Northside are an English

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

band from

Blackley Blackley is a suburban area of Manchester, England. Historically in Lancashire, it is approximately north of Manchester city centre, on the River Irk. History The hamlet of Blackley was mentioned in the Domesday Book. The name derives from t ...

and Moston in north

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

, England. Formed in 1989, they released their only album, '' Chicken Rhythms'', on

Factory Records Factory Records was a Manchester-based British independent record label founded in 1978 by Tony Wilson and Alan Erasmus. The label featured several important acts on its roster, including Joy Division, New Order, A Certain Ratio, the Durutt ...

in 1991. The band became part of the 1990s

Madchester Madchester was a musical and cultural scene that developed in the English city of Manchester in the late 1980s, closely associated with the indie dance scene. Indie-dance (sometimes referred to as indie-rave) saw artists merging indie music w ...

baggy Baggy was a name given to a British alternative dance genre popular in the late 1980s and early 1990s, with many of the artists referred to as "baggy" being bands from the Madchester scene. History The genesis of indie-dance was the Balearic ...

indie Indie is a short form of "independence" or "independent"; it may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Gaming *Independent video game development, video games created without financial backing from large companies *Indie game, any game (board ...

rave A rave (from the verb: '' to rave'') is a dance party at a warehouse, club, or other public or private venue, typically featuring performances by DJs playing electronic dance music. The style is most associated with the early 1990s dance mus ...

scene. Northside was formed by Warren "Dermo" Dermody (vocals/lyrics) and Cliff Ogier (bass). They were later joined by Michael Upton (guitar) and Paul Walsh (drums). Upton was replaced by Timmy Walsh before the release of their first single, "Shall We Take a Trip".

Chart success

"Shall We Take a Trip" was banned by the

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for its many references to drugs (specifically

LSD Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), also known colloquially as acid, is a potent psychedelic drug. Effects typically include intensified thoughts, emotions, and sensory perception. At sufficiently high dosages LSD manifests primarily mental, vi ...

), but despite the lack of

airplay Airplay is how frequently a song is being played through broadcasting on radio stations. A song which is being played several times every day (spins) would have a significant amount of airplay. Music which became very popular on jukeboxes, in n ...

it eventually broke into the

Top 50 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or "conte ...

in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. In 2006,

BBC 6 Music BBC Radio 6 Music is a British digital radio station owned and operated by the BBC, specialising primarily in alternative music. BBC 6 Music was the first national music radio station to be launched by the BBC in 32 years. It is available onl ...

played the song in its entirety on the

Marc Riley Marc Riley (born 10 July 1961 in Manchester) is an English radio DJ, alternative rock critic, musician, and former music businessman. He currently presents on BBC Radio 6 Music. Formerly a member of the Fall, he co-owned a record label, In-Ta ...

show, and again on the

Steve Lamacq Stephen Paul Lamacq (born 16 October 1964), sometimes known by his nickname Lammo (given to him by John Peel), is an English disc jockey, currently working with the BBC radio station BBC Radio 6 Music. Early life He attended The Ramsey Academy ...

show in 2016 as part of the My Generation series on 1989. "Shall We Take a Trip" was also used as Granada's ''

Soccer Night ''Soccer Night'' is a regional television football programme on ITV in United Kingdom between the 1990s and 2008. Early history The programme concept began in 1990 on Granada Television in North West England. ''Granada Soccer Night'', which was ...

'' theme tune throughout the 1990s. The next single from ''Chicken Rhythms'', "My Rising Star", was released in October 1990 and reached No. 32, staying on the chart for 7 weeks. The album itself peaked at No. 19 in June 1991. It was produced by

Ian Broudie Ian Zachary Broudie (born 4 August 1958) is an English musician and singer-songwriter from Liverpool. After emerging from the post-punk scene in Liverpool in the late 1970s as a member of Big in Japan, Broudie went on to produce albums (somet ...

. In 1991, Northside scored a minor hit in the United States when their single "Take 5" reached No. 5 on the ''Billboard''

Alternative Songs Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks (1988–2009) and Alternative Songs (2009–2020)) is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in ''Billboard'' magazine since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-played ...

chart for the week of 5 October. It also reached No. 34 on the

Dance/Club Play Songs Dance Club Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. It is a national look over of club disc jockeys to determine the most popular songs being played in nightclubs across the country. It was launched as th ...

charts that same month. The band performed "Take 5" on ''

Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British Record chart, music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show ...

'' on 6 June 1991, a rare occasion where a song that was not in the Top 40 was played on the show. That week the single was at No.41 and would peak at No.40.

Second album and breakup

A second album was recorded, with a planned release date and a catalogue number for the first single "Want a Virgin", however Northside's label

declared bankruptcy in November 1992 and the band split up.

Post-Northside

In 2003, Dermo and Ogier formed the band Silent Partners, with drummer Malc Law and guitarist Danny Yates; however Ogier left and was replaced by Dom Morrison. The band toured extensively in the UK, opening for

Happy Mondays Happy Mondays are an English rock band formed in Salford in 1980. The original line-up was Shaun Ryder (vocals), his brother Paul Ryder ( bass), Gary Whelan (drums), Paul Davis (keyboard), and Mark Day (guitar). Mark "Bez" Berry later joined t ...

. Drummer Paul Walsh went on to record and tour with Manchester rock outfit Sons of the Stage, releasing an independent LP, ''Angel Hill''. In 2006, Northside played gigs in Leeds and Manchester, however singer Dermo was the only returning original member. '' Chicken Rhythms'' was also re-issued in 2006 on LTM Recordings. Dermo formed V Thirteen in March 2011 with Matt Rynn, Doug McCloud and Miz DeShannon. V Thirteen is named after a song by

Big Audio Dynamite Big Audio Dynamite (later known as Big Audio Dynamite II and Big Audio, and often abbreviated BAD) were an English band, formed in London in 1984 by Mick Jones, former lead guitarist, and co-lead vocalist of the Clash. The band mixed various mu ...

. In late 2013, Northside announced that they were reforming with all four original members. They toured England in April and May 2014. In 2017, Dermo went solo with his debut single "Vultures" on Eromeda Records. Tim Walsh worked as a sound engineer for 25 years, on shows such as Brookside and Hollyoaks. He died on 19 August 2019

Selected discography

Vinyl Releases on

Albums

*1991: '' Chicken Rhythms'' FAC 310 - UK No. 19

Singles

*1990: "Shall We Take a Trip" / "Moody Places" FAC 268 (12") *1990: "Shall We Take a Trip" / "Moody Places" FAC 268/7 (7") - UK No. 50 *1990: "My Rising Star"* / Instrumental FAC 298 (12") *1990: "My Rising Star" / Instrumental FAC 298/7 (7") - UK No. 32 *1991: "Take 5"* / "Who's to Blame" (Instrumental) FAC 308 (12") *1991: "Take 5" / "Who's to Blame" (Instrumental) FAC 308-7 (7") - UK No. 40 ''*'' longer version.

Music videos

*"Shall We Take a Trip" *"My Rising Star" *"Take 5"

References

External links

Madchester - The Sound of the North (Northside Rehearsal)

Video for "Take 5"

ITV Chart Show Indie Chart April 1991 - featuring "Take 5"

Video for "My Rising Star"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Northside (Band) English alternative rock groups Musical groups from Manchester People from Moston, Manchester Madchester groups Factory Records artists