This is the first of five posts on the history of Manchester between 1976 and 1996. Each four year period will be covered by a song from the NME's top 10(/100) tracks of the last 60 years: 'Love Will Tear Us Apart' (1976-1980), 'Blue Monday' (1980-1984), 'There Is A Light That Never Goes Out' (1984-1988), 'She Bangs the Drums' (1988-1992) and 'Wonderwall' (1992-1996).
The Sex Pistols’ first gig in Manchester (at the
Lesser Free Trade Hall on 4th June 1976) has been described as ‘the gig that changed the world’ and regularly features on lists of the most important gigs
ever. It can be seen as the spark that set a fire burning which lasted for 20
years and inspired a city’s regeneration – 20 years before the IRA bombed the
Arndale Centre. Amongst the list of those who were there (and the bands they
would go on to form) are Howard Devoto (Buzzcocks/Magazine), Pete Shelley (Buzzcocks),
Bernard Sumner and Peter Hook (Joy Division/New Order), Morrissey (The Smiths)
and Mark E. Smith (The Fall). Tony Wilson (a local TV presenter who went on to
help form Factory Records) also claims to have been there. The second gig (at
the same venue on 20th July) was arguably more important in terms of the
Manchester scene, with local support acts Slaughter and the Dogs (from
Wythenshawe) and Buzzcocks (now based in Lower Broughton). Buzzcocks were
rewarded for organising the two gigs with a slot supporting the Sex Pistols and
the Clash at an important punk gig in London, Screen on the Green on 29th
August. Wilson invited the Sex Pistols to appear on his Granada music show So It Goes, where they performed ‘Anarchy in the UK,’ (broadcast on 4th September).
On
1st December, the Sex Pistols caused a national uproar when they appeared on
Bill Grundy’s Today programme
(broadcast in London). Grundy baited them with the line, ‘Go on – say something
offensive.’ To which they replied, ‘You dirty bastard ... you fucking rotter!’
Under the headline ‘The Filth and the Fury,’ the next day’s Daily Mirror summed up the sense of
outrage with its story of a lorry driver who had been so incensed that he’d put
his foot through his colour TV screen. Dates on the Pistols’ ‘Anarchy in the
UK’ tour (with support from the Clash and Johnny Thunders) were cancelled as a
result. Manchester was one of the few cities to host them, with two dates at
the Electric Circus in Collyhurst on 9th December (with Buzzcocks) and on 19th
December. Shortly afterwards, Buzzcocks released their debut EP ‘Spiral
Scratch,’ produced by Martin Hannett. With its ascending riff and two-note
guitar solo, the lead track ‘Boredom’ (modern-sounding at the time) has gone
down as a classic in the punk genre. Released on manager Richard Boon’s New
Hormones label on 29th January 1977, it was also one of the very first
independent releases – providing inspiration for London’s Rough Trade,
Edinburgh’s Fast Product and eventually Manchester’s Factory Records.
It
would be misleading to suggest that the Sex Pistols were the most important
thing in British music in the winter of 1976-77 (when the IMF loan crisis gave
an idea of the problems the British economy was facing). David Bowie’s Low was released on 14th January 1977
and featured the track ‘Warszawa’ which inspired Sumner and Hook (who’d met Ian
Curtis at one of the Sex Pistols’ gigs at the Electric Circus in December) to
name their new band Warsaw. Martin Hannett is often credited with creating the
slower, spacier Joy Division sound that they would go on to develop but even a
cursory listen to ‘Warszawa’ shows the influence Bowie had from the beginning.
The cover of the album Low (pictured)
has also been cited as the inspiration for an emerging hairstyle, i.e. the wedge (or 'flick'). On 2nd March 1977, European
Cup hopefuls Liverpool travelled to Saint Etienne, where their fans are said to
have started the football terrace ‘casual’ culture by looting expensive designer
sportswear to take back home. According to a note by Kevin Cummins on the Manchester District Music Archive, David Bowie appeared onstage with Iggy Pop
at the Manchester Apollo the next day (although footage on YouTube of the same gig is dated October 1977 – likely the date when it appeared on So It Goes, in which case this gig may
have taken place on 25th September).
