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Regions:
LondonMods, Glam Rock, Punk, Britpop; whatever the scene, London has been at the forefront of every musical movement. There's quite a roll call; the Rolling Stones, The Kinks, Pink Floyd, David Bowie, Queen, T-Rex, The Who, Elvis Costello, The Sex Pistols, The Clash, Fleetwood Mac, Spandau Ballet, The Police and The Jam all made their mark in this musical melting pot before conquering the world. Excitement and diversity is what London's music scene has always been about. The 1990s saw bands like Suede and Blur centre stage, complementing the funk and soul flavours of acts like Jamiroquai and Faithless to dance bands Basement Jaxx, Lemon Jelly and Groove Armada. London's diverse musical energies continue unabated across a fabulous mix of music genres with Razorlight, So Solid Crew, Miss Dynamite, Lily Allen and Babyshambles. South WestThe South West can lay claim to a host of talented musicians; PJ Harvey comes from Dorset, Joss Stone and Chris Martin (Coldplay) hail from Devon. Will Young went to Exeter University, Queen drummer Roger Taylor attended Truro School, while Muse hail from Teignmouth and got it together at the town's community college. Both Alison Goldfrapp and Tears for Fears come from Bath, first meeting at Beechen Cliff School, and apart from its famous annual festival, Glastonbury has produced home-grown bands like Kula Shaker and Reef. Bristol-born Massive Attack defined the city's unique sound but nearby Beth Gibbons and Geoff Barrow put Portishead on the rock 'n' roll map when they named their band after the quiet coastal town where keyboardist Barrow spent his teenage years. England's NorthwestManchester remains one of the country's key musical meccas, a city at the heart of inspirational and diverse musical styles, from Herman's Hermits to The Bee Gees, Joy Division to The Smiths, Happy Mondays to the Chemical Brothers. Or take your pick from this assorted bunch: Take That, New Order, Stone Roses, James, Oasis, Inspiral Carpets, The Hollies, Simply Red, Doves, Elbow, M People and Badly Drawn Boy. South EastBands who have hailed from the South East include Level 42 (Isle of Wight), Fatboy Slim and The Kooks (Brighton), Radiohead and Supergrass (Oxford), while The Cure come from Crawley and Paul Weller and The Jam put Woking on the musical map. Keane attended the famous Tonbridge School in Kent and named their band after their housemistress, Cherry Keane, who encouraged them to form a band. YorkshireWith the emergence of Arctic Monkeys, Yorkshire's legacy of 1980s electro-pop has finally given way to a more raw sound - young guitar bands with witty lyrics and simple guitar riffs. Until Arctic Monkeys, these artists were some of Sheffield's best-known musical exports: Human League, Heaven 17, Cabaret Voltaire, Jarvis Cocker and Pulp, Def Leppard, Joe Cocker, Gomez, ABC, Moloko and Richard Hawley. Meanwhile in Leeds those rich Yorkshire sounds continue with artists like The Kaiser Chiefs, Corinne Bailey Rae, Chumbawumba, Sunshine Underground, Pigeon Detectives and Black Wire. Also from the region are Everything But the Girl who took their name from the slogan of Turner's Furniture in Beverley Road, Hull. Paul Heaton's bands, The Housemartins and Beautiful South also came from Hull. Sheffield is a compact city that is easy to get around and dip your toe into every type of music, while in Leeds, there's a great live gig scene to discover and it is also known as the 'Knightsbridge of the north' for its excellent shopping! North EastThe North East has created a wealth of musical talent; there's Sting, Bryan Ferry of Roxy Music, The Animals, Neil Tennant of the Pet Shop Boys, Lighthouse Family, Dire Straits, Lindisfarne, Pete Doherty from Babyshambles/The Libertines, The Toy Dolls and Eurythmics musician and record producer Dave Stewart, who, like the Futureheads, hail from Sunderland. Also local are Maximo Park - best live band at the Digital Music Awards - and Prefab Sprout were responsible for putting another park - Langley Park (near Durham) - firmly on the music map with their 1988 album From Langley Park to Memphis. Band members Martin and Paddy McAloon hail from Durham, while another band member Wendy Smith comes from Middlesbrough, as does singer Chris Rea. Other local musical luminaries include Cheryl Tweedy from Girls Aloud and actor-cum-singer Jimmy Nail. East MidlandsThe array of musical talent that started life in this part of England include Arnold George Dorsey (better known as Engelbert Humperdinck), the youngest boy of a family of ten children originally from Leicester. Absolutely no relation are rockers Kasabian, also from Leicester. Buxton is the birthplace of Lloyd Cole, Alvin Stardust grew up in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, while both Thom Yorke from Radiohead and Bauhaus lead singer Pete Murphy were born in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire. Made up of the six counties of Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire, Northamptonshire and Rutland, East Midlands has the magnificent country houses of Burghley and Chatsworth, featuring in the recent films Pride & Prejudice and Da Vinci Code, in addition to Althorp, Princess Diana's former home. This is also the location of Silverstone, the home of the British Grand Prix and the vibrant city of Nottingham. Heart of EnglandAt first, Robbie Williams may not seem to have much in common with Guns n' Roses guitarist Slash, but they both hail from Stoke-on-Trent (Slash later left for Los Angeles in the mid-1970s). And the region's contribution to heavy metal music does not end there. Ozzy Osbourne and all the original members of Black Sabbath come from Aston and still have the accents to prove it. Two members of Led Zeppelin hail from the region - singer Robert Plant from West Bromwich and the late drummer John Bonham from Redditch while Judas Priest came from Birmingham - and not hell. While Beverley Knight hails from Wolverhampton and Coventry produced the Two-Tone bands, The Specials and The Selecters, Birmingham lays claim to an extraordinary supply of talent that includes Duran Duran, Jamelia, Ocean Colour Scene, The Moody Blues, UB40, Dexy's Midnight Runners, the Electric Light Orchestra, the Fine Young Cannibals and Editors. With more students than any other city outside London, Birmingham has a thriving music scene, and the club scene is one of the liveliest in the country. There's the bustle of bars on Broad Street, hip nightspots in the Mailbox, The Jam House supported by Jools Holland just off St Paul's Square and an abundance of restaurants in which to eat and be merry. East of EnglandEssex claims a host of musical stars: The Prodigy hail from Braintree, Blur from Colchester, while Basildon natives include Vince Clarke (Yazoo and Erasure) and Alison Moyet, as well as Depeche Mode who met at school here. Billy Bragg hails from Barking - and is now universally known as 'the Bard of Barking' - as does U2 guitarist The Edge (real name:David Evans) although his family returned to Dublin soon after. Hertfordshire claims three Spice Girls: Geri Halliwell (Watford), Victoria Beckham (Goff's Oak) and Emma Bunton (Barnet), while Simon Le Bon was born in Bushey and Wham!'s George Michael and Andrew Ridgely met at Bushey Meads Comprehensive School and Kim Wilde attended school in Ware. Roger Taylor of Queen was born in Norfolk (King's Lynn) and The Darkness hail from Oulton Broad – just outside the seaside resort of Lowestoft. |
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Clubber's Guide to Liverpool |
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