As the Berlin Wall came down and a new decade beckoned, indie and dance collided and bands like The Stone Roses, Happy Mondays, Inspiral Carpets and The Charlatans spearheaded a new music movement dubbed 'baggy' or 'Madchester'. While the focus was on Manchester, it was an explosion that stretched from the Glasgow area with The Soup Dragons and Primal Scream to Liverpool with The Farm, Leeds with the Bridewell Taxis and Flowered Up in London.
The 'Madchester' sound incorporated elements of 60s psychedelia, 80s indie, 70s funk and contemporary house and hip hop; 808 State were an electronic dance act, The Stone Roses, a guitar band with a funky rhythm section, Inspiral Carpets used a Farfisa organ associated with 1960s garage punk and Happy Mondays played a truly unique blend of indie funk.
The Hacienda nightclub in Manchester co-owned by New Order was a catalyst and cultural centre for this music explosion, having played US house music from 1987. Another influence was the increasing availability of MDMA in the city.
Remixes were an important part of the indie dance crossover scene and 12" remixes here include Paul Oakenfold 's pioneering 'Think About The Future Mix' of Happy Mondays' 'W.F.L.', Terry Farley's mixes of Primal Scream's 'Come Together' and The Soup Dragons' 'I'm Free' and Andy Weatherall's reconstruction of James' 'Come Home'.
Also included are other indie bands who embraced dance music after discovering sampling and the new music technology including Aberdeen's The Shamen who'd started out as a psychedelic guitar band before evolving into a dance act and Stourbridge's self-styled grebos, Pop Will Eat Itself whose music metamorphosised from pop-punk into a hybrid of rock, hip hop and dance.
Hits include The Stone Roses 'Fool's Gold' (UK #9) and Happy Mondays 'Step On' (UK #5) plus there's dancefloor favourites such as The Charlatans' debut Hammond groove 'Indian Rope' and rarities including the excellent but forgotten 'Perfect Person' by Sinister Groove.