On
Saturday 21st May 1977, Manchester United prevented Liverpool from winning an
unprecedented ‘treble’ (League, FA Cup, European Cup) by beating them 2-1 in the FA Cup Final with goals from Stuart Pearson and Jimmy Greenhof. The next
day, the Ramones played at the Electric Circus, supported by Talking Heads. The
day after that, on Monday 23rd May, the Fall played their first gig at the North
West Arts basement on Kings Street. On Friday 27th May, the Sex Pistols
released ‘God Save the Queen,’ which reached number 2. A week after the
Ramones’ gig, on Sunday 29th May, Buzzcocks played at the Electric Circus,
supported by John Cooper Clarke and Warsaw, who were also playing their first
gig. The last nights at the Electric Circus, Manchester’s main punk venue, on
1st and 2nd October featured a number of local bands, including Buzzcocks, the
Fall, Warsaw, Slaughter and the Dogs, John Cooper Clarke and Magazine.
Shortly
after ‘Spiral Scratch’ (which went on to be incredibly successful for an
independent release), Buzzcocks’ singer Howard Devoto left the band, releasing
a statement on 21st February 1977: ‘I don’t like most of this new wave music. I
don’t like music. I don’t like movements. Despite all that – things have to be
said. But I am not confident of Buzzcocks’ intention to get out of the dry land
of new waveness to a place from which these things could be said. What was once
unheathily fresh is now a clean old hat.’ Pete Shelley took over lead vocal
duties and Buzzcocks signed to United Artists, releasing their first
post-Devoto single ‘Orgasm Addict’ on 4th Novemeber (or 8th October according
to various sources), possibly their best ever track although it failed to
chart. The cover (pictured) was designed by Linder Sterling, an art student at
Manchester Polytechnic who shared a house with Howard Devoto on Lower Broughton
Road (two doors down from Pete Shelley). On 20th January 1978, Magazine released
their debut single ‘Shot By Both Sides’ on Virgin. It reached number 41 and
marked the beginning of post-punk.
The
last episode of So It Goes had been
broadcast on 11th December 1977, leaving its presenter Tony Wilson disconnected
from the local music scene. On 24th January 1978, he decided to form a
partnership with Alan Erasmus to manage the band which would eventually become
known as the Durutti Column (named after a 1968 Situationist cartoon strip
about an anarchist regiment in the Spanish Civil War), a vehicle for talented
guitarist Vini Reilly. The following day Warsaw played their first gig under a
new name, Joy Division, at Pips on Fennel Street (behind the Cathedral).
Shortly afterwards, on 27th January, Granada TV’s World in Action featured an interview with the Conservative leader
Margaret Thatcher in which she claimed that ‘people are really rather afraid that this country might be rather swamped by people with a different culture.’
The remarks fuelled an on-going debate about multiculturalism and immigration,
with the National Front hoping to gain votes in the coming general election.
On
9th February 1978, Manchester United broke the British transfer record to sign
Scottish defender Gordon McQueen from Leeds United for £495,000. On his arrival
at the club, McQueen stated that ‘99% of players want to play for Manchester
United and the rest are liars.’ Although Liverpool were the most successful
club in English football with ten league titles, Manchester United were still
the biggest with an average home attendance of 53,710 in the 1976-77 season.
Liverpool were second with 47,221 and Manchester City third with 40,058
(although this was after a relatively succesful season in which they challenged
for the title).
On
10th April 1978, World in Action began
their programme, titled ‘There’s No Place Like Hulme’ with the words, ‘It is
not necessary to go as far as South Africa to observe the reality of
second-class citizenship. Deprived families are to be seen herded together in
every major British city. Manchester’s Hulme bears all the sociological
characteristics of a Bantustan reservation.’ The programme described how the
futuristic Le Corbusier-inspired vision of Streets in the Sky had failed
residents of post-slum clearances inner-city Manchester, with a particular
focus on the Hulme Crescents – yet to gain its more bohemian character of the
late 1980s.
