So why don't you join in?

Created for 1ste edition of Common Walls festival 2025, discover the full trail here

This mural is influenced by Rochdale’s Cargo Studios and the Madchester scene that helped shape the rave years, it also reflects a personal journey of my life.

From 1978 to 1985, Cargo was one of the UK’s key indie recording hubs before becoming Suite 16, where bands like the Happy Mondays continued its legacy. Joy Division, New Order, The Stone Roses, The Chameleons, and The Fall all recorded here, with its story later immortalised in the film 24 Hour Party People. “So why don’t you join in?” comes from the Happy Mondays’ track of the same name, anchoring Rochdale’s place in this cultural moment.

On a personal level, the teenager in the mural represents my younger self, just starting out in the club scene. It was all about the music, the people, the atmosphere — that euphoric feeling of love and freedom, tranquillity and happiness. The lyrics “So why don’t you join in” speaks to that spirit — an invitation to be part of something bigger — but for me it also carried a double meaning...

As a young and somewhat naïve lad, I held on too tightly and didn’t know when to stop. The party carried on for a long time, from recreation to isolation - it took me many years to find my way back. Although I went to some dark places in the years that followed, I wouldn’t change those first few years for anything — the dancing, the atmosphere, and the energy those nights created. Those feelings still remain as some of the best times of my life.

“You can’t be beaten, so why don’t you join in?”