The Durutti Column, whose new album 'Keep Breathing' is in the shops as of yesterday, have added 3 more dates to their UK tour:

Saturday 13 May - Manchester Academy 3 (0161 832 1111)
Sundat 14 May - Glee Club, Birmingham (0870 241 5093)
Wednesday 17 May - Dingwalls (aka Lock 17), London (020 7428 0010)
Thursday 18 May - Rescue Rooms, Nottingham (0115 958 8484)
Saturday 3 June - Trinity Theatre, Tunbridge Wells (01892 678 678)
Saturday 10 June - Cox's Yard, Stratford upon Avon (01789 404600)

Thanks to Phil Jones.

Labels: The_Durutti_Column

Domino Bones, fresh from their appearance at Manchester v Cancer, play a short UK in March 2006. You can catch them live at:

March

17 - Carling Academy, Birmingham
18 - Carling Academy, Liverpool (late nighter)
21 - Carling Academy, Newcastle
23 - Carling Academy, Islington, London
30 - Jabez Clegg, Manchester

Tickets available from Seetickets.

BBC News reports on last night's Manchester v Cancer show which featured a host of Mancunian stars and culminated in an all-star line-up performing a triumphant 'Wrote for Luck'. More reviews to follow.

The second part in Joy Division Central's series of interviews with Deborah Curtis is now online. Part Two deals with 'Touching From A Distance'.

Thanks to OMMCR and JD Central.

Labels: Joy_Division

From MediaGuardian:

"The BBC plans to mark the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ this Easter with an hour-long live procession through the streets of Manchester featuring pop stars from The Stone Roses and Happy Mondays and featuring songs by The Smiths and New Order.

In the programme, called Manchester Passion, a character representing Jesus will sing the legendary Joy Division anthem Love Will Tear Us Apart before dueting his arch-betrayer Judas on the New Order hit Blue Monday, according to senior church sources involved in the production."

However, reports that Mary Magdelene will sing a version of the Buzzcocks' Ever Fallen In Love (With Someone You Shouldn't've), have been dismissed by the BBC.

Labels: Happy_Mondays, Joy_Division, New_Order

From the House of Tomorrow newsletter:

"Whether you're local to us or visiting from out of town, we hope you'll stop by for a drink at Stephin's new weekly DJ gig.

THE PHANTASTIC INVISIBLE TENTACLE

DJ Go-Karff, DJ Shermy and Stephin Merritt invite you to attend their weekly mix of psychedelic bubblegum spins, Mondays at 9PM at New York City's Beauty Bar [Flash required] (231 East 14th Street near Third Avenue). No cover charge."

Labels: Stephin_Merritt

More info on Arca, the forthcoming exhibition of photographs of Joy Division by Kevin Cummins:

Paul Stolper is pleased to announce the launch of a portfolio of 11 photographs of Joy Division and Ian Curtis by Kevin Cummins. This group will be exhibited at the Paul Stolper gallery from 9 February to 11 March 2006. Never before has this most iconic set of images been collated and exhibited together. Both Joy Division's music and Kevin Cummins photographs captured a particular moment in English culture; the transition from Punk to Indie. Today they have assumed such status that the images are cited and referenced in art, fashion and graphics.

Whilst the music was the most important part of Joy Division's oeuvre, Kevin Cummins' photographs were integral to our visual perception of the band. Shot in monochrome, exactly as they would be used in the music press, the photographs acted as the visual counterpart to the music. Taken in rehearsal rooms in Little Peter Street, an old Manchester warehouse, or outdoors in Cathedral Yard, they mirror perfectly both the intensity and intimacy of Joy Division's unique sound. They are beautiful haunting images of a hopeful young band. There is a striking poignancy to them when we look at them now, knowing how subsequent events unfolded, with the tragic suicide of singer Ian Curtis on the eve of the band's first American tour.

The photographs document Manchester the city as much as they do Joy Division, and as with all great photographs they reveal as much about the protagonists as they do their setting. As an urban background, Manchester was intrinsically linked to the group, and fed into the group's music. Visually the cold snow covered streets, empty motorways, and dark barren warehouses, so perfectly captured by Kevin, find echoes in their music. Where groups like the Sex Pistols, and for that matter the corporate music industry as a whole was so strongly linked to London, Joy Division and Manchester are forever locked together in Kevin Cummins stunning works.

