Manchester Unspun: Pop, Property and Power in the Original Modern City: How a City Got High on Music

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This is a fabulous, compelling book with a cast of larger-than-life characters. First as observer, then as participant, Andy has enjoyed a ring-side seat in the renaissance and development of Britain's most exciting city.' Andy Spinoza has lived in Manchester since 1979, as a student, entrepreneur, publisher, journalist, gossip columnist and PR supremo. He has met, interviewed, irritated and worked with just about anyone of note in the city in the last four decades The other talking point was Andy Spinoza’s recent book Manchester unspun. Andy is a journalist and PR guru who has written a warts-and-all exposéof the city’s recent renaissance. He is someone who not only had a seat at the table throughout most of the events he recounts, but was responsible for writing the press release. Spinoza recounts such tales with wry relish. As a teenager he went north inspired by the history of Manchester’s political radicalism and the work of music writers such as Paul Morley and Jon Savage. He then found himself occupying a front-row seat for the epic regeneration story that played out over the next four decades. Coolly analytical, exceptionally well-informed and hugely entertaining, Manchester Unspun does justice to it.

What a great read! At last someone who was there and knows, telling a fascinating story of a city's rebirth. Wonderfully written too. I couldn't put it down once I'd started.' Manchester Unspun is a remarkable record of the city’s emergence from industrial decline over the past fifty years. Author Andy Spinoza, a fly on the wall for the majority of that period, explores every nook and cranny of the journey, gamely citing the creative and cultural forces behind Factory Records/The Hacienda as a catalyst. It’s a good angle, but the true thrust of the book is provided by the title: Pop, Property and Power in the Original Modern City. As Spinoza recounts, there was a lot more going on behind the scenes, and a multitude of significant figures forging the city’s future; in this book he explores exactly how these often diverse influences intersected in a unique way. Many of us had scanned the index to see if we were mentioned. I am, twice, although both relate to the same blog. Of the two things that I could have been mentioned for; the Homes for Change Coop is only credited to Charlie Baker, and the Hulme Design Guide (which changed attitudes to design in the city and that I wrote with Charlie) is credited to Ian Simpson!

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Manchester unspun is an account from punk to the pandemic of how the 1982 opening of the Hacienda gave the kiss of life to a dying city centre, and of the chain reaction it began leading to today’s dynamic international city. It’s also a memoir of my experiences working with the famous personalities in music, football, business and politics who made Manchester the most headline grabbing city in the UK.” I had a similar experience as a result of an article in this publication. BD did a special feature on Manchester in the early 2000s interviewing various architects and other professionals like myself. I gave, what I thought at the time, was a pretty balanced account, lots of positives but also a few negatives.

Last week I attended a 10th anniversary reception for Civic Engineers, a national engineering consultancy that started out in Manchester. The event was in a tent in the newly opened Festival Square, as part the Manchester International Festival. You've got to buy a copy of this book, it's a great read... It really embraces the Manchester we see out of our windows today. The stories in it are just fantastic.' My fellow interviewees had been more circumspect. When the article came out each of the positive points made by the other contributors was juxtaposed with a negative repost from myself. I still cringe when I think about that piece and the impact on my prospects for getting work in Manchester were as drastic as they were for Martin. He was launching his book the Reluctant Engineer and other Manchester Stories but talked slightly too freely, managing to upset the city’s leadership.On returning to Manchester his practice found itself frozen out of work in the city. He would leave the practice not long after, and his fellow directors, Stephen O’Malley, Julian Broster and Paul Morris rebranded as Civic Engineers.After establishing his own PR firm, he became involved in some of the city’s major building projects, and witnessed overblown design disasters such as the ill-conceived Urbis building play out at first-hand. In one of many memorable encounters recounted in the book, he is summarily dismissed by that quintessential modern Manchester man Gary Neville after a disagreement over PR strategy for a proposed luxury hotel. A sympathetic property consultant tells him: “Gary very much values the views of his consultants – as long as they agree with his own.” It was an intensive, beer-driven, networking opportunity and one in which many of the architects present were unable to resist a few disparaging comments about OMA’s Factory International Building (everyone agreed not to call it the Aviva Arena) that loomed over us. Bookshop.org Manchester Unspun: Pop, Property and Power in the Original Modern City a book by Andy Spinoza. (bookshop.org) Manchester unspun sorts the truth from the spin of the city’s stories to reveal a remarkable journey, describing the hubris, scandal, money and politics which played out during its remarkable reinvention.