Stockport Music Story

18/08/2024

What an amazing day unveiling the 10cc plaque at Strawberry Recording Studios with our very special guests Peter Tattersall founder of the studios, Peter Wadsworth curator of the Strawberry Studios archive and Liam Newton, author of the definitive biography on 10cc ‘The Worst Band in the World’.

It was a very special opportunity for us to remember the groundbreaking music made at Strawberry inside the place where all the magic happened and we are so grateful to Damian, the owner of the building for making this possible.

It was wonderful to hear Peter Tattersall telling the story of the recording of ‘I’m Not In Love’ inside the control room and spine chilling to hear the unreleased version of the song resonate around what was the studio space.

Special thanks to Paul Mcnulty for getting in touch with Lol Crème about the event and reading out a wonderful personal message from him talking about how his memories of making legendary music in Stockport.

Massive thanks to the team at The Red Bull for their delicious ‘Dreadlock Holiday’ hot buffet that and for their great hospitality as ever.

It was lovely to meet everyone who came on the tour from as far afield as Oxford and Leeds and our guest Liam who travelled from his home in St Albans to be part of the event.

Thank you to everyone who supported the event and our project through the purchase of our Strawberry Studios Forever album and Stockport Music Story maps.

We are very grateful for the support of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund which has made it possible to produce a series of commemorative record plaques in Stockport. 🙏 🙏 🙏

13/08/2024

This year we have been busy filming our Stockport Music Story podcasts inside the iconic Strawberry Recording Studios. On this day John interviewed two legendary Peters - the ever youthful Pete Maclaine still performing in his eighties and the ever knowledgeable Dr Peter Wadsworth, the curator of the Strawberry Studios archive.

We can’t wait to share these fascinating interviews with you, made possible with funding from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.

04/08/2024

Only two tickets left for our 10cc Plaque Unveiling & Inside Strawberry Studios Tour on Saturday 18th August.

We've sold 28 tickets and we can only go to 30 tickets because of space inside Strawberry Recording Studios.

If you'd like this unique opportunity to see where the magic happened, book your tickets now!

Unveiling the 10cc Plaque on Strawberry Studios & a unique opportunity to see inside this iconic building with a talk from 10cc author Liam Newton

01/08/2024

Many thanks to The EdgeMan for documenting our plaque unveilings of Inter-City Studios and Unknown Pleasures and his chats with Hooky and Clint Boon. A great watch!

The unveilings come as part of a 'Stockport Music Story' walking tour, and will feature special guests Peter Hook (Joy Division, New Order), Clint Boon This ...

01/08/2024

We had a wonderful day taking members of Woodley & Bredbury Community Neighbours group on a tour around Stockport taking in the sites of musical significance. We spent time in the Strawberry Recording Studios exhibition in Stockport Story Museum and looking at the commemorative plaques around Stockport Old Town. The tour ended with members enjoying lunch at the recently restored The White Lion. Thank you to David Parkinson for all his efforts organising the event and to support from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund for making this possible. 🍓

26/07/2024

Sad news of the passing of blues legend John Mayall. John was brought up in Cheadle Hulme and spent many of his formative years living in a treehouse in the family garden, the inspiration for his song ‘Home in a Tree’. RIP John.

It is with heavy hearts that we bear the news that John Mayall passed away peacefully in his California home yesterday, July 22, 2024, surrounded by loving family. Health issues that forced John to end his epic touring career have finally led to peace for one of this world’s greatest road warriors. John Mayall gave us ninety years of tireless efforts to educate, inspire and entertain.

In a 2014 interview with The Guardian, John reflected, “[blues] is about – and it’s always been about – that raw honesty with which [it expresses] our experiences in life, something which all comes together in this music, in the words as well. Something that is connected to us, common to our experiences.” That raw honesty, connection, community and playing of his will continue to affect the music and culture we experience today, and for generations to come.

An appointed OBE (Officer of the British Empire), 2x Grammy-nominated artist and recent inductee to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, John is survived by his 6 children, Gaz, Jason, Red, Ben, Zak and Samson, 7 grandchildren and 4 great-grandchildren. He is also surrounded with love by his previous wives, Pamela and Maggie, his devoted secretary, Jane, and his close friends. We, the Mayall family, cannot thank his fans and long-list of bandmembers enough for the support and love we were blessed to experience secondhand over the last six decades.

John closed that same Guardian interview by reflecting further on the blues, “To be honest, I don’t think anyone really knows exactly what it is. I just can’t stop playing it.” Keep on playing the blues somewhere, John. We love you.

17/07/2024

Over the last few months we've been busy recording The Stockport Music Story podcast at Strawberry Studios in Stockport. Episode One has the legendary Peter Tattersall being interviewed by Dr Strawberry Peter Wadsworth. Please have a watch and find out the story of what happened when Peter decided to set up 'Inter-City Studios' on Great Underbank which would become the world-famous 'Strawberry Recording Studios'.

