There at the heart of Manchester's Acid House rave scene in the late 1980s,
dance pioneers 808 State produced some of the anthems of the era and inspired
the likes of Aphex Twin, Chemical Brothers and Orbital. Formed by record shop
owner Martin Price and DJ/producers Graham Massey and Gerald Simpson initially
as hip hop crew Hit Squad Manchester, they renamed themselves after a drum
machine and turned to dance music, with their remixes becoming favourites at
legendary club The Hacienda. Signed to Paul Morley and Trevor Horn's label ZTT
Records, debut Newbuild (1988) influenced a ...