Blurt go back out on the road in September:

15 - Bull and Gate, Kentish Town, London
17 - Marr's Bar, Worcester
30 - Cube Cinema, Bristol (presented by Noise Annoys)

Thanks to Tino on the Cerysmatic Factory Message Board.

Check out the review in today's Guardian by Ian Gittins - "the seismic Kinky Afro and the baleful, juddering funk of Wrote for Luck still sound colossal.".

Labels: Happy_Mondays

The Times (27 August) features Kevin Cummins's recollections of Ian Curtis along with articles on Sid Vicious, Stuart Sutcliffe and Richey Edwards.

In this brief extract Kevin explains how he met Ian: "The first time I met Ian Curtis was in 1977 when Joy Division were supporting the Buzzcocks at the Electric Circus in Manchester. My first impression of him was that he was a bit odd because he used to turn up with a carrier bag full of notes on sheets of paper. He would have this greyish-green overcoat on and be carrying that carrier bag everywhere he went. But he was just a typical lad really: he would talk to you about football, music, drinking and women. We both supported Manchester City and liked the Stooges, so we got on."

Labels: Joy_Division, Kevin_Cummins

As Silent Partners head down to the Camel Rock Festival on the Scilly Isles [for info call 0781 025 8905] to start the We're Getting To Know You Tour, take this opportunity to download a free exclusive mp3 extract of the brand new track 'Breathe'.

An update from The Young Offenders Institute:

3.30pm on the Carling Stage - that's the Young Offenders Institute's stage time at Reading Festival this Sunday - earlier than previously adverised

They're still on 3.15pm tomorrow at Leeds, again on the Carling Stage

From the Young Offenders Institute mailing list:

For anyone going to Leeds and Reading festivals, The Young Offenders Institute are playing both, on the Carling stage.

At Leeds they're on this Friday August 26 at 3.15pm prompt.

At Reading they're on on Sunday August 28 at 3.45pm prompt.

There's a highly amusing Shaun Ryder interview in The Times Online ahead of Happy Mondays' appearance at Get Loaded In The Park this Sunday at Clapham Common, London. It includes the priceless quote: "If you've got a slight mental illness in your family, my two pieces of advice would be don't smoke marijuana and don't watch Teletubbies".

Labels: Happy_Mondays

Peter Hook is to play a DJ set in the UK's most northerly venue, The North Star in Shetland, on Saturday 3 September 2005.

Hooky, who has played the North Star before, is the 3rd act with Factory connections to play the North Star this year following The Durutti Column [photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5] and ex-Northside lead singer Dermo's new band Silent Partners.

www.thenorthstar.co.uk [website design borrowed from a familiar poster]

Labels: Northside, Peter_Hook, poster, The_Durutti_Column

1. Brian Eno's 'Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy)' was recorded at Island studios in 1974. This studio was bought by Trevor Horn and became uber-studio Sarm West in the Eighties. Most of A Certain Ratio's 'Good Together' album was recorded in the basement studio of Sarm West - the old Island studio live room. So the Good Together album was recorded in the same room in which Eno recorded the track that inspired their name!

2. John Rhodes, who replaced Lita Hira in Stockholm Monsters, was originally in a band called Delhi Polo Club.

3. The late Ritchie Close wrote the theme music for the seminal Seventies music show 'So It Goes' which was presented by Tony Wilson. Close also played piano for Mike Pickering and Simon Topping's T-Coy.

4. 50 Newton Street, the current home of the highly recommended Hatters Hostel in Manchester, was once the home of 'City Fun' fanzine and the Buzzcocks' 'New Hormones' record label.

5. Alec Sidebottom, one of the drummers in The Distractions, used to be in Sixties band The Purple Gang.

6. Rumour has it that most of the individually signed, 6 foot long, guitar cut-outs designed by Peter Saville and randomly left around town have been, erm, destroyed by over-zealous bin men!

