A balmy Friday evening in the Northern Quarter, full of life and music. I was heading to one of the newest venues ‘Disorder’ deep into the unknown (pleasures?) of the basement to celebrate the Cherry Red Record labels finest punk signings and the launch of the album ‘Keeping Control’.
The album, a three disc boxset, features some of Manchester’s favourites, including Joy Division, A Certain Ratio, The Fall, John Cooper Clarke and Buzzcocks. The album is being released by Cherry Red Records and TJ Davidson and is described as ‘a celebration of all things Manchester from 1977 to 1981’.
On arrival at Disorder I spotted many familiar faces eager to celebrate this iconic release in a bar which features a beautiful mural by graffiti artist Aske (the same chap who painted the large Ian Curtis mural on the end of a building on Port Street), he has recreated his beautiful piece which now adorns the back wall of the bar.
Downstairs the party was in full swing with power pop band ‘Fast cars’ on stage. The band formed in 1978, and they are named after the Buzzcocks song. The band have had an exciting career, supporting some of the biggest names in music including The Jam and XTC. They were the perfect act to get the packed basement warmed up with people already up and dancing.
DJ John Reed kept the tunes coming between acts, playing a variety of punk classics, as well as some Cherry Red Records favourites. The next act to take to the stage was Edweena Banger (of Ed Banger and the Nosebleeds). We were treated to a full blown, eclectic mix of songs with Banger full engaging the crowd, a force to be reckoned with, they gyrated and shimmied through the audience with ease, this was certainly my favourite part of the evening (I have had Ed Banger and the Nosebleeds on repeat in the car since Friday night!).
The final act of the evening was The Distractions. Formed in 1975 and then reforming back in 2010, the band’s originally members Alec Sidebottom and Mike Finney joined later members Joe Brehony, Chris Dutton and Jonny Poole.
The audience were all on their feet by this time, eager to appreciate the nostalgia no doubt created by this special evening and one I have decided has helped me appreciate that I was certainly born in the wrong decade! TJ Davidson and crew certainly know how to put on a proper good do, and should you wish to find out more about the label and Davison’s work you can find their official website HERE.