In EPISODE 1 of The Stockport Music Story podcast, Dr Peter Wadsworth, historian and archivist of Strawberry Studios, speaks to Peter Tattersall, the founder...

12/07/2024

We had an amazing day with the members of the Primus group at Disability Stockport discovering all the fascinating facts of Stockport’s Music Story. Thank you to everyone who joined us. We had a fabulous time singing ‘Matchstalk Men and Matchstalk Cats and Dogs’ in Stockport Museums and Galleries and some dancing back at DS Headquarters. Thanks to for making this tour possible.

12/07/2024

What a lovely afternoon filming our podcast with John and Clint at the iconic Strawberry Studios and talking about the new vinyl release of Strawberry Studios Forever. Massive thanks to Dave from Rich TV for film and photography and to the UK Shared Prosperity Funding for making this possible. 🍓

28/06/2024

Thank you to the Romiley and District U3A group for inviting us to come and talk to their members at Romiley Methodist Church. We had a wonderful time meeting everyone and discovering some fascinating personal stories connected with Stockport’s musical history.

21/06/2024

Just a little taste of what you are missing at the Beer and Cider Festival from The Tall Faces with guest vocals from the wonderful Ali Dickinson. Get yourselves down tomorrow for more top class entertainment from Lazlo Baby and Creme Brulee. Awesome vibes! 🍻 🎤 🎸

21/06/2024

It’s our second day at the Beer and Cider Festival and the Guild Hall has been rocking to the sound of Mandy Montgomery's Angels and The Tall Faces with the legendary Pete Maclaine.

Mandy and her Angels had the whole room up dancing to her trademark bluesy rock and roll and The Tall Faces are now in full swing. If you’re coming down you can catch them again with guest vocalist Ali Dickinson at 9.15pm.

Come on down to sample the finest beers and ciders and shake a leg! 🎤 🎸 🪘

20/06/2024

A close up view of something we are very proud of which can now be viewed above on Great Underbank alongside the Unknown Pleasures street art and Ian Curtis’ Vox Phantom guitar. This commemorative record plaque was unveiled by and his old friend and honours the people who played their part in the production of this seminal album released 45 years ago this month and it was recorded here in Stockport! Massive thanks to everyone who helped make this possible

20/06/2024

We’re all set up for the start of Stockport Beer Festival at Stockport Masonic Hall to bring you some great live entertainment from the brilliant Jon Vivant at 8.15pm and 9.30pm. These guys will be getting the party started. If you’re coming down, find us upstairs in the back room. Come and say hello and check out our stall with an opportunity to buy our Music Map and our brand new Strawberry Studios Forever red vinyl album! It’s awesome! 🍓

12/06/2024

These guys are legends! We had an amazing walking tour with the fabulous members of the Banter And Brews group from Reddish. Thank you to funding from for making this possible.

11/06/2024

Great to see that our commemorative plaque unveilings featured in Stockport Nub News. Massive thanks to Alasdair for covering the story.

Special guests including Peter Hook, Clint Boon and Peter Tattersall unveiled two new plaques to commemorate Stockport's musical history

09/06/2024

Check out these great shots from Dave Richardson at Rich TV from our special event today. 🍓

09/06/2024

We had an absolutely fantastic day revealing our new commemorative record plaques for Inter-City Studios and Unknown Pleasures in Stockport Old Town today.

Massive thanks to our very special guests - Peter Tattersall, the founder of Inter-City Studios and Dr Peter Wadsworth, the archivist of Strawberry Recording Studios, Peter Hook from Joy Division and New Order, Clint Boon from Inspiral Carpets and former Stockport Mayor Walter Brett, who all said a few words to celebrate these significant milestones in Stockport’s music history.

Thank you to everyone who came and supported the event and to Alfredo's Social for their great hospitality. Thank you to all the people who bought the very first copies of Strawberry Studios Forever, our red vinyl album tribute to music recorded at Strawberry Studios.

Thanks also to Dave from Rich TV and Alisdair from Stockport Nub News for their coverage of the event. We’re also delighted that the event raised £300 for the Sarah Harding Breast Cancer Appeal at The Christie Charity. Watch this space for news of the album launch coming soon! 🍓

06/06/2024

Thank you to Stockport Nub News for sharing the news of our plaque unveilings this Sunday. We're delighted that the event has sold out and the proceeds will go to The Sarah Harding Breast Cancer Appeal at The Christie Charity. We're grateful for the support of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund that has made these commemorative music plaques in Stockport possible. We are so fortunate to have such a rich musical history in the town. Please watch this space for more events coming soon.

One of the plaques will be sited near the Unknown Pleasures mural in Stockport's Underbanks, to be unveiled by Peter Hook

30/05/2024

Join us for a very special day celebrating significant moments in Stockport’s musical history.

