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8 Songs written about Greater Manchester: Some you knew, some you didn't.

I remember the first time I heard my home 'area' referred to in a song, I was 5 years old. It features in this list actually, I couldn't comprehend how these people on the radio knew someone that I did, how they knew the same places I did, my flabbers were ghasted.


Turns out that specific band are from pretty much the same area as me. Rock n Roll stars apparently.


Anyway, If your area/borough is mentioned, this ones for you, if it's not, I'm sorry, I only had 8 slots, write a song!


  1. Oasis - Shakermaker [1994]

Mr Sifter sold me songs, when I was just sixteen

Told you they were Rock n Roll Stars...


Yeah, despite it being drilled into me from a very early age that I was highly likely to bump into the famous Gallagher brothers or Bonehead, who, side note, I was convinced was my neighbour's brother, he wasn't, but childhood me thought the resemblance was uncanny, 30 year old me thinks I probably should've been given the glasses long ago.

Anyway, hearing the reference to 'Mr Sifters' blast out from the speakers took me aback. How did these guys know Mr Sifter?! My mum buys her CDs from there, and he's lovely, his name's Pete actually but, we move, how did these fellas stuck inside my mums 3 tier 'Sony' stereo know about Sifters?!



For those of you who aren't a Burnage, or surrounding areas, native, Sifter's is a record shop on Fog Lane which straddles Withington and Burnage, everyone who's everyone around there has at some point in their life bought something from there, an LP, Cassette or CD, it's a local landmark, which now unsurprisingly attracts fans from all over the place.


  1. Brian & Michael - Matchstalk Men & Matchstalk Cats & Dogs [1979]

He painted Salford smokey tops on cardboard boxes from the shops, and parts of Ancoats where I used to play

So, another personal one to me, not that I'm from Salford or Ancoats, no, this one was an old favourite of my Nana's, she used to sing this one to me all the time as a kid, so in a shameless little tribute on today, posting day, what would've been her 71st Birthday, this one's for you Nana!


So this one is also more commonly known as 'Lowry's song' and if you listen to it, even the quote above, it's pretty obvious as to why. It's, in my opinion, a beautiful little tribute to the famous Salford painter and how, primarily in death, he found fame and his paintings appreciated. Salford and Ancoats only get a small mention in the song, but the context is a huge shoutout to Salford and its appearances in almost all of Lowry's famous pieces.




Fun Fact: The backing singers who feature at the end, singing the Primary School classic 'The big ship sails on the Alley, Alley-O', are none other than St Winifred's School choir from Stockport! The same ones who sang that lovely catchy one about Grandmas in the 80s!


Who knew I could tick off 3 different boroughs with one song. Ah Thank you!


  1. The Beautiful South - Manchester [2006]

If rains makes Britain Great, then Manchester is Greater.

I normally bang a detailed quote in there, mentioning a specific place, but there's too many mentions of different places, so read on and see if your area gets a mention, annoyingly, mine doesn't!


So, despite Paul Heaton being a Yorkshireman, we can forgive him, especially when he produced this masterpiece. With 4 out of the 10 boroughs being mentioned, and referring to Greater Manchester as a whole, I think this covers my quota of mentioning all 10 boroughs in a blog list....

Anyway, despite the main point of the song being the fact that it ALWAYS rains in the region, when I first heard this one back in college in 2011, it quickly became one of my favourite 'Manchester' songs.


Areas such as Northenden, Partington, Altrincham, Chadderton, Moss Side, Swinton, Cheetham Hill, Wythenshawe, Gorton, Salford and Sale all get their own personal mentions and Greater Manchester's most famous resident, the rainy grey skies, is the star of the song.



As you can see, the single art shows the legendary Orange GM buses, showing the old 33 and 95 buses, so Bury, it shows the 95 to Whitefield, you weren't left out, taking my total borough count in one song to 5! Don't think I'm gonna top that, but keep reading, there's more!


  1. Mike Harding - Rochdale Cowboy [1975]

It's hard being a cowboy in Rochdale; Spurs don't fit right on mi clogs

Honesty hour, this one was heavily debated amongst the team, as it is from the era of comedy/parody songs and Mike Harding was very well known at the time for making songs that took the p..mick, but we really really struggled to find a song that directly mentioned Rochdale, so we kinda had to settle for this one. Soz Rochdale!


I mean, considering it's the area that raised the 90s soul sister herself, Lisa Stansfield, not many songs give this area the positive recognition it deserves.


Anyway, this comedy song obviously mentions Rochdale in the title and in the chorus, its a genuinely funny song that we have confirmation is taken in good faith by Rochdalians, and I think that in itself highlights one of the standout things about all these boroughs, we can sit back and take a look at ourselves and laugh, mainly before anyone else does, but still, we all can appreciate a little bit of self depreciative humour.




I'd definitely recommend giving this one a listen, just for the mental imagery to be honest, the image of a middle aged fella dressed as a cowboy, with spurs glued onto a pair of clogs, riding on the back of an Alsatian.


Trust me, give it a listen, its on Youtube....