On
14th April, Tony Wilson went to Rafters on Oxford Street to watch the Stiff
Records Test (Chiswick Challenge) ‘Battle of the Bands,’ where he was harangued
by Joy Division frontman Ian Curtis for not putting them on TV. Forced to play
a late set (at 2:30am) and wound-up as a result, the band gave an impressive
performance, with DJ Rob Gretton offering to manage them the next day (although
Wilson’s account has them as Gretton’s band already). On Monday 8th May,
Magazine played at the Ritz, supported by John Cooper Clarke and local band the
Nosebleeds. Paul Morley reviewed the gig for the NME, saying that Nosebleeds had re-surfaced ‘boasting A Front Man
With Charisma, always an advantage.’ That frontman was Stephen Patrick
Morrissey, a New York Dolls fan from Stretford who had made a name for himself
by writing letters to the NME and
other music magazines and who would go on to become one of the iconic British
frontman of the 1980s.
On
19th May 1978, the Durutti Column and Jilted John performed at the first
Factory night at the Russell Club in Hulme (also advertised as Moss Side). The
poster for the event was designed by Peter Saville, another art student from
Manchester Polytechnic, and given the label Fac 1. Although it arrived late,
the poster’s iconic use of an industrial safety sign (featuring a man with his
fingers in his ears and the words ‘Use Hearing Protection’) and the minimalist
yellow, black and white colour scheme provided a striking visual representation
of the new Factory brand [and would later be used as the inspiration for the
interior of the Hacienda nightclub]. The five partners in what would become the
Factory Records project were now in place: Wilson and Erasmus (running the
Factory night at the Russell Club); Hannett (the producer); Gretton (the Joy
Division manager) and Saville (the designer). On 30th May, the Fall recorded
their first of many John Peel Sessions for Radio 1, which began with ‘Futures and Pasts.’ Nottingham Forest won the league and Liverpool retained the
European Cup but Manchester United remained the biggest club in England in 1977-78, with an average attendance of 51,860 – ahead of Liverpool (45,546),
Manchester City (41,687) and Everton (39,513).
On
3rd June 1978, Joy Division released their debut EP ‘An Ideal for Living’ which
is remembered as much for its cover-picture of a Hitler Youth banging a drum as
a punkier sound than the one the band would later come to be associated with.
On 7th June(?), 36-year-old Alex Ferguson was given his big break when he
became manager of Aberdeen. On Thursday 13th July, Buzzcocks were amongst
several bands who performed to a crowd of around 35,000 at a Rock Against
Racism concert in Alexandra Park, Moss Side, the end-point of an Anti-Nazi
League march from Strangeways Prison (on the other side of the city centre).
The event co-incided with a by-election in Moss Side which was being contested
by the National Front. Their candidate Herbert Andrew received only 623 votes
(2.3%). Interestingly Vanessa Redgrave, who’d given a highly politicised
acceptance speech at the Oscars three months earlier, stood for the Workers’
Revolutionary Party (presumably as a paper candidate). She received 394 votes
(1.46%). On Friday 21st July, Pete Shelley and Howard Devoto were re-united as
Buzzcocks and Magazine both performed at the Lesser Free Trade Hall, two years
after they’d helped organise the seminal Sex Pistols gig at the same venue. The
next day, Tony Wilson hosted a New Wave night at the Deeply Vale free music
festival near Heywood, which featured the Fall and the Durutti Column. On
Thursday 27th July, Granada screened B’dum
B’dum, a documentary about Buzzcocks and Magazine, presented by Tony
Wilson.
