Manchester music legends now and then
25 November 2023, 18:00
See how your favourite Mancunian stars have changed over the years...
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Bez then and now
Bez: the wild man of baggy in 1989 and again in August 2022. Picture: Peter J Walsh/PYMCA/Avalon/Getty Images/ Mark Waugh/Alamy Stock Photo Known to his mum as Mark Berry, Bez was the Bolton-born sideman to Shaun Ryder in Happy Mondays. His goggle-eyed stare and lanky-armed “freaky dancing” became an icon of the “Madchester” era. He's now a contestant on the family-friendly celebrity ice skating competition on ITV, Dancing On Ice.
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Shaun Ryder then and now
Shaun Ryder performing onstage with Happy Mondays in November 1989 and September 2021. Picture: Peter J Walsh/PYMCA/Avalon/Universal Images Group/Lorne Thomson/Redferns/Getty Shaun William George Ryder was born on 23 August 1962 in Salford. He was 27 when he first appeared on Top Of The Pops. 30 years later, both Happy Mondays and Black Grape are still touring, while Shaun is something of an expert on UFOs. Who knew?!
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Bernard Sumner then and now
Bernard Sumner performing live with Joy Division in 1980 and with New Order in 2021. Picture: Rob Verhorst/Redferns/Joseph Okpako/WireImage/Getty Bernard Sumner, also known as Bernard Dicken, Bernard Albrecht and Barney Rubble, was originally guitarist in Joy Division, but became frontman when singer Ian Curtis died. As well as fronting New Order, Sumner also worked with Johnny Marr in the Manchester supergroup Electronic.
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Peter Hook then and now
Peter Hook performing live with Joy Division in 1979 alongside a 2019 portrait. Picture: Chris Mills/Redferns/Phil Barker/Future Publishing via Getty Images Peter Hook was bassist in both Joy Division and its successor New Order. When the band fragmented acrimoniously in the 2010s, Hook went on to front his own band, The Light, playing some of his classic material. He’s also written three books on his experiences in the music business.
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Morrissey then and now
Morrissey at the time of Meat Is Murder in 1985; and on stage in London, March 2020. Picture: Ross Marino/Jo Hale/Redferns/Getty Images Steven Patrick Morrissey was born in Davyhulme, but later moved to the Stretford area of Manchester. A part time writer and would-be musician, he became the singer of The Smiths in 1982. When the band spilt after five years, his solo career saw him become even more adored around the world, while still remaining controversial and opinonated.
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Johnny Marr then and now
Johnny Marr in his Smiths days in March 1984... and at the BRIT Awards 2020, where he was performing the new Bond theme with Billie Eilish. Picture: Pete Still/Redferns/Jim Dyson/Redferns/Getty Images Born John Martin Maher in 1963, Marr spent his youth in various bands before becoming guitarist in The Smiths - and one of the most influential musicians of the 1980s. When the band split in 1987, he became the ultimate sideman for hire, performing with The The, Modest Mouse, The Cribs and one half of Electronic with Bernard Sumner. He went solo in 2013 and head release three albums to date.
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Tim Booth of James then and now
Tim Booth of James in 1993... and 30 years later at South Facing Festival 2023. Picture: Independent News and Media/Lorne Thomson/Redferns/Getty Timothy John Booth was born in Bradford, but studied at Manchester University and became one of the city’s most beloved stars as frontman of James. They released their first EP in 1983 on the influential Manchester label Factory, but became famous at the turn of the 1990s with their single Sit Down and the album Gold Mother. Booth has also forged a solo career with the soundtrack composer Angelo Badalamenti as Booth And The Bad Angel.
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Tim Burgess of The Charlatans then and now
Tim Burgess of The Charlatans in 1989... and again in July 2021 at Camp Bestival. Picture: Tim Roney/Getty Images/Graham Tarrant/Alamy Stock Photo Born in Salford in 1967, Burgess became frontman of the Midlands-based Charlatans at the end of the 80s. The band became associated with Manchester off the back of their single The Only One I Know and the group released their 13th album Different Days in 2017.
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Liam Gallagher: then and now
21-year-old Liam Gallagher swigs a beer at the Fleece and Firkin in Bristol in March 1994.. and performing in Milan in July 2023. Picture: Rob Watkins/Rodolfo Sassano/Alamy Stock Photo William John Paul Gallagher was born in Burnage in September 1972. His band The Rain was given a makeover when his brother Noel joined in 1991 and began to write songs for the band, who were renamed Oasis. The rest, as they say, is history.
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Noel Gallagher: then and now
Noel Gallagher when still a roadie for Inspiral Carpets, pre-Oasis at the Hacienda, Manchester, 1989... and attending the premiere of The Beatles' Get Back documentary in November 2021. Picture: Peter J Walsh/PYMCA/Avalon/Universal Images Group via Getty Images/PA Images / Alamy Stock Photo Born in Longsight, Manchester in May 1967, Noel’s glittering career as a roadie for Manchester legends Inspiral Carpets was brought to a halt by his burgeoning career as a songwriter with the band Oasis. When that band split in 2009, Noel started a new group: Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds.
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Ian Brown: then and now
Ian Brown with The Stone Roses in June 1989... and performing solo at the O2 Academy in Edinburgh, September 2022. Picture: Brian Rasic/Getty Images/Phil Wilkinson / Alamy Stock Photo Ian George Brown was born in Warrington in 1963 and became singer with an up and coming Manchester goth band, The Stone Roses. After they changed their style and recorded a single in 1988 with New Order’s Peter Hook - Elephant Stone - they became the hottest band in the city and leaders of the Madchester movement. Their 1989 self-titled debut remains a classic album.