  1. The Lancashire Hotpots - The Wigan Church of Pies

Cause i've been baptised in Gravy at the Wigan church of pies.

Well, we've had one self depreciating song in the list, might aswell have a stereotypical one too. Now this one is another debated amongst the team for a couple of reasons. Main one being the band name, now, as a team, we may only be 30 and, well, my parent's were only infants when the borders changed, but we do understand and appreciate that many people across the region still refer to their borough by the old county borders. Yes, Wigan used to be in Lancashire, but the band are from St Helen's. So make of that what you will.


Back to the song, Wigan is famous for many things, Rugby, Northern Soul, 90s Raves, but the thing we all know Wigan for is pies.


Wiganer's bloody love their pies. The Wigan Athletic mascot is even called 'Crusty the pie'!


The idea that the second most populated borough would not only develop a religion but build a church in homage to their beloved pastry crusted delicacy is not that ridiculous and I for one, would be first in line for a Gravy baptism.





Side note: If you're ever in Wigan and seeking a carb loaded meal, go into any establishment that serves food [Preferably Galloways!] and request a 'Wigan Kebab' or 'Pie Barm' you will NOT be left disappointed. It's a thing of beauty!


  1. Frankie Vaughan - Stockport [1983]

Stockport is the place for me

Now I'm not gonna lie, this one was a difficult one to find and I almost had to settle on a different song that mentions Stockport, but after the previous 2 in the list, I couldn't have had another completely satirical song in the list. Although this one was written very tongue in cheek!


So the story goes, a national newspaper, we wont name them, set up a competition for local people to write a song effectively glorifying Stockport after said newspaper had dragged it through the mud in recent years, and surprisingly, no-one from Stockport came forward, so London lyricist Geoff Morrow took it upon himself to reach out to his good friend, Liverpool born 50s crooner, Frankie Vaughan, and this little tune was born in all its big band glory. Just ignore the corrie theme at the beginning...




Despite the sarcastic tone in the song, most Stopfordains who have heard the song, like the two boroughs above, can see the funny side and don't take it to heart!


Fun fact: This wasn't recorded in Strawberry Studios, as many would presume, but actually recorded within the Plaza Theatre!



  1. Ewan MacColl - Dirty Old Town [1949]

I met my love, by the gasworks croft

This one's definitely one of the vaguest ones on the list, and lyrically seems a bit of a reach, but, thankfully Ewan MacColl, who wrote this classic song, usually heard around St Patrick's Day or in Irish clubs and pubs all year round, confirmed that it was in fact written about Salford.


The original lyrics did in fact directly reference Salford, "I smelled the spring in the Salford Wind", but as covers emerged over the decades following its origin, the reference is usually dropped in favour of the words "Sulphured", or, "Smoky'. However, Luke Kelly, late-lead singer of the Dubliners regularly referred to the song in live performances as "A love song to Salford".


Any followers of football out there will also notice, if they venture down to Salford City FC, the team actually walk out to The Pogues version of this song, and if you ever went as an away fan and sat confused, this is the reason why they have that song!




Fun fact: Ewan MacColl who wrote the song, is the father of Kirsty MacColl, yes, that one who sang Fairytale of New York and died protecting her sons, that Kirsty MacColl. It's not relevant, but it's a nerdy little music fact for you.


  1. The Boys are back in Town - Thin Lizzy [1976]

Friday night they'd be dressed to kill, Down at Dino's Bar & Grill

Full disclaimer on this one, the late Phil Lynott never officially verified the origin of this song, but based on other lyrics written by the Thin Lizzy frontman and the fact his mother, Philomena, ran a notorious pub in Whalley Range, dots have been connected and we're gonna claim it regardless!


The leading theory is that this song, written by Lynott in the early 70s, originated in the Clifton Grange Hotel in Whalley Range and was an indirect reference to men who effectively 'ran' the city at the time. The Clifton, now used as private housing, was a booming drinking den in the 60s and 70s, playing host to many of Manchester's biggest stars of the time, including the likes of the late great, Georgie Best. Not all who drank there were famous for their sporting talent, or their TV presence, other patrons were widely recognisable for less entertaining reasons. Although we're not here to dispute associations or name names.





Phil wrote many songs referencing his mother's place of work and the surrounding area but undoubtedly this one is the most famous. Also, the quote above is believed to be a misspelling of 'Deno's', a Greek/Cypriot club in Central Manchester, infamous in it's day for more nefarious activities. Like I said though, we're only speculating!




So there you have it, some boroughs unfortunately don't have many, if at all, songs written that mention them directly. I've tried my best to find the best ones, in my opinion. If we were a blog based solely on Manchester as a borough then I'd be here all week because there's tons, but places like Bury, Bolton, Tameside, Oldham, you're all struggling. Local bands from those boroughs, get writing so I can do an updated blog in the future!


Side note: Admittedly, there are plenty of 'tracks' out that mention each borough directly, they're mainly on Soundcloud, and I may do a Rap exclusive one in the future but I was tryna keep this one a bit more family friendly so don't come at me in comments.


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