On
11th August 1978, the Fall released their debut EP ‘Bingo-Master’s Break-Out!’
which contained the track Psycho Mafia. In the same month, the Conservative
party unveiled their legendary Saatchi & Saatchi-designed poster campaign,
featuring a snaking dole queue above the words ‘Labour isn’t working (Britain’s
better off with the Tories).’ On 31st August (21st September according to John
Robb), Patti Smith played at the Apollo and 19-year-old aspiring frontman
Stephen Patrick Morrissey met 15-year-old aspiring guitarist Johnny Marr for
the first time (although it would be a while before they got together to form
the Smiths). On 8th September, Buzzcocks released their most successful single
‘Ever Fallen in Love (With Someone You Shouldn’t’ve)’ which reached number 12.
On 20th September, Joy Division performed ‘Shadowplay’ on Granada Reports, their first TV appearance.
On
16th October 1978, The Guardian described
Manchester’s Arndale Centre as ‘an awful warning against thinking too big in
British cities ... so castle-like in its outer strength that any passing
medieval army would automatically besiege it rather than shop in it.’ The
massive indoor shopping centre had been under construnction since 1971 and was
opened in stages between 1975 and 1979 with a final cost of £100m. Designed by
Hugh Wilson and Lewis Womerley, the architects responsible for the Hulme
Crescents, it was another piece of Le Corbusier-inspired Brutalism and it dominated
Manchester city centre as Britain moved towards the ‘Winter of Discontent.’ On
6th December, Manchester City recorded a famous 3-0 win against Italian giants A.C. Milan at Maine Road to win 5-2 on aggregate and progress through to the
quarter finals of the UEFA Cup (where they were beaten by Borussia Monchengladbach).
On 24th December, Factory Records released its first record, A Factory Sample, which contained tracks
by Joy Division and the Durutti Column. On 27th December, Ian Curtis suffered
an epileptic fit on the way home from a gig in London. The Joy Division singer
was to appear on the front cover of the NME
on 13th January 1979, after a photo session with Kevin Cummins in the snow
around Manchester Cathedral.
On
10th January 1979, prime minister James Callaghan returned from a summit in the
Caribbean island of Guadeloupe and gave a press conference at Heathrow Airport.
Responding to claims by journalists, he said that other people around the world wouldn’t share that view that there was ‘mounting chaos’ in Britain. The next day
The Sun led with the now-famous
headline ‘Crisis? What crisis?’ appearing to show a prime minister who was
out-of-touch. On 3rd May, Margaret Thatcher’s Conservative Party won the
general election, with 13.7m votes (43.9%) to Labour’s 11.5m (36.9%). On the
doorstep of Number 10, Thatcher quoted from the prayer of St. Francis: ‘Where there is discord, may we bring harmony.’ On 12th May, Manchester United came
back from 2-0 down against Arsenal in the FA Cup Final, with late goals from
Gordon McQueen (86 mins) and Sammy MacIlroy (88 mins) only for Arsenal to score the winning goal in the 89th minute. Liverpool won their 11th league title and
Nottingham Forest won the European Cup. It was a good season for Ron Atkinson’s
West Bromwich Albion, who finished third in the league and reached the quarter-finals
of the UEFA Cup after becoming the first team to field three black players.
Manchester United were still the biggest club in England with an average home attendance of 46,430, just ahead of Liverpool (46,407). Arsenal were third
(36,371) just ahead of Manchester City in fourth (36,203).
On
14th June 1979, Joy Division released Unknown
Pleasures on Factory Records. Recorded at Strawberry Studios in Stockport, produced
by Martin Hannett, it was a dark-sounding debut which captured the bleak moorlands
of the Pennines as much as postindustrial Manchester in the late-1970s. [The
album’s sleeve, designed by Peter Saville, is also noteworthy.] When the band
signed to Factory, Tony Wilson is said to have carved his initials in blood on
a contract which said that ‘the musicians own everything, the company owns
nothing, all our groups have the right to fuck off.’ Joy Division played at
Plan K in Brussels, Belgium, on 16th October. They released non-album single
‘Transmission’ in November and played at Les Bains-Douches Club in Paris,
France on 18th December. A 10-date tour of Europe followed in January 1980
covering Amsterdam, Antwerp, Cologne, Rotterdam, Brussels, Eindhoven and
Berlin. The experience may have contributed towards Curtis’ depression, as he
tried to reconcile his life as a family man in Macclesfield with the full-on
demands of playing in a different city every night.
