 | | Johnny Marr |
It would have been impossible not to be taken in by the sheer scale of what the city achieved in an event that will be memorable in years to come for so many reasons. For some, this may have been a glimpse of Bez's lovably shambolic Domino Bones. For others, it may have been a loud and proud set from Nine Black Alps that confused the old ravers who were sold the event on the strength of a bill which amounted to a Madchester reunion.
 | | Guy Garvey |
And it would have been this group who stood in a mix of dewy-eyed awe and unfettered joy as Johnny Marr began his set with a faithful version of There Is A Light That Never Goes Out, carried on with How Soon Is Now – with Andy Rourke - and then formed part of a Mancunian supergroup that included a guest slot from Shaun Ryder singing the Mondays’ Wrote For Luck as a finale. That's not to mention New Order's wander back to Joy Division in a set consisting almost entirely of songs that have been with them for over a quarter of a century. Ian Curtis's words have lost none of their emotional intensity over the last 25 years though – as the apparent tears welling in Hooky's eyes as New Order finished off showed.
 | | New Order |
But still there's more. Witness Bernard Sumner belting out Lou Reed's Vicious and dancing like an embarrassing dad. See Graham Massey doing the same during a near-perfect Pacific. Then there's Badly Drawn Boy holding a huge audience with simply his voice and an acoustic guitar on The Shining. The weight of the occasion was so immense that Guy Garvey had even used a razor before another strong set from Elbow. Nothing like that from Jimi Goodwin though, but Doves were excellent anyway.
It's easy to have a mawkish sentimentality about the quality of acts at charity gigs; just look at how Queen's sales rocketed after Live Aid. But maybe because it's Manchester and, again in the words of Wilson, we do things differently here; Manchester v Cancer was a truly stunning event.
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