Music matters and Manchester is a city inextricably linked to its musical heritage. Indeed the music of Manchester is so deeply ingrained in the DNA of the City that you cannot imagine rock music or the city without it.
Why we need your help
‘There is a Light That Never Goes Out’ is a photography exhibition that celebrates Manchester’s unique rock music history. The specially curated display showcases the best of the city’s bands, past & present, and shares their legacy to inspire future generations of music makers.
Having proved hugely popular whilst on show at Manchester’s Central Library last year, the exhibition is now on free public display at The Market in The University of Manchester. Here we plan for it to have a permanent home, a lasting visual record of the city’s great music heritage, but we can only achieve this with your help.
Unfortunately we, Rockarchive, are too small an organisation to afford to donate the exhibition to the city, as we need the frames & prints back for future exhibitions. So we need to raise £25,000. To help raise the money we have created a range of fantastic unique and limited edition rewards that you can buy to pledge your support.
Our Story
'There is a Light That Never Goes Out’ was first displayed a few months ago at Manchester Central Library where it was enjoyed by over 38,000 visitors. The exhibition was curated by Jon Savage and Rockarchive founder Jill Furmanovsky.
This unique collection of over 80 gritty photographs, takes the punk era of the late 1970's as its starting point moving on through the Factory records era and Madchester years, to the rise of Oasis in the mid-1990s. Contemporary images of the Manchester scene gives an overall picture of Manchester’s music heritage from the mid-1970’s right up to the present day.
Photographs include classic images of Buzzcocks, Joy Division, The Fall, The Smiths, The Stone Roses and Oasis, as well as highlighting some of the people and places who helped make it all happen such as Tony Wilson, the Hacienda and Electric Circus. Many of the iconic images were taken from a pool of the UK’s most talented music photographers, including legendary Manchester based lensman, Kevin Cummins, as well as Paul Slattery, Pennie Smith and Rockarchive founder Jill Furmanovsky.
So great was the local acclaim and pride in the exhibition that we wanted it to remain in and belong to the city, to inspire current and future generations to keep the flame of Manchester's vibrant music scene burning.
The exhibition is now on display at The Market, a food market and exhibition space at the University of Manchester where it can be enjoyed by the people of Manchester, students and visitors. Entrance is free for all.
What do we need?
So now we are crowdfunding to keep this great visual record in its home city - where it belongs - and we are asking for your help.
To ensure the exhibition can stay on permanent display, we need to raise £25,000. So we have created a range of fantastic unique and limited edition rewards that you can buy to pledge your support.
Rewards
To help you decide which of our fantastic rewards to choose, where appropriate we have added photos of them below. More rewards will be added soon ......
£6 - Set of 6 Oasis vintage postcards
£20 - Unique Pack of Manchester Bands Greetings Cards
£25 - Specially designed Oasis t-shirt
The inspiration for this exclusive t-shirt was taken from a photograph of Oasis taken by Jill Furmanovsky at King's Cross. London in 1997. The words on the blackboard were written by Noel Gallagher. View the original image here https://www.rockarchive.com/prints/o/oasis-oa040jf
£50 - Exclusive limited edition signed Oasis print
Specially for this exhibition Jill Furmanovsky delved into her Oasis archive to find this gem that has not been published before, of Noel and Liam, in a boxing ring in Wigan taken in March 1997. From a limited edition of 100, this 11x14" fine art print is produced on museum quality cotton based rag paper. Each print is numbered, signed and accompanied with a certificate of authenticity. Further details can be find here https://www.rockarchive.com/prints/o/oasis-oa054jf
£125 - Joy Division A3 Fine Art Print by Jill Furmanovsky
A rare live shot of Joy Division by Jill Furmanovsky taken in 1979 at the YMCA, London. From a limited edition of only 75 prints, this A3 fine art archival print is produced on museum quality cotton-based rag paper. Each is numbered, signed and accompanied with a certificate of authenticity, Further details can be found here https://www.rockarchive.com/prints/j/joy-division-jd003jf
£125 - Morrissey & Boz Boorer Package
Specially created Moz & Box package! Featuring an A3 (29.7 x 42.0 cm) fine art print of Morrissey & Boz Boorer signed by Boz, Boz Boorer medium sized t-shirt, clear vinyl single of Chain Gang by Morrissey (written by Chrissie Hynde) & Chrissie Hynde fanzine signed by Chrissie.
£500 - The Smiths A2 Fine Art Print & Book by Paul Slattery
The Smiths (Morissey & Johnny Marr) taken at Manchester Central Station in May 1983. Fine art print, created especially for this crowdfunding campaign, signed by Paul Slattery. Plus signed vintage copy of his book 'The Smiths: The Early Years'
£500 - Joy Division Fine Art Print by Paul Slattery & Book by Jon Savage
Joy Division taken at Hopes Carr, Stockport in July 1979. Fine art print, created especially for this crowdfunding campaign, signed by Paul Slattery. This print is also accompanied with a signed copy of Jon Savage's book 'This searing light, the sun & everything else: Joy Division an oral history'. Further details can be found here https://www.rockarchive.com/prints/j/joy-division-jd001psl
£2500 - The Stone Roses Fine Art Print by Pennie Smith
A rarely available print of the Stone Roses by world renowned music photographer Pennie Smith. The photograph was taken by Pennie whilst the Stone Roses were on tour in Belgium in the Autumn of 1989, a few months after the release of their remarkable debut album 'The Stone Roses'. This A1 print (59.4cm x 84.1cm) was created especially for this crowdfunder campaign, is signed by Pennie and accompanied with a certificate of authenticity. Further details can be found here https://www.rockarchive.com/prints/s/stone-roses-sr001smith No copyright is printed on the actual print
£4000 - Morrissey Fine Art Print by Mary McCartney
A stunning limited edition print of Morrissey by world renowned photographer Mary McCartney. The photograph was taken by Mary at the Royal Festival Hall, London in 2004. This print is number 3 of an edition of 10. It comes already framed in a high quality black frame and was donated by Mary especially for this crowdfunder campaign. The image dimensions are 90cm x 60cm (92cm x 62cm framed). The print is signed by Mary and accompanied with a certificate of authenticity. Further details can be found here https://www.rockarchive.com/prints/m/morrissey-moz001mccart. Please note this print can only be delivered to a UK address.
For international delivery for the rewards of postcards, t-shirts and prints please add an additional donation of £10 at the checkout.
Please help us keep this great exhibition here, to celebrate Manchester’s unparalleled music legacy, past & present, in a city whose light will never go out.