7. Regret

In 1995, after five years of court cases, silence and mounting
expectation, The Stone Roses are finally back. The Second Coming
has been released, and a Glastonbury headline slot awaits. Then
on a rare day off in America, guitarist John Squire falls from
his bike and breaks his collarbone. The momentum snaps.


Meanwhile, Britpop storms the charts. Blur and Suede set the tone
and Oasis inherit Manchester’s swagger and carry it into a
different decade. Then, on 15 June 1996, a bomb detonates in
Manchester city centre. The physical damage is vast. The city
rebuilds quickly, shinier and safer, the rough edges that once
nurtured experimentation begin to disappear.


By the time The Stone Roses limp onto the stage at Reading
Festival in August 1996, expectation outweighs belief and the
performance falters. Within months, the band are finished. The
Happy Mondays have already collapsed under the weight of
addiction and excess. Factory Records is gone. The Hacienda is
fading. The party is over.


Episode 7 of The Rise and Fall of Madchester charts the slow
unravelling of a movement that once felt unstoppable. This is the
story of how Madchester dissolved and how the city it
transformed, moved on without it.


A BBC Audio Production.