Kevin Cummins
Arca
A portfolio of 11 Gelatin-silver prints
Paper size: 20" x 16"
Each in an edition of 75, 10AP's
signed and numbered by Kevin Cummins
Published by Paul Stolper

Paul Stolper
78 Luke Street
London EC2A 4PY
Tel/Fax: +44 (0)20 7739 6504
Map
www.paulstolper.com

--

Thanks to Kevin Cummins and Paul Stolper.

Labels: Ike_Yard, Joy_Division, Kevin_Cummins

An intriguiing message on the Tunnelvision website reads:

"Chris is no longer working on the new Section 25 album due to various reasons which we won't go into here. Ian appears to be now a full time member of Section 25... we await your call on this one Ian. Chris and Tony are therefore looking forward to working with different musicians and singers under a new name."

The new name for Chris and Tony's band is "Form" but no other details at present.

Labels: Tunnelvision

Elbow, Nine Black Alps and Mr Scruff are the latest additions to the line-up for Manchester v Cancer which is this Saturday at the Manchester Evening News Arena. Not only that but also MC Tunes will be joining 808 State live on stage which is sure to be, erm, bangin'!

Tickets are still available, but buy them quickly.

New Order look likely to play a 30 minute set of Joy Division songs at Manchester v Cancer which is next Saturday at the Manchester Evening News Arena. Jimi Goodwin of Doves, talking on Soccer AM yesterday morning, gave the charity show a big plug. Tickets are still available for the show but the usual stories of tickets being sold on eBay have also surfaced, notably in the Manchester Evening News itself.

Labels: Joy_Division, New_Order

simonreynolds.net reports "the March release of V2's Rip It Up compilation. The tracklist is still being settled but includes artists like Fatal Microbes, Durutti Column, Thomas Leer, and John Cooper Clarke, and is generally slanted towards the more atmospheric, ethereal side of postpunk."

The publication of the "B-format" (smaller, cheaper but essentially the same) version of Simon's book 'Rip It Up and Start Again' has been delayed to coincide with the release of this album.

Thanks to AJ for spotting.

Labels: The_Durutti_Column

From The House of Tomorrow Newsletter

Stephin Merritt's 'Showtunes' is set for release on March 14 on Nonesuch Records. This 26-song CD contains a selection of compositions created for Chen Shi-Zheng's 'Orphan of Zhao' (2003), 'Peach Blossom Fan' (2004), and 'My Life as a Fairy Tale' (2005), and features members of the original casts and ensembles. The complete recorded score, including selections not on the CD, will be available through iTunes and many major pay-per-download services.

Also, Stephin Merritt (as The Gothic Archies) and novelist Daniel Handler (as Lemony Snicket) are set to release a CD of songs to accompany the book series 'A Series of Unfortunate Events'. The CD will feature 13 songs plus creepy bonus tracks. If nothing goes according to plan, the release will coincide with the unveiling of Lemony's 13th and final volume of the series, scheduled for release on Friday 13 October 2006.

Labels: Stephin_Merritt

Just for the avoidance of doubt, Dingwalls, which The Durutti Column are now playing on 17 May, is the place that has been know for a while as Lock 17. Apparently they might be changing the name back to Dingwalls but who knows!?

Also, if you'd already bought a ticket for the original 1 April date at Manchester Academy 3 your ticket will still be valid for the new show on Saturday 13 May.

Labels: The_Durutti_Column

A first news update of the year from The Durutti Column:

The first gig of the year, slated for 1 April at Manchester Academy 3, has been moved back to May to tie in with a 3-date mini-tour as follows:

May

Sat 13 - Manchester Academy 3 (tickets on sale although seetickets.com still lists the old date)
Sun 14 - Glee Club, Birmingham (tickets now on sale via www.glee.co.uk)
Wed 17 - Dingwalls, London (tickets not on sale yet)

The new album, 'Keep Breathing' will be out in the shops early February. Plus, Q Magazine will be running a special feature on Manchester music in its April issue (on the streets mid-March). BBC 6Music is also set to feature The Durutti Column around this time - details to be confirmed.

Beyond that further gigs are planned in Tunbridge Wells, Spain and Portugal later in the year.

Thanks to Phil Jones for info.

Labels: The_Durutti_Column

Several years in the making, this book, by Matthew Robertson, is the first and definitive overview of the artwork of the seminal Manchester-based Factory label, covering its iconic record sleeves, posters, ephemera, venues and packaging. After a foreword by the founder of Factory, Tony Wilson, an introductory essay discusses the label's role in bringing design to the mainstream. Thereafter, the book is organized as a generously illustrated catalogue, arranged by the famous Factory reference system. Factory Works, as part of the story, has been given its own reference number - FAC 461 - making it a collectable item in its own right.

