Shaun Ryder performing with the Happy Mondays at the Hacienda, Manchester, 10 May 1989. Photograph: Kevin Cummins/Getty Images SHAUN RYDER Madchester hairstyles incorporated Shaun Ryder’s centre-parted ‘curtains’ and Bez’s short crop. Kids wanting something smarter went to Andrew Berry on Tib Street or in the Hacienda’s basement. Bootcut jeans and cords were essential. Clarks Wallabees in suede, Adidas Gazelles and shell-toed Superstars were go-to footwear. Yogi shoes with negative heels filtered through in the late 1990s. The Madchester/ Baggy look conveyed a confident Northern identity, with its roots in earlier working class street-styles, Scallies and Perry Boys, which were distinct to North West football crowds, but part of the broader Casual subculture. Madchester coalesced around a network of places including the Hacienda, International I and II venues, and the Eastern Bloc and Piccadilly record shops. Documenting it were M62, City Life and Debris magazines. The End fanzine (Liverpool) linked music, fashion, football, and politics.

This essay was curated by The Subcultures Network, which was formed in 2011 to facilitate research on youth cultures and social change, and commissioned as part of the National Lottery Heritage Funded project to build the online Museum of Youth Culture. Being developed by YOUTH CLUB, the Museum of Youth Culture is a new destination dedicated to celebrating 100 years of youth culture history through photographs, ephemera and stories. Britpop and Indie emerged directly from the Madchester scene, and influences from the Madchester movement are still present in the dress codes associated with these styles today. Madchester was the term used to describe the fashion and sounds coming out of Manchester’s iconic Haçienda nightclub during the latter part of the 1980s. Who coined the term Madchester?Kagoules, practical necessities in rain-drenched Manchester, became fashion accessories nationwide.

By the mid-90s, The Stone Roses were selling-out gig venues worldwide, from Manchester to Tokyo and bringing the Madchester sound to the masses. However, following line-up issues, the band decided to separate in 1996. From their psychedelic sounds to their baggy fashion and music, The Stone Roses helped popularise the Manchester music scene, influencing up and coming bands such as Oasis and paving the way for the Britpop scene of the mid-90s. Were Primal Scream a Madchester band?Elsewhere – London, Liverpool or at Sunshine Playroom (Brighton) – there were regional differences. Football tops were popular but flares were avoided. The term Madchester was first coined by Tony Wilson, owner of Factory Records. This label featured some of Manchester’s most influential bands on its roster and ran the infamous Haçienda nightclub – the home of the Madchester scene. Put simply, this label transformed the musical landscape in Manchester and around the world.

Manchester bands such as Happy Mondays, The Stone Roses, and The Charlatans led the Madchester fashion movement. The Britpop revolution of the 90s, led in large by Oasis, also had a huge influence on clothing styles and trends of the time. Inspired by the psychedelic sounds of the 1960s, baggy music spearheaded an entire fashion movement.Primal Scream were one of the most important bands in helping catapult the Madchester sound to the masses. Screamadelica , arguably the Scottish band’s most iconic album, was released in 1991, and made its mark on musical history. It infused techno, rave, and acid house, and brought these genres to the mainstream in the process. In the 90s, the clubbing scene changed, with dance music and DJs becoming as popular as the bands that preceded them. What is baggy music?