Stockport Music Story

17/01/2025

Joe Beard from The Purple Gang UK ending his Stockport Music Story Talk with an acoustic version of his song 'Marylebone Lane' about his life as a musician living out of a van in Swinging London.

17/01/2025

It was a pleasure to spend time with Liam Newton, the author of the definitive today. Liam has come to Stockport to record a Stockport Music Story podcast with in and tomorrow he will be doing a talk at Stockport Museum. Last free tickets available, check it out on

If you’re joining us for the talk, you can buy a hardback copy of Liam’s book ‘The Worst Band In The World’ at 10% off from Stockport Museum and get him to sign it as well!

Tomorrow Liam will be telling us all about his lifelong obsession with , he first went to see them play live at Wembley Arena when he was just 12 years old! It was just a silly 46-year phase he was going through!

We are grateful to and the UK Shared Prosperity Fund for making these talks possible.

17/01/2025

It was a joy to listen to the wonderful stories of Joe Beard from The Purple Gang UK at our ‘In Conversation With’ event at the weekend. Joe took us on his journey from Stockport College to Swinging London and told us the significance of his lucky socks given to him by fellow musician Ringo Starr before he joined The Beatles.

Joe talked about how the band’s 1967 single ‘Granny Takes A Trip’ was destined for global superstardom before the BBC banned it for trying to “corrupt the nation’s youth” putting The Purple Gang on a very different trajectory.

We listened to ‘Sunset Over The Mersey’ the song that Joe wrote that caused a sensation in Eastern Europe and knocked Britney Spears off the No.1 spot in Budapest. The talk ended very appropriately with a live performance from Joe.

Our series of talks continues this Saturday with Stockport Music Story in conversation with 10cc author Liam Newton. We have a handful of free tickets left so don’t delay in snapping them up. We are so grateful to Stockport Council and the UK Shared Prosperity Fund for their making this series of talks possible.

17/01/2025

11/01/2025

Episode 3 of our Stockport Music Story podcast has dropped with a brilliant chat between Clint and the incomparable Gaz Whelan, drummer with the legendary Happy Mondays, to uncover the stories behind the band’s groundbreaking sound and wild adventures. Hear about:

The making of ‘Bummed’ and the genius of Martin Hannett 🎛️
How pub sessions played a crucial role in their creative process 🍺
The unique blend of funk, punk, and psychedelia that defined the Mondays 🎶
Memorable encounters with legends like David Bowie ✨

If you’re a fan of The Happy Mondays, the Madchester scene, or just love music history, this interview is a must-watch. Don’t miss out on these incredible stories and insights into another one of the most influential bands of the British music scene!

https://stockportmusicstory.co.uk/podcast/episode-3-gaz-whelan/

07/01/2025

We are so excited to be hosting our celebration concert at the beautiful on Monday 31st March celebrating the groundbreaking music that was recorded at

The concert will be the official launch for our red vinyl album featuring classic tracks performed by local artists and musicians.

We are delighted to be joined by some amazing guests on the night including from Joy Division and New Order, from and Andy Couzens founder member of

We’ve got some top tunes lined up with a house band of stellar musicians including .boon_bass and superb guest vocalists including .music Charlie from and more to be announced!

This is not a night to be missed and tickets are already flying out so book yours now to get the best seats! Tickets link in bio or go to website

We are grateful to and the UK Shared Prosperity Fund for making this concert possible.

See you down the front!

strawberrystudiosforever

07/01/2025

We had a fantastic afternoon chatting with rock journalist and music author at our ‘In Conversation with…’ at Stockport Museum.

Mick has written over 20 music biographies including the first ever book on The Smiths and many on Manchester music including Joy Division, New Order, The Stone Roses and The Fall cowritten with Mark E Smith.

Mick told some great stories of his life as a rock journalist working for Sounds and reviewing gigs including early Joy Division and going on tour with New Order in New York. Some great anecdotes about spending time with Mark E Smith in the Lake District working on his book and chatting to Morrissey’s Mum while she was pruning roses in her son’s garden! 🌹

We are grateful to Stockport Museum for all their help and the support of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund that have made these events possible. Check out our other free events coming up in January on

05/01/2025

Thank you to everyone who attended our Stockport Music Story In Conversation with music author Mick Middles despite the bad weather. It was lovely to see everyone and to hear Mick’s fascinating stories of spending time with Mark E Smith in the Lake District, going on tour with Joy Division in New York and meeting Morrissey’s Mum in her front garden! Thank you to Mick and Vicky for giving their time and to UKSPF for supporting this project and making these talks possible. 🙏

04/01/2025

📣 100 tickets sold for our Strawberry Studios Forever Celebration Concert on Monday 31st March!

We have some amazing guests including Peter Hook, Clint Boon and Andy Couzens, founder member of The Stone Roses with more surprises to come!

We'd love you to join us for a memorable night of classic Manchester music produced at Strawberry Recording Studios.

There's still front row seats available!