Ian Brown for Spike Island festival?

| 22 September 2005

A 'Glastonbury for the north' is being planned for Spike Island next year, 16 years to the day after the Stone Roses played their 'Madchester' defining gig. Guess who's being tipped to headline?

Despite dodgy sound and shambolic organisation, the Stone Roses' show at Spike Island in 1990 has gone down as one of the most important gigs in history and one that changed the landscape of British music.

Almost 30,000 'baggy' fans made the pilgrimage to the Widnes peninsula to celebrate an entire culture, the melding of dance and rock music which became synonymous with the term 'Madchester'.

Next year the site is to hold its own three-day festival with Ian Brown expected to be approached as a headliner.

The event, which will be called Spike Island 2006, will run from 27-29 May and is expected to draw 80,000 people.

Adam Franklin, director of Surprisingly Good Events, said: "The Stone Roses' 1990 concert is in many people's conscious and, when we mention Spike Island to people, they automatically recall the event.

"We hope the festival will shape the future for music in the North in a similar way to the Stone Roses concert. We wanted to organise a ticket festival to attract the bigger names to the region. We want to create a Glastonbury for the north."

The opening day will be a free family day with bands from all over the North West and other entertainment and attractions.

Day two will be known as 'Halton Rocks', featuring modern and retro rock bands, and day three 'Halton Pops' will be a massive pop concert. Organisers have said that day tickets will cost less than £20 each.