Everybody knows about the music scene that developed in Liverpool, England, with four musicians who would change the world. And some people know about the movement that came out of Birmingham, the industrial town that spawned the likes of Black Sabbath, Traffic, and Led Zeppelin. But not many fans know what happened in Manchester over the past several decades. There, a style of pop music was cultivated by the likes of the Buzzcocks, Joy Division, the Fall, The Smiths, the Stone Roses, the Happy Mondays, and perhaps most famously, by Oasis.

The author interviews musicians, club owners, managers and more to reveal how the Manchester scene began and grew. Robb has managed to get the inside truth from Noel Gallagher, Johnny Marr, Shaun Ryder, Morrissey, Tony Wilson, and many more of the musicians who were there creating this new style of Britpop.

In the book's intro, Oasis leader Noel Gallagher puts the scene in perspective:

"Of course the Stone Roses come from Manchester; where else could they be from? Where else could the Smiths and Joy Division be from? Where else could Ian Curtis be from? Where else could Factory Records be from? Where else could the Hacienda be? What is it about Manchester? and I say, I don't know!"