WHY has Birmingham been left behind? (low income, construction, income)

[Trimac20]

Ok, maybe it may be changing, but it seems Birmingham is no longer the second city in England. Manchester seems to be on the up in many ways; with business, culture, arts, while Birmingham is dismissed or derided as a big slum, and doesn't seem to be going anywhere. I mean it's closer to London, is a large city, and pretty well situated. How come it never had Manchester's music scene, for instance? I'm just interested.

[PA2UK]

I think Manchester has more to prove to the world. With it's industrial history, it still has many stereotypes attached to it, even today, even if they aren't true anymore. Only a few years ago when I told someone (an American) I was moving to Manchester, the immediate response was "Why would you want to move there? It's an industrial city!" I had to bite my tongue from saying "Um, what century do you live in?!"

Manchester got a bad reputation from many of the stereotypes that go along with an industrial city - working class, crime, etc. My theory is that Manchester has worked hard to overcome this image and it has payed off.

As for the music scene - I think this too was born from the industrial age. Many of the bands from Manchester came from low income, working class families and their music spoke to a lot of people from similar backgrounds as a result. That said, I'm not sure the height of the music scene was productive for Manchester's image - it gave Manchester the nickname Madchester and a bad reputation for drugs. Today, Manchester has tried to retain the image of being a city of music without the tarnish of drugs.

I don't know much history about Birmingham - it may have had a similar background but I think Manchester is more world wide known for it's history in the industrial age therefore I think it has more to prove.

[Yorkie Bar]

The bloody awful accent - at least that's my opinion

[Marcovan]

Birmingham definitely has a strong musical heritage. You probably know this, but just in case..

In the sixties, bands like The Move, The Moody Blues and the Spencer Davis Group - with Steve Winwood - emerged from the city.
The seventies saw the emergence of heavy metal bands like Black Sabbath and Judas Priest. Birmingham was a pivotal centre of HM - Robert Plant and John Bonham of Led Zep grew up nearby, too. ELO ( I know,definitely NOT a Metal band) were one of the great rock acts of the 70's.
Birmingham is an important centre in the history of British reggae, with bands such as Steel Pulse and UB40 ( who were superb before they went all lightweight). Also The Beat - Ska/Punk crossover from the 'Two Tone' era circa 1980.
Not as important as Manc when it comes to punk/post punk but still some significant bands such as The Cravats.

As to 'why has Birmingham been left behind ?' I'm not sure that it has, to be honest. Manchester has come more to the fore over the past twenty years or so ( the music scene,the success of Manchester United FC and so on) but Manchester has always been there or thereabouts, anyway. Birmingham is the second city in terms of municipal population. But in metro population and economic/political importance there is very little to separate the two cities.

Manchester didn't do itself any harm in (unsuccessfully) bidding for the 2000 Olympics. It aimed high and got the Commonwealth Games as consolation. With the Games came the construction of the cycle velodrome, the City of Manchester stadium and the MEN Arena.

An important factor is that Manchester has always been a bigger player in the media industry than any other UK city outside London.

[Jaggy001]

Birmingham has terrible football teams .... West Brom, Aston Villa and Birmingham City .... all awful.

I lived not far away, in Leamington SPA, but always avoided going into Birmingham. The roads were awful, the parking not great and the shopping wasn't great either.