Music: Six times Macclesfield's Jodrell Bank was used in song
By Alex Greensmith
22nd Dec 2021 | Local News
The most sung-about place in Macclesfield is Jodrell Bank.
The Lower Withington collection of radio telescopes, will turn 80 in 2025, has been a place of fascination for UK bands and artists.
The UNESCO World Heritage site is used for investigating radio waves from the stars and the planets, and particularly had an impact on creatives who witnessed the area's contribution to the Space Race.
Oasis famously had a photoshoot there in 1994, and the combination of music and science would culminate with gigs coming to the site in 2011, later becoming Bluedot Festival in 2016.
Jodrell Bank and the Lovell Telescope have even featured in songs by at least six chart-topping bands.
Since the 1980s, the Macclesfield astronomy landmark has been immortalised into song. And this is what we are talking about today.
Here's a non-exhaustive list on the times featured Jodrell Bank and the Lovell Telescope have featured in popular songs.
Please note: You can view a YouTube playlist of the tracks by clicking the player at the top of the article. Or by clicking here.
Public Service Broadcasting - Sputnik
The most recent example on our list, Public Service Broadcasting are a London indie band known for having no lead singer.
They take their vocals from radio or television programmes, invite guest vocalists on.
For their 2014 track Sputnik - which has received the thumbs up from man-on-the-moon Buzz Aldrin - they used actual beeps of the 1957 satellite being tracked by earth.
And when it came to make the music video in 2015, Public Service Broadcasting decided to film at the site of the 250-feet wide Lovell Telescope, as the first thing it ever did was to track Sputnik's ascent into space.
In a super-geeky fact, the four-minute video was shot on anniversary of the day that Jodrell Bank picked up a radar echo of the rocket that carried Sputnik into space. (October 11) PSB have also played two concerts at the Macclesfield Grade I-Listed site.
First in 2013 supporting Macclesfield/Salford band New Order, and later as part of 2018's Bluedot Festival.
Placebo - The Bitter End
Hitting No. 12 on the UK charts in 2003, London alternative rock band Placebo were past their peak of popularity, but they were still releasing some excellent tunes with The Bitter End.
They got even closer to the Lovell Telescope than Public Service Broadcasting, as they performed a whole music video for the track INSIDE the satellite dish.
Halfway through the video, an infrared image of a couple chasing after each other appears. They eventually catch each other up and kiss against a wall.
Near the end of the video, the band is rained upon, which looks like it may not have been filmed inside the Lovell Telescope.
Former member Steve Hewitt, who is in the video, is from Cheshire, so had fond memories of the site when they chose to shoot at it. The Northwich musician was Placebo's drummer.
D:Ream - Party Up the World
Best known as the band featuring TV astronomy expert Brian Cox - or the anthem of New Labour's winning election campaign Things Can Only Get Better - D:Ream's 1995 hit Party Up The World was one of their other UK Top 40 singles.
Unlike Placebo, it actually shows how the band got up the Macclesfield place of interest. Scaling hundreds of steps and navigating tunnels with scientific monitors. As the title may suggest, the band had a party up there by getting over 20 people inside the satellite dish.
Coloured lights and lush shots of the Macclesfield fields even make a cameo. But sadly, Brian Cox is nowhere to be seen in the video, as he was just a touring member for the band.
However, the physicist makes many appearances at Jodrell Bank throughout any given year, as the University of Manchester, for which he is associated with, uses the site for research.
The band had 12 UK Top 40 singles. The Jodrell-inspired track hit number 20.
Electric Light Orchestra - Secret Messages
The earliest entry on the list, and perhaps the best known act, Electric Light Orchestra are known for their Beatlesque orchestrated pop and spaceship logo.
So it is no surprise that the band used Jodrell Bank for a music video, for the second single of their 1983 album Secret Messages.
The video for Secret Messages features numerous cutaways of the Lovell Telescope, including one with frontman Jeff Lynne singing in front of it.
The track peaked at No. 48 in the UK Charts, and was their 27th UK Top 75 song. And as great a song it is, we're pretty sure the band was green-screened and didn't actually come to Macc... sad!
Prefab Sprout - Technique
Released the following year after ELO, Prefab Sprout also referenced Jodrell Bank, but this time in their lyrics.
In their song Technique, the opening lyrics are 'Her husband works in Jodrell Bank, he's home late in the morning', a wonderful reference to the fact astronomers are more fascinated with the night sky than at daytime.
Very clever lyrics are interspersed throughout the song, alluding to the Macclesfield astronomy site. Such as ' But I could never work there, what a shame that I'm not clever, it's for men with horn rimmed glasses, and four distinguished A-Level passes.'
The track was part of their commercial breakthrough, partly thanks to being produced by Thomas Dolby of She Blinded Me with Science-fame.
Sub Sub - Space Face
Before they formed the indie band Doves, the members were an electronic band called Sub Sub.
The Handforth trio used the Lovell telescope for the cover of their 1991 single Space Face.
While the track didn't chart, Sub Sub would later have a UK Top 3 single with Ain't No Love (Ain't No Use).
It would be their only UK Top 40 single before their new band.
The band were also known in Macclesfield for regularly collaborating with local singer Melanie Williams.
Macclesfield: Did we miss any music videos / songs which reference Jodrell Bank?
Are you a lover of the Lovell Telescope?
What was your favourite track on the list? Join the conversation on our social media.
You can watch a playlist of all these songs and music videos by clicking the player at the top of this article, or clicking here.
Jodrell Bank is located on Bomish Lane, Macclesfield, SK11 9DW.
See also: Macclesfield: Inside the new £21 million Jodrell Bank attraction
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