Sunderland and music: the people, the place, the culture.

In the last of the Guardian Northerner's posts on Wearside's great music debate, musician Neil Wood and student Hannah Matterson put their views
A Horse in the Foyer of the Cineworld cinema in Boldon, Sunderland
Remember when that horse got into the foyer of the Cineworld cinema in Boldon, Sunderland, three years ago? The debate triggered by Allan Glen's Northerner post has been every bit as energetic and exciting. Photograph: North News & Pictures Ltd /North News & Pictures Ltd

Neil Wood is a musician and blogger in Sunderland. He's on Facebook and there's more here too.

At 21 years old, I am slightly too young to recall the splendour of 1999-2005 in Sunderland. I was too busy playing football in the park and trying to conquer the SATS. Remember them? However, as a musician and blogger based in the city I can offer my own views on Sunderland and the music that it produces.

Firstly, for all the Stadium of Light has been great in attracting 'big' acts to our city and selling a boat load of (painfully expensive) tickets, it has not spurred myself or any of my peers on to create and perform in the city. Its summertime gigs do induce a buzz around the city for a day, or for five days if you take into consideration Take That, but this happens in other cities across the UK that aren't London or Manchester, does it not? Although I've never been there to witness it, I'm willing to bet that Coventry's Ricoh Arena provides a similar experience for its nearby residents when the national promoters come knocking. Albeit a welcome addition to Sunderland's attire, is not the goal that its young and upcoming musicians and artists aspire to be a part of.

Ross Millard of the Futureheads
Ross Millard of The Futureheads

What is perhaps more poignant is a relentless need to create, to develop and learn, and to play to more than your mam and your girlfriend in a dingy, sweaty pub. A charming isolation –even, at times, from its neighbouring Newcastle, is a weighty component in the citys' music community as bands, promoters and venues are forced to work together to make something happen and, indeed, to be successful. Unfortunately, Sunderland does not boast the 'vibrant venues' that Mr Glenn has suggested and, when looking back on the bands that David Brewis points out in his response, there has been a steady decline of good, solid bands in recent years. But, taking notice of what acts such as Field Music, The Cornshed Sisters, The Futureheads and The Heartstrings have managed to achieve is much more powerful an inspiration then the glaringly misleading prospect of playing at the Stadium of Light. The Sunderland music 'scene' is a cycle of good will, community and, more than anything, hard work. It would exist and prosper, as proven, without the existence of the Stadium of Light and any business plans, and long may it continue.

Hannah Matterson is from Wearside and is currently a geography student at Northumbria University. Her final year research project is on the North East's music industry.

I have spent the past 18 months conducting research into Sunderland's music industry and I feel compelled to join the debate started by Allan Glen's Northerner post. I want to start by saying I am not a musician, a singer, a promoter; nor am I a member of Sunderland city council. I am a student, a geographer and a music fan taking a somewhat subjective view on my local music 'scene'.

As an outsider, a fan looking on at the musical talent Sunderland has nurtured and continues to produce, it is easy to see why many people believe that it starts and ends with The Futureheads, Field Music and Frankie and the Heartstrings. Granted, they have been exceptionally influential in putting their city on the music map, but in order to begin to understand the interconnected web that is Sunderland's music industry, we need an understanding of what it is that incessantly inspires such creativity.

I'll begin by challenging anyone reading this to define what a music 'scene' is. From one person to the next, the meaning and use of the word is so fluid and versatile that it is all but impossible to come to a conclusion.

Does it refer to a particular genre of music or a certain soundscape? Sunderland certainly does not have that. Is a 'scene' based entirely around the bands and artists? If it is, Sunderland doesn't abide by that. Can a music 'scene' be created by financial backing and input from local councils? Sunderland is trying and appears to be failing at that.

Its music scene is, however, a collective of creative people all writing, performing, organising and inspiring together. That I think we will all agree on.

It is the people who are at the heart of Sunderland's music industry. Their passion for music, their art, is second to none. But maybe this could be said about any local music industry. So what makes them stand out? What is it that will turn Sunderland into a music city?

Field Music
Field Music in recording studio working on One Copy. Photograph: Elina Chaeveaux

Ask any one of them involved, as I have done, from the promoters to the artists and everyone in between, and they will tell you: it is their work ethic. Inspired by their social background and geographical limitations of being from the North East, the people of Sunderland's music industry have had to do it on their own. London won't willingly listen to them, neither will Manchester, so they make such places pay attention by making records and putting on gigs and developing a career in music their own way.

In effect, they have created their own bourgeois society; a music 'scene' that is built on the foundations and morals running through those involved, those who produce such innovative and creative music. These like-minded people do not aim to exclude anyone else; they want to build on the sub-culture they have created in the hope that their DIY ethos will be instilled in future generations of music makers, promoters and fans.

In a way, Sunderland's music industry is built on anarchy. Acknowledging that due to geographical constraints, the city is not close enough to any large music cluster to tap into the knowledge there, it has turned what could have been a hindrance into a major positive. Instead of falling into the trap of the global music market, saturated with so many similar sounds, Sunderland's creative community has used the local culture to create something very different. It connects a web of creativity to a hunger to perform, inspired by the city's situation, the music-makers' social and economic upbringing and the example of who have succeeded before them in creating their own sounds.

I believe this continues today. The people in this highly inwardly-connected community have taken the same values that have always been instilled in them and used them to create very different sounds. They have taken their social upbringing in a working class community and turned it into something they can exploit. No matter if they were inspired by other bands or artists from the city, their friends, their families or simply a Christmas present of a guitar, there is one thing that connects all of these people, and that is Sunderland and its culture. The people have helped to shape the place and the place has helped to form the people.

Without either, Sunderland could never become a music city. Without those values, work ethic and community spirit, future generations of musicians from Sunderland would struggle. The foundations are set for them now so I, as a music fan, have full confidence in my local music industry to keep on producing exceptional talent. There is a pride in Sunderland's music community and that is something which cannot be tainted.

The question now is: can Sunderland's music 'scene' compete on a global scale and satisfy the need to be economically successful, whilst still retaining the anarchic, innovative and fluid character which gives it such distinction and strength?

Freelance music writer Allan Glen's original Guardian Northerner post is here. You can read David Brewis of Field Music's view here. Sunderland music promoter Dan Carosn's post is here.