7. In 1992, The Adventure Babies played on France's Inter-Radio on a show called The Black Sessions. Little did they know that the radio station released a CD of the live performance. This included the previously unrecorded tracks 'Sunday Girl' (yes, a Blondie cover!) and 'Time'.

Labels: A_Certain_Ratio, Adventure_Babies, Stockholm_Monsters, The_Distractions, Tony_Wilson

The Metro has a piece on Vini Reilly which was timed to coincide with Dpercussion. In it he says that the new album, provisionally titled 'Keep Breathing' is "quite something, I'm quite amazed by it, but it's the first good album I've ever done".

Also, the recently announced gig by The Durutti Column at the Forum Des Images in Paris forms part of the L'Etrange Festival.

Labels: The_Durutti_Column

Hot off the press:

3 Sep - Forum Des Images - Paris, France
22 Oct - Metro Arts, Bury [0161 761 2216, www.themet.biz]
26 Nov - Cabaret Voltaire, Edinburgh [0131 220 6176, www.thecabaretvoltaire.com]
27 Nov - Arches, Glasgow [+ support, 8pm, 13.50/9.00 GBP, 0870 240 7528, www.thearches.co.uk]
28 Nov - Lemon Tree, Aberdeen [01224 642230, www.lemontree.org]
02 Dec - Cluny, Newcastle [0191 230 4474, www.theheadofsteam.co.uk]
04 Dec - Ronnie Scotts, London [08700 600100, www.ticketweb.co.uk]
05 Dec - Komedia, Brighton [01273 647100, www.komedia.co.uk]

Labels: Cabaret_Voltaire, The_Durutti_Column

A Certain Ratio received a really good response when they appeared on the Open Air Stage at The Big Chill, Eastnor Castle on Friday 5 August. Posting on the Big Chill Forum, Andrea said they were "incredibly good and groovy", remote said "Funk x 20" and Tony (no, not that one) rather succinctly said they were "good". Here is the setlist:

Choir
Waterline
Do The Du
Flight
Wonder Y
Funky Guitar
Shack Up
Wild Party
Wanna Be
Si Fir Mi
--
WSLU

Here's looking forward to Cargo and Moorfest.

Thanks to Martin.

Labels: A_Certain_Ratio

Today's Guardian special supplement 'The Season', on the new football season, includes a feature by Tony Wilson on Manchester United. Choice quote: "I remember one year my best friend, the graphic designer Peter Saville (also a United fan), said: "I think we're a bit like a Ferrari this season: we look good but I don't know how far down the road we'll get.""

Labels: Tony_Wilson

Read the interview in full.

And here's that Domino Bones line-up in full:

Bez (bez)
Monica Ward (lead vocals)
Winker (bass)
Rob (drums)
Wags (guitar)

Domino Bones headline the main stage at DPercussion 05 at Castlefield, Manchester, tomorrow. On stage 10pm.

The Manchester Evening News reports all the stage times for the main stage the Key 103 Arena. Selected highlights:

13.35 Rob Bright (Bugged Out, Heart and Soul)
15.35 Nine Black Alps
17.15 The Durutti Column
17.55 RAW-T
18.50 Stephen Fretwell
22.00 Domino Bones

www.dpercussion.com

Labels: RAW-T, The_Durutti_Column

From the BBC Four website: Smash It Up. Classic music from the BBC archive, featuring punk and post-punk artists from the seventies. Includes ground-breaking bands The Clash, The Buzzcocks, The Damned, The Stranglers, The Jam, Siouxsie and the Banshees, The Undertones and Joy Division. Plus an appearance from Tony Wilson, boss of Manchester's Factory Records, and subject of 24 Hour Party People.

Friday 5 August
20:30 - 21:00 BST
30 minutes
Stereo

This is doubtless a repeat, but well worth enjoying again nevertheless.

Labels: Factory_Records, Joy_Division, Tony_Wilson

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