Madchester may have been born at the Hacienda in the summer of 1988, but the city had been in creative ferment for almost a decade prior to the rise of acid house. The end-of-the-century party is the definitive account of a generational shift in popular music and youth culture, what it meant and what it led to. First published right after the Second Summer of Love, it tells the story of the transition from new pop to the political pop of the mid-1980s and its deviant offspring, post-political pop. Resisting contemporary proclamations about the end of youth culture and the rise of a new, right-leaning conformism, the book draws on interviews with DJs, record company bosses, musicians, producers and fans to outline a clear transition in pop thinking, a move from an obsession with style, packaging and synthetic sounds to content, socially conscious lyrics and a new authenticity.

This edition is framed by a prologue by Tara Brabazon, asking how we can reclaim the spirit, energy and authenticity of Madchester for a post-youth, post-pop generation. It is illustrated with iconic photographs by Kevin Cummins.

About the Author
Steve Redhead was Professor of Cultural Studies at Flinders University, Australia. He was a founding director of the Manchester Institute of Popular Culture. His numerous publications include Repetitive Beat Generation (2000), We Have Never Been Postmodern (2011) and Trump Studies (2018).

Reviews

'The most incisive attempt yet to put acid house into a socio-political context.'
i-D magazine

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Book Information
ISBN 9781526142757
Author Steve Redhead
Format Paperback
Page Count 248
Imprint Manchester University Press
Publisher Manchester University Press
Weight(grams) 249g
Dimensions(mm) 198mm * 129mm * 13mm