EYEWITNESS IN MANCHESTER UPDATE (19980914 Manchester Online article)
This is a mention of the 'In The City' festival on the Manchester Online website.
EYEWITNESS IN MANCHESTER UPDATE 7pm BST MONDAY 14 SEPT 1998
IN THE CITY MUSIC CONVENTION IN FULL SWING
THE BEE GEES, NEW ORDER, OASIS, THE HOLLIES, THE BUZZCOCKS, all these acts have one thing in common - they're from Manchester, of course. And now Music Biz people from around the world have converged on Manchester for the sixth "In The City" music convention and festival.
The Midland (now the Crowne Plaza Midland) is the centre of activity. This is where visiting delegates stay, and where the seminars and meetings take place. There are full conference amenities, a press office a net bar and a radio station too. Most of the activity seems to be taking place around the bar (the one that sells liquid refreshment).
Participants, wearing their coveted "In The City" official delegate pass, go out into the city to the various venues to see bands, both established and unsigned, as well as drink in pubs and cafe bars, eat in restaurants and hopefully clinch deals. There was a great atmosphere in the Midland this afternoon, as I took the pictures below. In The City founder and boss, Tony Wilson, was scurrying back and forth across the lobby, making announcements over the P.A. Nile Rogers, of Chic ("Le Freak") had just arrived, he said, and was just about to give a talk. Also, Fergal Sharkey ("A Good Heart These Days is Hard to Find") was in the bar. Sponsors MTV had set a camera up in the corner and were doing interviews.
The official website is at www.inthecity.co.uk and was put together by Net Nannies' Tim Gulson, who told me about yesterday's interview with Malcolm McLaren (very influential impresario, ex-manager of the Sex Pistols, ) - it's on the website. The Bee Gees are also expected, I'm told, and will be sharing their thoughts with delegates. Richard Fairbrass (of Right Said Fred "I'm too sexy") was also in attendance.
lobby of the Midland during the In The City convention
I was out last night and the night before sampling some of the new Manchester talent, including European, Grimace, Caesar Lounge and many others. They're all hoping to be "discovered" and who knows, maybe one of these bands will be the next Bee Gees (incidentally, the only group ever to have number top ten hits in four separate decades). Listen to them in Real Audio on my Manchester Unsigned Bands website. The art work for the festival has been done by Jai Moodie - it's superb.
I'm off out this evening to see some more bands and to take more photographs. The weather this evening is cool and cloudy. Today it was sunny, with clear blue skies, as you can see in the picture of Oxford Road above. Current EWM temperature is 59/15. More Eyewitness in Manchester updates, including pictures taken on a superb guided tour of of Rochdale Town Hall - part of this weekend's "Heritage Open Days", will follow very shortly.
[...]
See also
Back to Manchester Online