Manchester One of the UK''s premier events cities
18 May 2010
Keywords: Manchester, events, live music, conferences, venue, bands, hire, AV
Manchester is one of the UK’s premier events cities boasting a huge variety of venues. This article provides details of some of Manchester’s better known venues as well as information on the city’s highly influential musical history
Manchester has long been known as one of the UK’s most innovative and prolific cities for music and the arts. Over recent years Manchester has developed into a bustling, cosmopolitan city increasingly famous for its shopping and international venues which attract thousands of national and international visitors every year. But it is Manchester’s industrial and working class history that has had the biggest influence on the unique styles of music that have been produced over the years.
In the 1960s Manchester produced bands such as The Hollies, Herman's Hermits and the Bee Gees who grew up in Chorlton before emigrating to Australia. But it was in the late seventies that Manchester began to truly compete with London as the UK’s capital of music. The Buzzcocks, The Fall, Joy Division (later New Order) emerged onto the live music scene bringing with them a unique sound that reflected the nature of their home city. The 80s bought bands including Happy Mondays, Inspiral Carpets, James, and The Stone Roses. These groups came from what became known as the 'Madchester' scene that also centred around the renowned Hacienda nightclub developed by founder of Factory Records Tony Wilson. Other notable acts to emerge from the Manchester scene include Take That and Simply Red. Greater Manchester natives include A Guy Called Gerald, Richard Ashcroft of The Verve and Jay Kay of Jamiroquai.
Manchester has many music venues and boasts the world’s busiest arena in the shape of the Manchester Evening News Arena. In terms of concert goers the MEN is ahead of Madison Square Garden in New York and the O2 Arena in London Arena. It seats over 21,000 and is the largest of its type in Europe. Other major venues include the Manchester Apollo and the Manchester Academy. Popular smaller venues are the Band on the Wall Roadhouse, the Night and Day Cafe, the Ruby Lounge, and The Deaf Institute.
Manchester has two symphony orchestras, the Hallé and the BBC Philharmonic as well as a chamber orchestra, the Manchester Camerata. During the 1950s, the city was home to the so-called 'Manchester School' of classical composers, which comprised Harrison Birtwistle, Peter Maxwell Davies, David Ellis and Alexander Goehr. Manchester also boasts the Royal Northern College of Music and Chetham’s School of Music making it a centre for music education. Manchester’s main classical venue was the Free Trade Hall on Peter Street, this was until the opening of the 2,500 seat Bridgewater Hall in 1996.
Manchester has a thriving theatre, opera and dance scene, and is home to a number of large performance venues, including the Manchester Opera House, which feature large-scale touring shows and West End productions; the Palace Theatre; the Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester’s former cotton exchange; and the Lowry Centre, a touring venue in Salford which often hosts performances by Opera North.
Smaller performance spaces include the Library Theatre, a producing theatre in the basement of the Central Library; the Green Room; the Contact Theatre; and Studio Salford. The Dancehouse is dedicated to dance productions.
Manchester also has a wide range of conference venues to suit any size event including the Manchester Central Convention Complex and the Kings House Conference Centre, as well as a huge number of hotels boasting corporate facilities.
If you are planning an event of any size or type in Manchester you may require hire audio visual equipment. As such you may consider the service provided by companies such as http://www.audiorent.co.uk/ and http://www.avrent.co.uk/ AV hire quote services. These companies allow AV hire customers to complete one on-line quote form which is then sent to AV companies who cater for the Manchester location and can provide suitable equipment and services. The Manchester AV companies will then contact you with quotes or to request further information regarding your event.
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