Manchester music legends: The Stone Roses, Oasis, Joy Division and The Smiths

The 50 best songs from Manchester

Ian Curtis of Joy Division in January 1980

What are Joy Division's biggest songs?

Jack White: maybe he upholstered your sofa?

The jobs rock stars did before they were famous

Bernard Sumner of New Order performing live in 1981

Did New Order give the world the worst Glastonbury set ever?

New Order

A close-up of Joy Division's Unknown Pleasures album cover

10 things you didn't know about Joy Division’s Unknown Pleasures

Vinyl albums - here's what you need to start a great collection

20 essential albums to own on vinyl

Ian Curtis performing live with Joy Division in January 1980

How Love Will Tear Us Apart became Ian Curtis's memorial

Ian Curtis, performing with Joy Division in Rotterdam in January 1980

What did Joy Division play at their last gig?

New Order's Gillian Gilbert, Stephen Morris, Peter Hook and Bernard Sumner in 1986

Where did New Order get the title Blue Monday from?

New Order

Masters of the b-side: New Order, The Stone Roses and The Smiths

The best B-sides by Manchester bands

Tony Wilson, the mastermind behind Factory Records

19 indie record labels that changed the face of music

How do you rate these guitarists? Bernard Sumner from Joy Division/New Order, Joey Santiago from Pixies and Peter Buck of R.E.M.

10 of the most underrated guitarists in rock

Morrissey and The Smiths' only live album (to date)... Rank

The 20 best live albums

Scenes from some of the greatest music docs of all time: Liam Gallagher in Supersonic; The Beatles get down in Peter Jackson's Get Back; The Stones whip up a storm in Gimme Shelter; and the late great Amy Winehouse in Asif Kapadia's Amy,

The 20 best music documentaries

Could these frontmen master a guitar riff? Freddie Mercury. Bono and Ian Curtis

Great frontmen who weren't that great on guitar

Blur in Japan, 1994, shortly after the release of their genre-defining Parklife album: Graham Coxon, Dave Rowntree, Damon Albarn and Alex James.

10 songs that ended an era... or began a new one

Final album covers from Nirvana, The Beatles, The Verve, David Bowie, The Smiths and more

The "final" albums by the greatest artists

Ian Curtis - at work in his persona as Joy Division frontman, and at play at his office Christmas party

Joy Division's Ian Curtis at an office Christmas party is strangely wonderful