On
18th August 1979, 22-year-old Ray Wilkins made his Manchester United debut
after his £750,000 move from Chelsea in the summer (£800,000 according to some
sources). The fact that he would be sold to A.C. Milan for twice that amount
after five seasons with the club suggests that this was a good investment.
Manchester City on the other hand weren’t finding such good value in the
transfer market. The signing on 5th September of Steve Daley from Wolves for
£1,427,500 (breaking the British transfer record) has been cited as the classic
example of City’s mis-management under the chairmanship of Peter Swales and the
management of Malcolm Allison. Under this pair, the club sold the core of the
team and replaced them with expensive signings who failed to live up to any
modest expectations. An episode of World
in Action, aired on 28th January 1980, focused on Manchester United’s
chairman of 15 years, Louis Edwards, and the payment of bribes, both in
industry and in a footballing context. Edwards died of a heart attack shortly
afterwards and was replaced by his son Martin on 22nd March 1980.
The
Durutti Column’s debut album The Return
of the Durutti Column was released on Factory in January 1980, with its
infamous sandpaper sleeve and the excellent 'Sketch For Summer' as its opening track (produced by Martin Hannett). On 1st February, the Clash recorded ‘Bankrobber’ at
Pluto Studios in Manchester city centre, with a 16-year-old Ian Brown in
attendance. Joy Division recorded the tracks for their second album Closer in March 1980 with Martin Hannett
at Britannia Row Studios in London. They also recorded their next non-album
single ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart,’ which was released in April.
Prideofmanchester.com has John Cooper Clarke’s fourth album Snap, Crackle & Bop reaching number
29 in April. The album contains the tracks ‘Evidently Chickentown,’ which later
appeared on an episode of the Sopranos, and 'Beasley Street' (again produced by Martin Hannett).
On
8th April, Joy Division decided to go ahead with a gig at the Derby Hall in Bury, shortly after Ian Curtis had attempted to commit suicide. The singer
wasn’t feeling well enough to perform a whole set, so the band replaced him
with Alan Hempstall (Crispy Ambulance) and Simon Topping (A Certain Ratio)
without telling the audience. When Curtis returned backstage after just two
songs, someone threw a bottle at the band and Rob Gretton jumped into the
crowd, causing a mini-riot. Mark Burgess from the Chameleons blames local Perry Boys for the incident, saying that these were fans of the band disappointed at
not seeing Curtis perform the full set. Several gigs had to be cancelled but
the band did record the promotional video for the song ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart.’ On 2nd May, Joy Division played at High Hall, Birmingham University,
their last gig before a break and a planned tour of the USA. On 18th May, Ian
Curtis was found dead at his home in Macclesfield, aged just 23. He had been
suffering from epilepsy and depression. As news of his suicide came out, ‘Love
Will Tear Us Apart’ climbed to number 13 in the charts, the band’s most
successful single so far.
Liverpool
won their 12th league title and Brian Clough’s Nottingham Forest retained the
European Cup, as Manchester United finished 2nd and Manchester City finished
17th. Once again, the top three clubs in terms of average home attendance were
Manchester United (51,608), Liverpool (44,586) and Manchester City (35,272).
Meanwhile in Scotland, Alex Ferguson’s Aberdeen won the Scottish Premier
Division, breaking a Celtic/Rangers 15-year monopoly. During the four-year
period (1976-80), Liverpool had won the league three times and Nottingham
Forest had won it once. Liverpool and Nottingham Forest had both won the
European Cup twice. Manchester United were easily the best-supported club in
England, with average home attendances of 53,000; 51,000; 46,000 and 51,500.
Manchester City might be considered the third biggest club in England at the
time (after United and Liverpool), with averages of 40,000; 41,500; 36,000 and
35,000. For two of the three biggest clubs in England, United and City weren’t
having much success. United won the FA Cup in 1977 and were runners-up in 1979.
