Oasis, Smiths feature in new music book

The Smiths and Oasis will feature in a new book about Manchester music by journalist John Robb.

Robb's book charts 30 years of music from the Northern city and includes contributions from Morrissey, Ian Brown, the Gallagher brothers, Mark E. Smith, Shaun Ryder and the late Tony Wilson.

It will cover Manchester's punk scene, the early '90s Madchester movement and present day acts.

"I've spoken to just about everybody," Robb told the Manchester Evening News. "In fact, the biggest problem has been keeping it all down to a manageable size. The book is around 155,000 words long as it is and it could have been double that. Ian Brown gave me 30,000 words to work with!"

The North Will Rise Again: Manchester Music City 1978-2008 is released on April 28.