An asssessment of the role of the city of Manchester in British popular culture, from Victorian music hall and the jazz age, through northern soul and rock n' roll to acid house and Oasis. "Filled with a personal love of music and urban life and Saturday nights" Andrew O'Hagan.

The definitive account of the pop cult capital of the UK by Dave Haslam, one of Manchester's top DJs and journalists. Manchester, a predominantly working-class city, away from the nation's capital, has been at the margins of English culture for centuries. The explosion of music and creativity in Manchester can be traced back from Victorian music hall and the jazz age, to Northern Soul and rock and roll, through to acid house and Oasis. But its roots are in Manchester's history as a melting pot of popular idealism and dissent, from the industrial revolution on, via film, theatre, comedy and TV. And for Manchester, read England and the world. Dave Haslam is uniquely placed to tell this story -- Manchester, England is as witty, erudite and passionate as you would expect from a man who can say, again and again, "I was there". Like Jon Savage's England's Dreaming, this is the last word on the abiding centre of 40 years of UK pop culture.

Dave Haslam has written for the NME, the Face, the Observer and the London Review of Books. He built his DJ-ing reputation over 450 nights during the Hacienda's golden age, and for the Stone Roses at Spike Island. He currently has a fortnightly residency at Britain's biggest superclub, Cream.