So Much to Answer for

"Much of Manchester's attitude can be traced back to that stand-off between high and low, the smoothness of Wilson and the coarseness of Hooky. For every Durutti Column, there's a Slaughter and the Dogs. For every Morrissey, there's a Noel Gallagher. On that basis, New Order's manager, Rob Gretton, is probably the quintessential Mancunian. Eloquently taciturn, and as comfortable putting Situationist art-pranks into action (Gretton named the Haçienda after reading the Situationist International Handbook, which declared that 'the haçienda must be built') as he was putting the boot in to the away supporters at Maine Road."

In The Independent, Louis Barfe reviews John Robb's The North Will Rise Again: Manchester Music City, 1976-1996 and a new edition of Mick Middles's Factory: The Story of the Record Label.