Keeping Control: Independent Music From Manchester Keeping Control: Independent Music From Manchester CD

Three CDs. 76 track celebration of all things Manchester from 1977 to 1981. A comprehensive look at the city's sounds featuring Buzzcocks, Joy Division, New Order, The Fall, John Cooper Clark, Durutti Column, A Certain Ratio, The Freshies, Slaughter & The Dogs, Magazine and many more. Includes tracks featuring many future stars of the Manchester music scene, such as Mick Hucknall (Simply Red), Martin Coogan (The Mock Turtles), Graham Massey (808 State), Mike Joyce (The Smiths) and Chris Sievey (Frank Sidebottom). Back in 2017, Cherry Red unveiled a mammoth 7-CD compendium entitled 'Manchester North Of England', which attempted to document the city's vibrant music scene from punk to Britpop. Six years on, Keeping Control is the sequel, a modest triple-disc retrospective concentrating on music from the punk and post-punk years. Keeping Control boasts the "name" bands out of Greater Manchester from that period, however, the underlying musical story of this box set lies with the lesser-known Manchester Musicians Collective. A catalyst for many musicians at the time, the MMC organised gigs, other activities and encouragement to the many and varied talents emerging in the region during punk and it's aftershocks. Louise Alderman, co-founder of the Manchester Musicians Collective, has written a foreword for the box set, which is named after the MMC's short-lived fanzine. Outside of the gravitational pull of London, which exerted such a strong pull across the South of England, Manchester evolved it's own unique identity, often mixing sharp humor with seemingly bleak, desolate-sounding music (reflecting the city's hardship during that time).

1. Buzzcocks- Orgasm Addict 2. Slaughter and the Dogs- the Bitch 3. The Nosebleeds- Fascist Pigs 4. The Drones- City Drones 5. The Panik -Murder 6. V2 -Nothing to Do 7. Jilted John- Jilted John 8. Gyro- Central Detention Centre 9. Salford Jets- Lookin' at the Squares 10. John the Postman's Puerile -Kawalski of the Seaview Has Got the Best Hairstyle I've Ever Seen 11. Alberto y Lost Trios Paranoias- Fuck You 12. John Cooper Clarke- I Don't Want to Be Nice 13. The Teardrops -Pompous 14. Passage- Slit Machine 15. Spherical Objects- Sweet Tooth 16. Steve Miro- Smiling in Reverse 17. Joy Division- Digital 18. The Smirks- American Patriots 19. Notsensibles -Lying on the Sofa 20. 48 Chairs- Psycle Sluts 21. Eddie Fiction Ufo 0Part 2 22. Mellotron -Warriors from Space 23. Speed- She's All There 24. Genocide- Renegade 25. Sister Ray -Suicide 26. Eddie Mooney ; the Grave -I Bought Three Eggs 27. Gerry and the Holograms- Gerry and the Holograms 28. The Fall- Flat of Angles 29. Steroid Kiddies- Seaside Teaser 30. Direct Hits- Back to the Sixties 31. Foreign Press- Crossfire 32. Crispy Ambulance- Motorway Boys 33. I.Q. Zero- Insects 34. Accident on the East Lancs.- We Want It Legalized 35. The Out -Who Is Innocent? 36. Gods Gift -These Days 37. Mud Hutters- Danger 38. Pathetix- Love in Decay 39. Private Sector- Just Wanna Stay Free 40. The Frantic Elevators- Hunchback of Notre Dame 41. Fast Cars- You're So Funny 42. Miss Kate -Ebony Eyes 43. Grow-Up- the Best Thing 44. Property of... -Dance Like You're Dead * 45. The Distractions- Doesn't Bother Me 46. The Durutti Column- Sketch for Summer 47. Bet Lynch's Legs- Riders in the Sky 48. The Hoax- Storm Trooper 49. Manicured Noise- Metronome 50. Magazine- a Song from Under the Floorboards 51. Vibrant Thigh- Walking Away 52. Enigma- Play with Fire 53. The Still -9.5 54. Spurtz -Boyfriends or Your Money Back 55. The Charlie Parkas Space Invaders 56. If Only -Puppet Masters 57. The Cheaters- (I Wanna Be a) Policeman 58. The Mekon- Must Have More Wheels 59. Bathroom Renovations- Apathetic Hell 60. The Liggers- Recorded or Live 61. Section 25 Knew Noise 62. The Diagram Bros. -There Is No Shower 63. The Things -Pieces of You 64. Dislocation Dance- Familiar View 65. Martin Hannett -The Music Room 66. Blue Orchids- the Flood (Demo) 67. Kevin Hewick- Haystack 68. Electra Complex -Magic 69. Hamsters- Animal 70. Biting Tongues- You Can Choke Like That 71. The Freshies -Wrap Up the Rockets 72. Ludus- Hugo Blanco 73. Mothmen- Temptation 74. A Certain Ratio- Waterline 75. Bee Vamp- Lucky Grills 76. New Order- Everything's Gone Green