Title: Factory Works: The Visual Legacy of Factory Records
Author: Matthew Robertson (with a foreword by Anthony Wilson)
Format: Hardcover, 29.0cm x 25.0cm
Pages: 224, with c.400 colour illustrations
Published by: Thames and Hudson
Publication date: March 2006
Available from: Amazon.co.uk and other good retailers

Labels: books, Factory_Records, poster, Tony_Wilson

London / Warners have agreed a deal for an official release of 32 full-length mixes over 12 vinyl releases of classic and hard-to-get New Order tracks (old and new). They will hit the stores in late February replete with Peter Saville artwork. HMV will be doing a campaign price on the set.

Watch out for a new official site at www.neworder.mu

Tracklisting

Cat no: nser007 5050072401163
Waiting For A Sirens Call
A Planet Funk Remix 7.25
B Asle Dub 9.19

Cat no: nser008 5050072401262
Someone Like You
A James Holden Heavy Dub 10.00
B Someone Like You Funk D'Void Remix 9.56

Cat no: nser009 5050072401361
A Confusion - Koma & Bones Remix 8.55
B Crystal - Lee Coombs Remix 8.44

Cat no: nser010 5050072401460
A Confusion - Pump Panel Reconstruction 10.11
B1 Everything's Gone Green - Dave Clarke Remix 5.12
B2 Waiting For A Sirens Call - Filterheadz Remix 7.18

Cat no: nser011 5050072401569
A Jetstream - Phela Vocal Remix 8.59
B Someone Like You - Future Shock Vocal 8.04

Cat no: nser012 5050072401668
A1 Krafty - Riton Remix 6.54
A2 Jetstream - Tom Neville Dub 6.37
B1 Krafty - The Glimmers Dub 5.53

Cat no: nser014 5050072401767
A We're Here To Stay - Thee Extended Glitz Mix 8.09
B Jetstream - Jacques Lu Cont Dub 8.31

Cat no: nser015 5050072401866
A1 Bizarre Love Triangle - Shep Pettibone Remix 6.43
A2 Round & Round - Kevin Saunderson Remix 7.11
B1 True Faith - Shep Pettibone Remix 9.02
B2 Fine Time - Steve 'Silk' Hurley Remix 9.18

Cat no: nser016 5050072401965
A1 True Faith - King Roc Remix 8.18
B1 Regret - Tocadisco Remix 6.05
B2 Regret - Tocadisco Dub 5.44

Cat no: nser017 5050072402061
A Blue Monday - Original 88 Version 7.28
B Blue Monday - Hardfloor Remix 8:35

Cat no: nser018 5050072402160
A1 Bizarre Love Triangle - Richard X Remix 7.04
A2 Jetstream - Arthur Baker Remix 7.00
B1 Shellshock - John Robie Remix 6.30
B2 Thieves Like Us - 12" Extended Mix 6.52

Cat no: nser019 5050072402269
A1 Subculture - Dub Vulture Mix 7.59
B1 State Of The Nation - Shame Of The Nation Mix 8.02
B2 I Told You So - Stuart Price's Remix 5.25

With thanks to Not Me on the Cerysmatic Factory Message Board and OMNY.

Labels: New_Order

The Paul Stolper Gallery in London's Shoreditch will be hosting an exhibition of photos of Joy Division by legendary Mancunian photographer Kevin Cummins from February.

More details to follow.

Labels: Joy_Division, Kevin_Cummins

You can now download a range of New Order videos including the new one for 'Turn' in the mp4 and m4v (iPod compatible) format from Michael Shamberg's Kinoteca site (source of the amusing if trivial alternate 'Crystal' video).

Labels: New_Order

The Manchester Evening News has announced that Shaun Ryder and Bez from Happy Mondays have been added to the already impressive line-up for the Manchester v Cancer gig at the Manchester Evening News Arena on Saturday 28 January 2006.

Apparently Shaun will sing with Bez's band Domino Bones.

Labels: Happy_Mondays

RAW-T feature on a new compilation album being advertised on the streets of Manchester. The City Is Ours: Mixtape Volume 2 also features Envy, Big Wez and Virus Syndicate.

The album is out now from via HMV, Fat City Records, Eastern Bloc, Street Vibes Records, Reflex Records and and other outlets.

The official RAW-T website is scheduled for an overhaul this month.

Labels: RAW-T

Espers have done a cover version of 'Tomorrow' by The Durutti Column on their new album of covers 'The Weed Tree'. Speaking about their version on Poptones' Questions of Doom last year, Espers man Christopher Smith said "Vini Reilly is a guitar god. Meg Baird is a guitar goddess and a big fan of that song. Listen to the guitars on both the original and our version of the song". The Weed Tree is out now.

