New John Robb book... and it's about Manchester

John Robb, all round punk lover, scribe and keep-fit devotee, has a new book coming out. 'The North Will Rise Again: Manchester Music City 1978-2008' is published on April 28.

Of course, the book looks at Manchester's recent musical heritage, encompassing punk, Madchester and whatever Manchester considers to be it's 'scene' currently.

Naturally, this being a commercial venture, Robb's had to use The Manchester Musical Royal Family, which means documenting Morrissey, Ian Brown, Noel and Liam Morrissey, Mark E Smith, Johnny Marr, Shaun Ryder and the late Tony Wilson.

"I've spoken to just about everybody. 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!" Robb told the Manchester Evening News. Robb will launch the book at Manchester's Urbis venue on May 5. Get down and say hello to him... he's a really nice chap, y'know?