chords with literary references and a working-class ethos. The band leaned into its Britishness and helped shape Suede and Oasis, and what later became Britpop. Marr famously lent Noel Gallagher a few guitars, which he’d used with The Smiths. Those guitars now thread two of the most important bands in British rock music history.
The Stone Roses
You don’t get to Liam Gallagher without Ian Brown from The Stone Roses. And you don’t get to the Roses’ baggy Madchester sound without New Order and The Haçienda (and Happy Mondays). The band’s mix of psychedelic rock and indie dance grooves also gave way to Britpop. Listening to Oasis, you can hear echoes of guitarist John Squire and his take on British blues. Liam Gallagher and John Squire made a record together in 2024. It’s the audio version of the concentric circles of two Manchester legends.
Oasis
With each step in Manchester’s rock and roll evolution, the bands kept getting bigger. And nothing was bigger than Oasis. When Definitely Maybe arrived, it was the fastest-selling British rock debut in history. Oasis helped transform the sound and look of rock music in the 1990s. Meanwhile, Noel Gallagher wrote the soundtrack to his generation with anthems like “Wonderwall”, “Don’t Look Back In Anger”, “Supersonic”, and a staggering list of iconic hits. If you want to see how this history evolved in only one song, listen to Noel and his High Flying Birds cover Joy Division’s “Love Will Tear Us Apart”.
Photo by Steve Rapport/Getty Images
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