At the end of the 1970s, Manchester seemed to be sliding into the dustbin of history. Today the city is an international destination for culture and sport, and one of the fastest-growing urban regions in Europe. This book offers a first-hand account of what happened in between.
Arriving in Manchester as a wide-eyed student in 1979, Andy Spinoza went on to establish the arts magazine City Life before working for the Manchester Evening News and creating his own PR firm. In a forty-year career he has encountered a who's who of Manchester personalities, from cultural icons such as Tony Wilson to Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson and influential council leaders Sir Richard Leese and Sir Howard Bernstein. His remarkable account traces Manchester's gradual emergence from its post-industrial malaise, centring on the legendary nightclub the Hacienda and the cultural renaissance it inspired.
Manchester unspun begins in the gloom of a city still bearing the scars of the Second World War and ends among the shiny towers of an aspiring twenty-first-century metropolis. It is an insider's tale of deals done, government and corporate decision-making, nightclubs, music and entrepreneurs.
Andy Spinoza moved to Manchester from London at eighteen and never looked back. An early member of the Hacienda, he reported on the city's music scene for the NME and The Face. He founded alternative magazine City Life in 1983 and spent ten years as a gossip columnist for the Manchester Evening News. As boss of his own PR company, he promoted the dynamic post-industrial Manchester throughout the 2000s and 2010s. Married with three grown-up children, Andy lives in Stockport with his wife, Lynne.
Title: Manchester Unspun: Pop, Property and Power in the Original Modern City
Author: Spinoza, Andy
ISBN: 9781526168450
Binding:
Publisher: Manchester University Press
Publication Date: 2023-02-07
Number of Pages: 376
Weight: 0.7702 kg
'There is a line from the song Natty Dread by Bob Marley that goes If a egg Natty inna de red . Marley is saying if there is life, then I will be at the centre of it . The same can be said of Andy Spinoza in Manchester. Over the past forty years, the most culturally significant period in Manchester's history, Spinoza has been witness to and chronicler of the rise and rise of this city. He always looked the part. He is a writer and journalist, and I am pretty sure that in his City Life column he had a trilby with a pencil tucked behind his ear and a notepad in his pocket. Every great city needs a great chronicler. We are lucky to have Andy. Read on.'
Lemn Sissay
'From Madchester and the Hacienda to United and City, political intrigue and controversial property deals, Andy Spinoza reveals the inside story of modern Manchester. This is a fabulous, compelling book with a cast of larger-than-life characters - Tony Wilson, Alex Ferguson, Mick Hucknall, Tom Bloxham, Carol Ainscow, Howard Bernstein, Caroline Aherne and Gary Neville among them. First as observer, then as participant, Andy has enjoyed a ring-side seat in the renaissance and development of Britain's most exciting city.'
Michael Crick
'Andy Spinoza knows the real story.'
Jon Savage
'Beautifully written - a great read that feels important. The musical thread through the different eras is persuasive without feeling forced. This is an inspiring personal story, in which the power of Manchester rises from the page.'
Paul Unger, Editor, Place North West
-- .