City reached the quarter-finals of the UEFA Cup in 1979. United finished with
league positions of 6th, 10th, 9th and 2nd; City with positions of 2nd, 4th,
15th and 17th. Clearly City were entering into an uncertain period, reflected
by the fall in their average attendance figures and league finishes after 1978.
For a club of United’s size and history however, second-place in the league
wasn’t good enough and manager Dave Sexton wouldn’t be given much more time to
turn things around.
On 14th July 1989, a 16-year-old from Staffordshire collapsed and died after taking ecstasy at the Hacienda - the UK's first ecstasy-related death. The next day Simply Red topped the US singles chart for a second time with 'If You Don't Know Me By Now.' The Stone Roses played a landmark gig at Blackpool's Empress Ballroom on 12th August. On 9th November, borderpoints along the Berlin Wall were opened to refugees for the first time leading to a peaceful revolution which for many marked the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe. On 13th November, the Stone Roses released 'Fools Gold' which led to an appearance on Top of the Pops with the Happy Mondays also performing 'Hallelujah' on the same episode. On 4th December, Electronic (the supergroup featuring Bernard Sumner, Johnny Marr and Neil Tennant) released 'Getting Away With It' on Factory Records.
1990 saw the release of the Ruthless Rap Assassins' 'And It Wasn't A Dream,' a reflection on the disappointing reality of life as a black immigrant in the UK by Britain's best rap group (from Hulme). On 29th January, the Taylor Report into the Hillsborough Disaster was published, making recommendations that all first and second division football stadiums should be all-seated. On 11th February, the militant anti-apartheid activist Nelson Mandela was released after serving 27 years in prison, a key turning-point in the history of South Africa. On 31st March, there were violent scuffles with the police during the huge anti-poll tax riots in central London attended by around 200,000 demonstrators. On 9th April, Happy Mondays released their biggest-selling single 'Step On' which reached number 5 in the UK (and was even fairly successful in the US). On 14th May, the Charlatans released 'The Only One I Know' which reached number 9. Another disappointing season for Manchester United saw them finish 13th, one place ahead of Manchester City. United regained their status as the most-supported club in terms of average home attendance (39,077) ahead of second-place Liverpool (36,589) and fifth-place City (27,975).
Many felt that Alex Ferguson had been close to losing his job when Mark Robins scored the only goal in a 3rd round FA Cup tie against Nottingham Forest on 7th January. United went on to win the competition after beating Crystal Palace in a final replay on 17th May with a goal from left-back Lee Martin after experienced goalkeeper Jim Leighton had been sensationally dropped for Les Sealey (making only his third appearance for the club). This bought Ferguson some time but United had already won the FA Cup in 1977, 1983 and 1985, and the main aim was still to win one of the big European trophies and/or the league. On 21st May, New Order released their official England World Cup song 'World in Motion' (their only number one single). On 27th May, the Stone Roses played a huge gig at Spike Island in Widnes. On 1st July, England beat Cameron 3-2 after extra time to progress to the semi-finals where they would play West Germany. The next day, Stone Roses released 'One Love.' On 4th July, England were knocked out of the World Cup on penalties after a 1-1 draw with West Germany. On 18th August, Irish full-back Denis Irwin made his Manchester United debut in the Charity Shield after a £625,000 move from Oldham Athletic.
