Music

New documentary sees Manchester’s music story told through guitar

Peter Hook, Happy Mondays and The Stone Roses are among the Manchester music legends getting involved in the project.

Hannah Starkie - 8th June 2021

A new mini documentary will take a deep dive into the personal experiences and stories of Manchester’s musicians over the past 50 years – putting focus on one particular musical instrument.

Each musician taking part in the Manchester’s Guitar Project movie is being invited to play a track using the custom-made one-of-a-kind guitar as they share their stories – and there are already some huge names involved. 

Peter Hook, Buzzcocks’ guitarist Steve Diggle, Badly Drawn Boy, Happy Mondays’ Rowetta, Slow Readers Club and The Stone Roses guitarist Aziz Ibrahim have all played a tune with the strings whilst being interviewed.  

The project’s manager, Dan Pinder, told Audio: “It’s been great working with some of the legends from the Manchester music scene – and we’ve been amazed by the support we have received to help put this project together. 

“Many of these legends have been interviewed by Phil Brennan from our team and the stories that have been told give a great insight to their backgrounds and what has shaped them into the people they are today.

“There will also be plenty of great music included and a very special cover of an iconic Manchester song to close the documentary.” 

The guitar itself has been hand crafted by Martyn Heeks using six different types of wood and has taken more than 300 hours to put together. It was then donated to the project by Graham at the Manchester Scooter Centre – there’s even a silhouette of a scooter on the back of the guitar, too!

Following the documentary’s release, the guitar will be given back to Manchester for museum display as a token of the music scene. 

The whole project is in aid of n:gl, a not-for-profit community organisation based in Stockport which works with vulnerable teenagers and young adults who have fallen through the cracks in the system.  

n;gl provide support, advice and mentorship to young people, and with facilities like a martial arts centre, recording studio, photography studio and a gym, they’re offering a fresh start for youngsters with the opportunity to develop new skills and discover a new hobby.  

The aim is to open up a n:gl centre in each of the ten Greater Manchester boroughs. This’ll mean the whole city can benefit from the great things the charity does. 

People are also being invited to donate whatever they can through the n:gl’s donation page where proceeds go directly to charity.

Whilst there’s no release date for the documentary yet as it’s still a working progress, you’ll be able to catch snippets of it so far at the vinyl fair that they’ll be hosting. This’ll take place at Factory on July 18. Plus, you’ll be able to see the guitar up close and personal there too! 

Head to Manchester’s Guitar Project’s Instagram to find out more.  

Featured image by Trust A Fox.