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In the last 30 days the archive has grown by 50 new artefacts, 32 new members, 12 new people and places.
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12 Dec 2024

Artefact of the day

Photograph
Lodestone
Hard Rock Cafe
16th March 2006
Added 12th January 2010
by transmission
.

This week's video

Avril A film short

A short film about the fabulous Avril A. Suburban Jewish housewife by day, outrageous cabaret performer by night, Avril became a legend in Manchester’s gay scene in the 1980s and 90s. Featuring rare archive footage of her stage shows, promo films and live interviews.

We are seeking funders and partners for a documentary on Avril's extraordinary career. Please contact avrilafilm@gmail.com.

For more Avril films, take a look at her YouTube channel

Projects

Connecting Manchester's Music Archives

This is the digital space where archival repositories and projects containing Manchester’s music heritage can connect up, share stories and promote their collections.

MDMArchive Research Lab

MDMArchive member and hardcore data-fiend Kate Mullen has been working on plugging our database into electronic frogspawn. Stick your hands in and have a swirl.

Telling Stories Conference

17-19 November 2022
Registration, Speakers and Schedule

Lapsed Clubber Audio Map

Recording the memories of Greater Manchester's rave community, 1985-1995

Online Exhibitions

My Life Through Ticket Stubs

A personal journey through music gigs in Manchester

Electric circus

An exhibition of artefacts from the Electric Circus, music venue now no longer around

Doodlebug Nuggets ALL FM 96.9 radio archive

Maxwell Hall Archive

An exhibition of the musical heritage of Maxwell Hall, University of Salford

Don't Mention The Hacienda - In Search Of Alan Wise

We Are Dynamite! Northern Carnival 1978

The Northern Carnival against the Nazis, a rally and concert held on 15 July 1978 in Moss Side.

RNCM50: Throwing Open the Concert Doors

Queer Noise

Exploring the hidden history of Manchester’s LGBT+ music culture and club life.

The Roadhouse closes its doors

Huge exhibition of photos and memories from the Manchester music institution.

Moss Side Stories

Inspired in part by MDMArchive’s hugely prolific member, ‘Dubwise-er’, who uploaded almost 1000 artefacts to our website.

Mole Express - A Magazine for Manchester's Counter Culture

A truly alternative, grass-roots publication first issued in 1970 which ran for seven years.

Andrew Weatherall A Herbal Tea Party Celebration

A celebration of the dearly missed Andrew Weatherall.

In celebration of the life of CP Lee

A place to collect all the wonderful stories, memories and images of our founder member.

Record Shops of Greater Manchester

An ongoing project aiming to document every record shop of Greater Manchester, past and present.

City Fun: The Hidden History of Manchester's Favourite Fanzine

Comprehensive fully transcribed archive of City Fun.

Suffragette City - women in Manchester music

Exhibition celebrating women in Manchester music developed in tandem with our physical Suffragette City exhibition at The Refuge.

Manchester Academy Memories

Concerts & Club Life at the University of Manchester - full of great stories from true music fans 1954-2016

A 20/20 Legacy: the centenary of the Northern School of Music

Founded in 1920 by Hilda Collens, the school specialised in training music teachers until it merged with the Royal Manchester College of Music to form the RNCM.

Kate O'Donnell (Trans Creative)

A personal archive of Kate's flyers, posters and press articles.

Electric 50: Bob Dylan at the Free Trade Hall Redux

Manchester Digital Music Archive celebrated this outstanding event with a fundraising concert to mark its 50th anniversary.

Square Peg, Round Hole: decades of (gay) involvement in Manchester.

Huge personal collection of flyers, photos and articles from designer / promoter duo Glenn & Brendon.

Paradise Factory, January 1998

A photo diary of a night out in Paradise Factory.

Rave in Greater Manchester, 1985-1995

To celebrate the launch of the Lapsed Clubber Audio Map, we've started an exhibition about rave in Greater Manchester.

25 Years Of Paper Recordings: 1994 - 2019

A quarter of a century of music, parties, good times & many memories of Paper Recordings.

RNCM Archives

Welcome to the Royal Northern College of Music Archives

Making Music in Manchester during WW1

This exhibition showcases some of the archives of the Royal Northern College of Music, the Hallé Concerts Society and the Henry Watson Music Library.

Defining Me: A Musical Adventure in Manchester #1

Michael Barnes-Wynters (aka Barney Doodlebug, and MDMArchive trustee) snapshot of a musical journey.

Fanzine: Ghast Up

How to make a fanzine. Behind the scenes photos and letters including all issues of seminal fanzine.

Fanzine: God Is A Newt

Another great punk fanzine.

Fanzine: Out There

Paul Morley's self-published fanzine 'Out There'.

Fanzine: Manchester Rains

Another great DIY fanzine.

The Mancunian Gay Magazine

Uncovering Manchester's LGBT music history within the pages of the Mancunian Gay magazine.

Oh Manchester, so much to answer for

M20 Festival, Withington 2018

Celebrating the 40th Anniversary of the Founding of Factory Records

Melanie Smith - Mudkiss Photography

Manchester-based music photographer Melanie Smith shares some random photographic memories.

King Kayak: 2006 to 2009

Manchester Postcards

A collection of early 20th Century postcards illustrating brass bands and old venue spaces.

Manchester, North of England

Cherry Red Records box set as selected by members of MDMArchive.

Licktronica : a design aesthetic and an electronic music night

A collection of Rob Bailey's iconic poster designs from Licktronica.

Manchester Musicians Collective

Late 1970s Manchester musicians-led grass-roots movement.

Cry Wolf 1975-1980

Lifting the lid on late 70s gig scene of Poynton, Cheadle and beyond.