On 18th September 1990, Manchester finished 4th in the bidding to host the 1996 Olympics (behind Melbourne, Toronto, Athens and eventual winners Atlanta). On 22nd November, Margaret Thatcher resigned as prime minister after 11 years when it became clear that she wouldn't survive beat challenger Michael Heseltine in a second ballot. She was soon replaced by mild-mannered cricket-lover John Major. On 27th November, Happy Mondays released their third album 'Thrills n Pills and Bellyaches' which contained tracks such as 'Kinky Afro' and 'God's Cop' (about the Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police, James Anderton, a Christian fundamentalist who saw AIDS as a punishment for gays, prostitutes and drug addicts). Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait in August 1990 led to the joint US/British/Saudi Operation Desert Storm in Iraq (supported by a broad international coalition) in January/February 1991. Again Britain's involement in a war generated support for a new Conservative prime minister despite the fact that the UK was in another severe recession. In February, 808 State's 'In Yer Face' reached number 9 then in March, the Mock Turtles' 'Can You Dig It?' reached number 18 and James' re-released 'Sit Down' reached number 2. On 8th April, the FA announced plans for a 'Super League' of 18 clubs to replace the First Division, which was welcome news for the bigger clubs.
Ryan Giggs made his full debut for United on 4th May 1991, scoring against rivals City in the Manchester derby (or at least claiming a goal which may have come off defender Colin Hendry). City enjoyed their best season in the league since 1978, finishing fifth - one place ahead of United, who were again the best-supported club in the league in terms of average home attendance (43,218), ahead of Arsenal in second (36,864) and City in sixth (27,874). On 15th May 1991, United played Barcelona in the final of the European Cup Winners' Cup at Feyenoord's stadium in Rotterdam. Two goals from Mark Hughes against his former club were enough as United won 2-1 and an Alex Ferguson team won the tournament for second time (Aberdeen in 1983 having been the first), notably with an all British-and-Irish team. Mark Hughes won PFA Player of the Year for a second time and Lee Sharpe won PFA Young Player of the Year. On 26th May, USSR right-winger Andrei Kanchelskis signed from Shakhtar Donetsk for £650,000 (to replace Mike Phelan); on 8th August, England right-back Paul Parker signed from QPR for £2,000,000 (allowing Denis Irwin to move to left-back, replacing Clayton Blackmore). With Danish keeper Peter Schmeichel, who signed from Brondby for £505,000 (replacing Les Sealey), United now had a starting line-up capable of mounting a strong challenge for the league: Schmeichel; Parker, Irwin, Bruce, Pallister; Sharpe/Giggs, Kanchelskis, Robson; Ince; Hughes, McClair. All except Robson would be part of the 1994 FA Cup winning side.
On 30th September 1991, Simply Red released their fourth album 'Stars,' which contained the tracks 'Something Got Me Started' and 'Stars.' It would go on to be the top-selling album in the UK for 1991 and 1992 (and the 13th biggest selling album of all time in the UK). On 24th February 1992, the Charlatans released 'Weirdo.' Labour leader Neil Kinnock appeared confident when he began his address to a pre-election rally in Sheffield on 1st April with the words: "We're alright! We're alright! We're alright!" On 9th April, the Conservatives were re-elected on a high turnout with a 21-seat majority. Although this was down (from 102 in 1987, 144 in 1983, 43 in 1979), it was still bitterly disappointing for Labour, who had won just 11,500,000 votes to the Conservatives' 14,000,000. Kinnock resigned as Labour leader after what was his second general election defeat. He was replaced by John Smith, who promoted rising stars Gordon Brown to Shadow Chancellor and Tony Blair to Shadow Home Secretary.
Manchester United were the best-supported team of the 1991-92 season in terms of average home attendance (44,984), ahead of second-place Liverpool (34,799) and seventh-place Manchester City (27,690). On 12th April 1992, United won the League Cup for the first time with a 1-0 victory over Nottingham Forest in the final. However they lost the next three games in the league itself, which meant that they would finish second, four points behind Leeds United, as City again finished a strong fifth. United had now gone 25 years without a league title - in which time Liverpool had won 11 to make it 18 in total (compared with United's total of just 7), meaning Ferguson's side would need to win the league 12 times to beat Liverpool's record. With this in mind perhaps the most significant aspect of the 1991-92 season was United's victory in the FA Youth Cup on 15th May, with a team that included Ryan Giggs (who had broken through to the first team, winning the PFA Young Player of the Year Award), Gary Neville, Nicky Butt and David Beckham.