Title: The Weed Tree (available via Boomkat and other good music sellers)
Label: Locust Music
Format: CD and 180 gram vinyl lp
Tracklisting: Rosemary Lane (Traditional), Tomorrow (Durutti Column), Black is the Color (Traditional), Afraid (Nico), Blue Mountain (Michael Hurley), Flaming Telepaths (Blue Oyster Cult), Dead King (Espers)

Labels: The_Durutti_Column

This Thursday 12 January, Chris Hewitt, Trevor Hyett and Dr Seth Hague will be on Michelle Mullane's BBC GMR radio show, Michelle Around Midnight. They will be discussing political rock in the North West in the late 1970's, Rock Against Racism, Deeply Vale and how all this influenced later generations of North West bands. The selection of artists to be played should include Buzzcocks, John Cooper Clarke, The Fall, Ewan MacColl, Mike Harding, China Street, The Mock Turtles and Doves.

Thursday 12 January 2006
22:00 - 01:00 GMT
BBC GMR [95.1 / 104.6 FM]
or Listen Live via the web.

The trailer for the new Michael Winterbottom "unfilmable" film 'A Cock and Bull Story' features Anthony Wilson and Steve Coogan and a host of others. Released on 20 January in the UK and based on the novel 'The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Esq.' by Laurence Sterne, the film also features several others who were also in Winterbottom's '24 Hour Party People' including Shirley Henderson, Raymond Waring and Rob Brydon.

www.tristramshandymovie.com
www.acockandbullstorymovie.co.uk

Labels: Tony_Wilson

Tickets are still available for the Manchester versus Cancer Concert in association with Key 103 via Ticketmaster. This is the biggest ever charity fundraising gig to be staged in Manchester.

Taking place at the Manchester Evening News Arena on 28 January 2006, the concert will see some of Manchester's very own legends appearing on stage together for the first time ever. The confirmed line-up includes:

New Order
Doves
Johnny Marr & the Healers
Andy Rourke
Badly Drawn Boy
Mani (Stone Roses and Primal Scream)
Stephen Fretwell
808 State
Utah Saints
+ more to be confirmed.

The gig was the idea of ex-Smith, Andy Rourke, following news that his manager's sister and father had been diagnosed with cancer. Andy and friends decided to group together to raise 1 million pounds for alternatives to chemotherapy at Manchester's Christie Hospital, Europe's largest cancer treatment and research centre.

www.manchestervcancer.co.uk

Ticketmaster: www.ticketmaster.co.uk
Tel: 0870 190 8000
Ticket prices start at 40.00 GBP

Labels: New_Order

"IN KHARMS WAY" Ted Milton (Blurt) and Sam Britton (Icarus) present their succesful performance again! The works of Daniil Kharms (1905-1942, Russia) bring to the front of our collective consciousness a final, desperate image of the human condition. 'In Kharms Way' presents a snapshot of this reality, animated and shot into the present via the eager, intense vocalisation, saxophone playing and puppetry of Ted Milton and Sam Britton's deconstructed, rewired laptop computer.

Saturday 14 January 2006
A Life Affirming Joyride Vol. 1 presented by: ROTOZAZA Bullion

Hackney Empire
291 Mare Street
London E8 1EJ

Box Office: 020 8985 2424

With thanks to Tino Wylson on the Cerysmatic Factory Message Board

OMD's official website reports the official reformation of the band:

Andy McCluskey, Paul Humphreys, Mal Holmes and Martin Cooper will be returning as OMD with concerts and a new album on the way. Joining them for live shows will be Stuart Kershaw. Here's what's on the schedule:

- OMD perform Architecture & Morality live
- A brand new OMD album
- Extensive European tour
- Remastered Dazzle Ships album
- OMD DVD
- Unreleased material album

With many thanks again to Roland Metzger, here are a few more video clips from the Peter Saville 'Artalk' on 17 November 2005 at the Migros Museum fur Gegenwartskunst, Zurich, Switzerland as part of the current 'Estate' exhibition.

Introduction - Part 1
Introduction - Part 2
Factory Records and punk
Factory Records
OMD's Dazzle Ships and Futurism
Graphic Design and the Estate exhibition

Each clip is 3 minutes long and in AVI format. Please note that each file is approx 60mb in size and will only be available for a limited number of downloads.

Peter Saville's Estate continues until 8 January 2006.

--

Happy New Year!

Labels: Factory_Records

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