Famous Bands from Greater Manchester

Manchester is home to some of the biggest artists, past and present, that the world has ever seen. With the city’s rich musical heritage and gig culture, the Greater Manchester region has seen the birth of musicians like the Bee Gees, Oasis, and Aitch. This is just a handful of the vibrant, talented artists that have come from the north-west.  

Bolton 

Kicking off the list of famous artists from Greater Manchester is the Buzzcocks, an English punk-rock band formed by Pete Shelley and Howard Devoto in Bolton, back in 1976. They went on to perform sell out shows and are still very much active to this day. 

Danny Jones is a British singer, famous for being ¼ of the band McFly. He was born and raised in Bolton and was interested in music from an early age. He has gone on to play sell out shows across the world with his bandmates and become a global sensation.  

Bury  

Elbow are an English rock band formed in Bury, Greater Manchester in 1997. In 2008 the band won the Mercury Music Prize for their album The Seldom Seen Kid, and in 2009 they won the Brit Award for Best British Group.  

The Fall were an English post-punk group, formed in 1976 in Prestwich, Greater Manchester and have been called "the most prolific band of the British post-punk movement." Some of their most famous tracks include Repetition, Totally Wired, Eat Y’Self Fitter, Hit The North and Bury!

Oldham  

Carl Cox is a British house and techno club DJ, radio DJ and record producer born and raised in Oldham, Greater Manchester. He has gone on to win numerous awards and is famously recognised for his "Music is Revolution" residency in Ibiza.  

Clint Boon is an English musician, DJ and radio presenter from Oldham, Greater Manchester. He originally rose to fame as the keyboard player of Inspiral Carpets. Throughout his career he has also appeared on Radio X and BBC Radio Manchester.  

Rochdale  

Gracie Fields was a British actress, singer and comedian from Rochdale, Greater Manchester. She was one of the top ten film stars in Britain during the 1930s and was considered the highest paid film star in the world in 1937.  

Sophie Leigh McBurnie, professionally known as Piri, is an English musician and was born in Rochdale, Greater Manchester. She is half of Piri & Tommy and has entered the UK charts several times with tracks including Soft Spot and On & On and their mixtape Froge.mp3 made it to the UK Dance Albums Chart.  

Stockport  

10cc are a British rock band formed in Stockport in 1972. The band was made up of Graham Gouldman, Eric Stewart, Kevin Godley and Lol Creme. The band formed the legendary Strawberry Studios in Stockport where they recorded their worldwide popular classics such as The Things We Do For Love, Donna, I'm Mandy Fly Me, Dreadlock Holiday and I'm Not In Love and where the likes of Joy Division recorded Unknown Pleasures.

Blossoms are an indie rock band from Stockport, Greater Manchester, and a local favourite in the north. Formed in 2013, they are made up of Tom Ogden, Charlie Salt, Josh Dewhurst, Joe Donovan and Myles Kellock.  

Tameside  

Mick Hucknall is an English singer and songwriter, who achieved international fame in the 1980s as the lead singer of the pop band Simply Red. The band are still performing and have sold over 50 million albums.  

Trafford  

Morrisey is an English singer and songwriter, famous for being the frontman and lyricist of alternative rock band The Smiths. He is from Urmston, Greater Manchester and has built a successful solo career for himself. Some of his most famous songs include There is a Light That Never Goes Out, This Charming Man, and Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now.  

Wigan  

The Verve were an English rock band formed in Wigan, Greater Manchester in 1990 by lead singer Richard Ashcroft. The band's commercial breakthrough was their 1997 album Urban Hymns, one of the best-selling albums in UK history. It features the hit singles Bitter Sweet Symphony, The Drugs Don’t Work, Sonnet and Lucky Man.  

Salford  

Joy Division were an English post-punk band formed in Salford in 1976. The band was made up of vocalist, guitarist and lyricist Ian Curtis, guitarist Bernard Sumner, bassist Peter Hook and drummer Stephen Morris. The bands second and last album, Closer along with the single Love Will Tear Us Apart became their highest charting releases.  

The band went on to become New Order after the death of Ian Curtis. They were the flagship band for Manchester-based independent record label Factory Records and its nightclub The Haçienda.  

Happy Mondays were formed in Salford in 1980. The group led the Manchester indie rock music of the 80s and the emerging UK rave scene, drawing heavily on funk and house to pioneer the Madchester sound.  

Manchester 

And lastly Manchester, the birthplace for world famous artists including The Stone Roses, Oasis, Take That, The Chemical Brothers, Everything Everything, The Hollies, Lisa Stansfield, The Courteeners, James, Pale Waves and The 1975.  

These bands have gone on to define the indie, pop and rock scene and formed large followings across the world. From The Stone Roses iconic set at Spike Island, landing in the middle of the Madchester era and seen by almost 30,000 fans, to the Courteeners playing sell out shows at Heaton Park, to legendary bands like Oasis.  

Another notable mention is icon Harry Styles and his close connection with Manchester. He recently became partners with Manchester’s newest and largest arena, Co-op Live describing the new partnership as feeling “very much like coming home”. He spent a lot of his youth in Manchester, growing up around the corner of Holmes Chaple and is a Manchester United fan.  

The music scene continues to live on and is engraved throughout the city, whether that is through street art, nightclubs celebrating their legacy or Manchester being a nurturing home for exciting new acts that will help shape the future of music. Manchester really is the home of Unmissable Music.