We’ve got not one but two commemorative plaque unveilings with Unknown Pleasures and Inter-city Studios.

Celebrating the 45th anniversary of the release of the seminal album by Joy Division, the Unknown Pleasures plaque will be unveiled by our special guests and outside .

Unknown Pleasures was produced by maverick Martin Hannett at in April 1979. Without the founder Peter Tattersall starting Inter-City Studios upstairs at the Nield and Hardy music store on Great Underbank, there would have been none of this groundbreaking music made in Stockport. Peter did this will the help of his musician friends Eric Stewart and and InterCity was the forerunner to the world famous

The Inter-City plaque will be unveiled on the wall of the bank on Great Underbank by Peter Tattersall and Dr .

We have a walking tour that starts at Stockport Museum to take in the exhibition before the unveilings by our special guests. Tickets can be bought through and all proceeds go to the Breast Cancer Appeal at .

After the unveiling we’ve got a bit of a social upstairs at .social where you can sample some of their delicious pizza included in the ticket price.

Please join us for great day raising funds for a very worthy cause. See Skiddle for more details.

17/05/2024

Without Inter-City Studios on Great Underbank, there would've been no Strawberry Recording Studios.

Without Peter Tattersall, the founder of Inter-City Studios, there would've been no investment from Eric Stewart and Graham Gouldman to create the state-of-the-art studio facility right here in Stockport that created some of the most ground-breaking music in the world.

If you'd like to find out why Inter-City Studios, located above the iconic Nield and Hardy music store, was so key to Stockport's Music Story, please join us at Inter-City Studios Plaque Unveiling and Walking Tour on Sunday 26th May. Don't delay, we have free pizza at Alfredo's Social as part of the ticket offer!

Get your tickets at this link 👇
https://stockportmusicstory.co.uk/product/inter-city-studios-plaque-unveiling-and-walking-tour/

17/05/2024

What a fantastic afternoon spent in the company of Clint Boon and Gaz Whelan, drummer with Happy Mondays recording The Stockport Music Story podcast at Strawberry Recording Studios.

Gaz is refreshingly down to earth and full of hilarious stories so we know this is going to be a great listen. Our thanks to Dave from Rich TV for his camera and photography skills.

01/05/2024

Tune into Mike Sweeney’s show this morning on BBC Radio Manchester to hear John talking all things Stockport at Robinsons Brewery Visitors Centre. He’ll be chatting with Mike about 11.30am and revealing the date of our next Commemorative Record Plaque Unveiling and Walking Tour on Sunday 26th May! See link to catch up with the interview!

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/live:bbc_radio_manchester

23/04/2024

What a fabulous afternoon we had in the company of the legendary Dee Christopholus and his lovely life partner Jackie Whelan, hearing the stories about Wimple Winch at The Sinking Ship for our Stockport Music Story podcast coming soon. We also got a fascinating insight into Dee's background growing up in Merseyside, becoming a musician with The Four Just Men (Just Four Men) and how he ended up in Stockport living above The Sinking Ship club, and narrowly escaped when it burned down in April 1967. We can't wait to share it with you!

23/04/2024

It was a massive pleasure to meet up with our old friend Andy Couzens, rhythm guitarist and founder member of The Stone Roses for our Stockport Music Story podcast coming soon. It was great to hear Andy’s recollections of recording at Strawberry Recording Studios with the legendary Martin Hannett who became a close friend of Andy’s. Huge thanks to Clint Boon for hosting and Dave Richardson at Rich TV for filming and photography.

19/04/2024

We had a fabulous evening this week delivering a Stockport Music Story Talk to the wonderful residents of Woodley and Bredbury at Starting Point Community Learning Partnership & Coffee Shop. Thank you to Nicola, Chloe and the team for hosting and to everyone who came and were so engaged. 🙏

16/04/2024

This evening! It would be lovely to see any Woodley and Bredbury friends at John's Stockport Music Story talk, 6pm at Starting Point Community Learning Partnership & Coffee Shop. Come on down for a journey through Stockport musical history!

12/04/2024

It was a pleasure to take our exhibition to Re:dish to talk music with the members of Banter and Brews Men’s Support Group: as part of the Spotlight On Reddish Festival. Massive thanks to Darren Poyzer for organising our visit.

This is a brilliant group that supports men’s mental health and it was fantastic to hear all the music stories and memories. There was proper banter over the brews and biscuits and some great discussion about Stockport’s music scene.

It was also lovely to be joined by Kelly from the charity Re:Dish hosting the event and Rachel Wise - Labour for Reddish North who revealed that she was given a book on Stockport’s legendary The Purple Gang for Christmas! Did you know they played on the same bill as David Bowie at the Poco A Poco in 1970?

What a great day and thank you to everyone for making us so welcome.

07/04/2024