Down four flights of stairs on a fairly quiet street, it\u2019s not exactly the location you\u2019d expect to find the extended fiftieth anniversary celebrations of one of the most important hubs of the Manchester music scene of yesteryear – but given its stay in the museum has been extended twice since last year, it works just fine.<\/p>\n
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Assembled by music historian and self-confessed 10cc fanatic Peter Wadsworth, his influence is there for all to see. Split into two main rooms, the first is Peter\u2019s love letter to his favourite band – or at least that\u2019s how it feels.<\/p>\n
His fellow 10cc fans will be in their element at the sight of Eric Stewart\u2019s red Gibson guitar and the large gold disc the band were presented with in 1975 to mark a quarter of a million sales of their greatest hits LP.<\/p>\n
Catching my eye straight away though is the colourful mosaic displayed on the walkway between the first and second room.<\/p>\n
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Commissioned specially for the exhibition, its creator Mark Kennedy, whose work you may have seen on the side of Affleck\u2019s Palace, has used a mass of coloured shards to depict a number of musical icons such as Ian Brown and Morrissey amid the strawberry backdrop.<\/p>\n
I sort of want to take it home with me.<\/p>\n
Delving further and the beards and long hair of 10cc make way for another stop on Stockport\u2019s musical timeline. The surroundings are suddenly more familiar and as the opening chords of Love Will Tear Us Apart echo off the walls, it\u2019s almost as if Ian Curtis is about to step out of the frames.<\/p>\n
Joy Division fans may want to take a moment on the Unknown Pleasures stool while they absorb it.<\/p>\n
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There\u2019s no doubt this is a celebration of Stockport and the north-west in general. You only have to read Peter Tattersall\u2019s comments on the wall for a taste of the proud \u2018f**k London\u2019 attitude which underlies the displays.<\/p>\n
We are Stockport, look what we can do.<\/p>\n
What is nice about the exhibition, too, is its focus on everyday people. It is not merely a celebration of the bands that recorded at Strawberry \u2013 but also a toast to the studio staff, volunteers and student interns; without whom none of it would\u2019ve been possible.<\/p>\n
A handwritten staff rota from August 1986 is particularly amusing. Jokey odd-jobs such as \u2018roll a spliff for Hannett\u2019 and \u2018lick stamps at 4:45pm\u2019 give us an insight into the daily life and atmosphere there.<\/p>\n
While the studio may sadly be no longer, its legacy is stronger than ever as it surpasses half a century, and Stockport is proud of its musical history.<\/p>\n
Now open until September, it\u2019s a trip down memory lane worth taking your Dad and his air-guitar on, for sure.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Tucked away nicely in the depths of Stockport Museum is a hidden gem that the local folk are most definitely in love with. The Strawberry Studios:…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1237,"featured_media":2192,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4975,1],"tags":[1685,1686,1687,368,1684],"class_list":["post-2196","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment","category-uncategorised","tag-10cc","tag-joy-division","tag-music-exhibition","tag-stockport","tag-strawberry-studios"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n