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In celebration of our latest Nike Air Force 1 ‘Manchester – size? Exclusive, we’ve teamed up with three residents of the city to see what it means to them, how they’ve seen it change as they’ve grown up, and how it’s impacted them and their practice.

First up, we sat down with Manchester based DJ & Promoter Luke Cowdrey to learn more about the importance of music in the city over the years, and his experiences hunting for records.

If you’re already aware of Luke, you’ll know his importance in helping elevate and promote music throughout Manchester, through his progressive and inclusive Homoelectric events, or his earlier endeavours in club culture throughout the 90s. While pulling out a selection of amazing records, he regaled us with so many stories about clubbing and DJing in Manchester, and living through some of the most important era’s in the cities musical history.  

Hailing from Sheffield originally, Luke used to come to Manchester way back in the early 80’s for football, and in turn fell in love with the madness. Throughout the next two decades his obsession for music grew, and the pioneering sounds of Acid House and dance music took a hold. Collecting music in various forms became a full on passion, and years later he’s amassed an incredibly eclectic collection over 13,000 records and counting. The sounds span the spectrum, with anything ranging from early imported House and Soul music, to elaborate soundtracks with hidden gems. Together with friend and fellow vinyl enthusiast Justin Crawford, he formed the DJing duo The Unabombers, and brought pioneering event ‘Electric Chair’ to the city in the historic Roadhouse venue.

Manchester has been home to numerous musical venues over the years which have come and gone, and it was some of his earlier events at Ten Bar and the Roadhouse that started to attract big names from across the globe to play in the city. Venues such as Hidden located on the edge of the main city centre are one of the latest venues where many experimental and more underground events have been happening over the last few years, and Luke explained to us that the energy and vibe you experience really takes you back 30 years to the golden era of clubbing.

You can enter the draw for our exclusive Nike Air Force 1 ‘Manchester’ via the size? launches app now; it’s priced at £130 and available in both men’s and women’s sizes. 10% of each sale will be donated to the city’s We Love MCR Charity – ‘Rising Stars’ Fund.  

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