Mick Middles: 6 books

Joy Division's vocalist Ian Curtis tragically took his own life in 1980 leaving behind just two haunting albums and a depleted band that would famously evolve into New Order. Over twenty-five years later the cult surrounding Curtis shows no signs of fading. Fans make regular pilgrimages to his hometown...

THERE HAS NEVER BEEN AN ARTIST quite like Chris Sievey or his 'fantastic' comedic alter ego, Frank Sidebottom. Whether pushing for chart action while fronting his former band The Freshies or allowing the bombastic Sidebottom to wreak anarchy and chaos on television, radio or with the Oh Blimey Big Band,...

When Elbow won the Mercury Prize in 2008 for their fourth studio album - The Seldom Seen Kid - the accolade followed an organic 17 year long career marked by four classic albums and a cult following that cast them in the role of Manchester's best kept music secret. Elbow started out at a time when...

In 1989, The Stone Roses exploded onto the music scene at the forefront of a new wave of music from Manchester. The Roses’ music an exhilarating mixture of sixties’ pop, rock and dance made them the UK’s most talked-about group, while their first album, The Stone Roses, is now revered as one...

The story of a world-beating multi-instrumental band with a unique creative dynamic. Their story is compelling a complex musical collaboration in an eight-piece band that has coalesced around Win Butler and Régine Chassagne. They have triumphed worldwide at festivals and stadiums whilst racking...

Factory Records' fame and fortune were based on two bands - Joy Division and New Order - and one personality - that of its director, Tony Wilson. At the height of the label's success in the late 1980s, it ran its own club, the legendary Haçienda, had a string of international hit records, and was...