Shrine to Madchester will be city’s ‘coolest ever bar’
PLANS FOR VENUE THAT WILL CELEBRATE PAST ERA OF MUSIC AND FASHION
AMBITIOUS plans to create a Madchester bar celebrating Manc music, art and culture have been revealed with the owners saying it could be ‘the coolest bar the city has ever seen.’
A Facebook appeal about the ‘Madchester bar’ was launched earlier this month by the team behind the madchester.com website dedicated to all things Manc, announcing plans for a live music venue that will celebrate the music of the city with a host of authentic memorabilia adorning the walls.
Anthony Donnelly, founder of global fashion label Gio-Goi, is behind the Madchester bar venture with a group of Manc entrepreneurs.
They jointly own the trademark to all things ‘Madchester’ - the phrase coined to describe the musical era in Manchester in the late 80s and 90s defined by the music, fashions and culture of a halcyon time in the city.
They held a number of Gio Goi after-show parties following the Stone Roses gigs earlier this year, featuring DJ sets from Manc icons like Clint Boon, Bez, Graeme Park and Rowetta which were a ‘raging success.’ They now believe there’s a huge appetite to replicate that spirit with a new cultural hub in the city.
Anthony said: “It might be considered an old movement, but it’s not going away.
“Love it or loathe it, like marmite, the Madchester myth is just getting bigger.
“Like The Beatles have The Cavern in Liverpool, we should have a place for young and old to discover what our history is.
“You can’t get away from it, you can’t escape it, so why not embrace it and give the people what they want?”
Anthony says the bar wouldn’t just be about the past though.
He said: “The demographic of the visitors to the social media speak for themselves, families have been raised listening to their parents’ music from their hazy days from the Manchester period as well as Oasis that followed. There will also be new music played obviously as we can’t just keep banging on about the past, all Manchester music will be celebrated, like Cabbage and Blossoms, so there’s something for everyone young and old.”
Anthony says they’ve already had the support of a number of high profile names to the plans, but are keen to get the wider support of the city too.
He said: “We need it to be the number one tourist attraction in the city, so it needs more than just us.
“We’re just going through the offers now, but we need someone to take the brand with us, to open probably the coolest bar the city has ever seen. It’s like when they said the Hacienda must be built... the Madchester bar must be built... everything starts with a dream doesn’t it?”
Anthony says the plans are at an early stage but hopes the Madchester bar will be open by the summer of 2018.
He said: “It will definitely open but on what scale yet, we don’t know.
“It needs to be a substantial venue based on the huge response and the success of the official Roses after shows and future events planned which have been overwhelmed by fans.”