genre john lees 
Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county in North West England , with a population of 2 . 8 million . It encompasses one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United Kingdom and comprises ten metropolitan boroughs : Bolton , Bury , Oldham , Rochdale , Stockport , Tameside , Trafford , Wigan , and the cities of Manchester and Salford . Greater Manchester was created on 1 April 1974 as a result of the Local ___MASK22___ Act 1972 ; and designated a City Region on 1 April 2011 . ___MASK89___ ( shortened as " prog "; sometimes " art rock ", " classical rock " or " symphonic rock ") is a broad subgenre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States throughout the mid to late 1960s . Initially termed " progressive ___MASK41___ ", the style was an outgrowth of psychedelic bands who abandoned standard ___MASK41___ traditions in favour of instrumentation and compositional techniques more frequently associated with jazz , folk or classical music . Additional elements contributed to its " progressive " label : lyrics were more poetic , technology was harnessed for new sounds , music approached the condition of " art ", and the studio , rather than the stage , became the focus of musical activity , which often involved creating music for listening , not dancing . Oldham is a town in Greater Manchester , England , amid the Pennines between the rivers Irk and Medlock , south - southeast of Rochdale and northeast of Manchester . Together with several smaller surrounding towns , it is part of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham , of which it is the administrative centre . Mel Pritchard ( 20 January 1948  28 January 2004 ) was the drummer with the British ___MASK89___ band , Barclay James Harvest . Barclay ___MASK5___ ___MASK14___ are an English ___MASK89___ band . They were founded in Oldham , in September 1966 by guitarist / vocalist John Lees ( b . 1947 ), bassist / vocalist Les Holroyd ( b . 1948 ), keyboardist / vocalist Stuart " Woolly " Wolstenholme ( 1947  2010 ), and drummer / percussionist Mel Pritchard ( 1948  2004 ). John Lees ( born 13 January 1947 , Oldham , Lancashire ) is an English musician who founded the ___MASK36___ band Barclay ___MASK5___ ___MASK14___ . Educated at Robin Hill Secondary Modern and Breeze Hill School , Lees had no formal ___MASK37___ education , but took up playing the guitar when he was fourteen . Lees went on to study at Oldham School Of Art , where he met Stuart ' Woolly ' Wolstenholme in 1964 . They played together in The Sorcerers , playing Eddie Cochran - style ___MASK36___ and roll , and in The Blues Keepers , before forming Barclay ___MASK5___ ___MASK14___ in 1967 . He recorded a solo album , A Major Fancy , in 1972 , but the release of this was tied up when the band changed record label . It was not released until 1977 . He also recorded a solo single for Polydor in 1974 , a cover of The Eagles track `` Best of My Love '' . In 1998 , ___MASK37___ differences saw the members of Barclay ___MASK5___ ___MASK14___ agree to take a sabbatical . Lees again met up with Wolstenholme and formed Barclay ___MASK5___ ___MASK14___ Through The Eyes of John Lees , and this band became John Lees ' Barclay ___MASK5___ ___MASK14___ . Lees worked as a ___MASK17___ technician at Crompton House Church of England High School , involved with the production of the GCSE and A Level students ' ___MASK17___ and ___MASK17___ technology coursework from 2006 until 2012 , when he retired . He was often involved in ___MASK37___ productions . Lees also enjoys reading , his favourite books being Graham Greene ' s A Burnt - Out Case , science fiction novels ( especially those of Ray Bradbury ) and poetry . His hobbies include photography and amateur radio . Lees currently lives in Saddleworth , a civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham with his wife , Olwen , and they have two children , Esther Jane ( born 28 July 1980 ) and John Joseph ( who shares his father ' s birthday , being born on 13 January 1986 ) , plus various pets including an African grey parrot called Fritz . Manchester is a major city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester , England , with a population of 514 , 414 . It lies within the United Kingdom ' s second - most populous ___MASK53___ area , with a population of 2 . 55 million . Manchester is fringed by the Cheshire Plain to the south , the Pennines to the north and east and an arc of towns with which it forms a continuous conurbation . The local authority is Manchester City Council .