Fictitious Names

A treasure trove of images of this Radcliffe-based band.

Manchester, Punk and Beyond...

OT's punk nuggets - it is good to own a Shy Talk and a Ghast Up, a John Cooper Clarke poster and the Electric Circus flyers.

Happy Mondays 'Rave On' 1989

My Smiths and Morrissey collection

Since stumbling across The Smiths on the Old Grey Whistle Test I've never looked back.

Latest Artefacts

Latest Discussion

“Saville looking dapper as he always was.”
Written by MMU Alumni, view artefact
30 Nov
“Peter Saville influenced a generation.”
Written by Sally Baines, view artefact
29 Nov
“Thanks for sharing, that's really helpful! Would you be up for a quick chat? I'm keen to speak to whoever knew Avril. My email is joannecurator@gmail.com.”
Written by joannerosenthal, view artefact
27 Nov
“Manhattan. She regularly performed there. I was DJ.”
Written by DJLizwold, view artefact
22 Nov
“50p!”
Written by Gervan Simon, view artefact
16 Nov
“Are you still local to the Manchester area? I'm studying at the university of Salford, and I'm currently making a documentary on Maxwell hall, I would love to hear more about your experience”
Written by cjl6002, view artefact
14 Nov
“Indeedy, definitely one of the best gigs I’ve ever been to.”
Written by Dale Jowett, view artefact
14 Nov
“Hiya, did you attend this gig?”
Written by cjl6002, view artefact
14 Nov
“I've just found this archive whilst idly searching for any information online about my grandfather, Leonard Latchford. I'm pleased to confirm that next to him in the photo is his wife, Tita Joan Latchford (née Hindley).”
Written by Karen Parkes, view artefact
10 Nov
“Great find”
Written by fast cars, view artefact
07 Nov

Latest People & Places

Speedway Kick - Band / Artist Tel-X 03 Dec
Sea Walk - Band / Artist Matt Rynn 29 Nov
Mark Burgess And Yves Altana - It's dEAD deAD gooD 27 Nov
Yves Altana - Band / Artist It's dEAD deAD gooD 27 Nov
Invincible - Band / Artist It's dEAD deAD gooD 27 Nov
Deviation - Band / Artist It's dEAD deAD gooD 27 Nov
Jez Williams - Band / Artist It's dEAD deAD gooD 27 Nov
Bowa - Band / Artist It's dEAD deAD gooD 27 Nov
Dead Dead Good - Record Label It's dEAD deAD gooD 27 Nov
Greater Manchester Bands - Band / Artist It's dEAD deAD gooD 27 Nov
Jim Tracey - Person Cait Hurley 21 Nov
Temperance Club - Place Cait Hurley 21 Nov
John Shaw - Person rncmarchives 05 Nov
Duncan Jones - Band / Artist Red 02 Nov
Tim Sinclair - Person Red 02 Nov

News
15 Aug 24
Blue Plaques for Black Music in Manchester
10 Jun 24
Louder than Words - Black Women in Music / 50 Years of Hip-Hop
05 Apr 24
Re-Membering Music Worlds: Exhibiting the Rebel Women of Manchester’s Suffragette City
14 Oct 23
Beyond the Music - October
05 Sep 23
Echo Salford interactive music trail launches
26 May 22
Hulme Jubilee Weekender - A fun filled Celebration of Our Culture & Diversity
Manchester Histories Festival 11 May 22
Help Shape Our Future-Complete our Survey 05 Jan 21
MDMArchive in city-wide 50 Windows of Creativity exhibition 26 Oct 20
Abigail Ward steps down 10 Sep 20
CP Lee 1950-2020 26 Jul 20
Suffragette City raised £5300 for local women's charities 17 Mar 20
12 Dec 2024

On this day in history

A Certain RatioHappy MondaysNew OrderElbowCourteenersJenna GThe Lottery WinnersThe Other TwoBlossomsShaun RyderValveJay TaylorManchester CollectiveWorking Men's ClubSacha LordOli RyderRose GillPaul Husband
Night and Day CafeThe HaciendaThe Stoller HallYes
The Drones
The Drones
The Drones
The G-o-d
Tiger Lounge
Black CurtainDriftPlazmosWayne Large
Escape ChorltonJackalope
A Certain RatioGraham Massey
1
A Certain Ratio
The Cheaters
Band On The Wall
The Cheaters
Band On The Wall
The Cheaters
Band On The Wall
A Certain Ratio
Moore Marriott
Octagon Theatre
2
The 66
Levenshulme Bicycle Orchestra
Klondyke Bowls Club
Valentine Records
The Retro Bar
DoublejohngreyValentine Records
The Retro Bar
Illuminati
The Briton's Protection
GeorgeMatt HillArt Vs IndustryPop ArtPop Art Vs Industry
Matt And Phred's Jazz Club
ElbowI Am KlootAlfieDriftStan ChowWayne Large
Night and Day Cafe
The Apollo
Glenn RoutledgeBrendon O'Brien
Strangeways
ElectronicMike Pickering
Electronic
Milltown Brothers
Milltown Brothers
2
Happy Mondays
Electronic
The BodinesMC Buzz B
The Hacienda
The Fall
New Order
The Smiths
1
UMIST (Barnes Wallis Building)
The Hacienda
2
Fagin's
The Fall
1
Collectors Records Underground Market
Nylon Pylon
Royal Manchester College Of Music (RMCM)
Royal Manchester College Of Music (RMCM)
The Hallé
Our archive currently contains 4026 Bands / Artists, 782 DJs, 1522 Places, 407 People and 32637 artefacts contributed by 4556 members.
Manchester Digital Music Archive is licensed under an
Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Charity no. 1164179
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