Cargo Studios, Rochdale, hosted seminal bands such as Joy Division. Courtesy Touchstones.

Rochdale’s links to popular music may have been somewhat overshadowed by neighbouring Manchester but the town has its own musical heritage to boast about.

From Gracie Fields to the famous Cargo recording studios, 18th century concerts to the 1970s Deeply Vale rock festival, the current exhibition at Touchstones proudly revisits Rockin’ Rochdale with memorabilia, posters and interviews. The show will be on until April 23 2006 – a kind of warm-up before the Deeply Vale festival is brought back to life in the summer.

“This exhibition brings together some of the most memorable musical moments in the borough’s history providing an exciting insight into the cultural life of Rochdale, Heywood and Middleton over the last 200 years,” said David Pugh, Museum Access Officer at Touchstones Rochdale.

Bernard Sumner of Joy Division and New Order with producer and Factory co-founder Martin Hannett in 1979. Courtesy Touchstones.

The exhibition goes back to dance hall days with famous Heywood bandleader Eddy Hilton, but really focuses on the local recording industry set in motion by John Peel, who worked at Rochdale’s Townhead Mill as a teenager.

The late Radio One DJ signed Rochdale-based band Tractor to his Dandelion record label, giving them finances to buy recording equipment and a PA system. Cargo Studios on Drake Street eventually evolved from the investment, set up by Tractor member John Brierley.

Over the years, the studio saw the likes of Joy Division (recording for fledgling Factory Records), Echo and the Bunnymen, The Teardrop Explodes and many more well-known groups. The exhibition gives visitors the chance to listen to an interview with Brierley about the recording of Joy Division’s legendary ‘Atmosphere’ single, as well as music by local bands.

Rochdale's next big thing? Courtesy Touchstones.

“The history of popular music wasn’t taken seriously by museums until recently,” continued David Pugh, “and yet it is something that nearly everyone enjoys. Whilst researching this exhibition we’ve discovered just what a rich musical heritage our borough has.”

Unseen footage of Deeply Vale festival, held just outside Rochdale from 1976 to 1979, is shown on a big screen and rare and unusual guitars handmade in Rochdale are on display.

“The public are bringing in new stories and donating new objects all the time,” said David. “We are therefore designing part of the exhibition as a place where people can contribute their own musical memories and help to build up a unique history of the local music scene.”

There’s also a glimpse of the future with a section on local bands who could be the next big thing to put Rochdale back on the music map.