The MDMArchive launched back in 2004 with a party at Urbis, but its website relaunched last November and just recently it received some press coverage.

It’s a brilliant website for music fans with time to kill. The site currently boats 1,918 bands, 348 venues and 971 artefacts, such as the ‘ticket’, right for the Buzzcocks and Magazine at the Lesser Free Trade Hall in 1978.

The members’ memories are also great - read this one about Chorlton Train Station, for example:

The Blues and Gospel Train was a fantastic 40 minute piece of musical history… Muddy Waters, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee came to Manchester and filmed a performance on the platform of Chorlton Train Station (now a Morrison’s Supermarket!).

There’s an informative musical timeline for Manchester too, starting in the 1400s.

I love the collaborative nature of the site - its members are what make it a worthwhile experience. If you’ve got anything to contribute, please get involved.