Hosted by the School of Digital Arts at Manchester Metropolitan University, Neither Factory Records Nor Madchester: Rethinking Manchester’s Musical and Subcultural Histories was an academic conference at which George and I gave a lecture: Should We Abolish Manchester? on 19th June 2025.
Details of the conference can be found here.
Abstract for Should We Abolish Manchester?
Founded in 2020, Leigh-based publication STAT is an anti-profit arts and culture zine for the North West, excluding the city of Manchester. Too often Northern culture becomes obscured by urban centres. The sponge that is Manchester leaves peripheral towns devoid of both economy and identity, further catalysing centralisation to the city. Calling for the abolition of Manchester in 2023, STAT is a reaction against said cultural centralisation, against the rentier capitalism which drives it, and against our region’s relentless nostalgia.
What STAT is, is a call to action. A reclamation of our immediate environments for the building of a regional, inclusive and unapologetically progressive cultural identity. There are countless stories to be told outside of Manchester – in Wigan, Blackburn, Morecambe, Runcorn – yet the telling of these stories is often unprofitable or cynically stamped out. Is it for us to swing the limelight back, to stand up for our communities, to make things better.
Presentation Slides
Conference Programme and Abstracts
Peter Mercer 