The new edition of French music magazine Rock and Folk has a 10-page special on Ian Curtis, Joy Division and Tony Wilson (in French).

Merci Mathieu.

Labels: Joy_Division, Tony_Wilson

Ian Harrison gives Who Killed Martin Hannett? The Story of Factory Records' Musical Magician, Colin's Sharp's novelistic biography of the late Martin Hannett a big 4-star thumbs-up in Mojo.

"Ultimately this is an elegy not unlike James Young's smack-marinated Nico memoir Songs They Never Play On The Radio - but without the big laughs."

Labels: Factory_Records

More Control, and this time Anton Corbijn writes about directing the film in the new issue of Mojo.

"As far as I'm concerned, it's a proper film about a real person. It's not just The Joy Divison Film."

As the general release of Control approaches, James Anthony Pearson talks to the Irish Independent about playing the role of Bernard Sumner.

Labels: Joy_Division

The new Big Arm single which was launched with a live set at The Mint Lounge in Manchester last week has a spanking new video created and directed by Concrete. Read about how they made it at Digital Arts.

New Wave City in San Francisco hosts a special tribute to New Order and Joy Division and Factory Records. View the flyer. Full details follow.

--

New Wave City presents
Joy Division and New Order Tribute
Saturday 6 October 2007

DNA Lounge
375 11th Street, San Francisco
2 Dance Rooms / 4 New Wave DJ's

IN THE MAIN DANCE ROOM:
A Tribute to Joy Division and New Order.
Dancing to the best of Joy Division / New Order music & videos and the rest of the best of New Wave all night!
Your hosts and DJs for the evening: Skip & Shindog Visuals & videos by: Altered Images

IN THE UPSTAIRS DANCE ROOM:
"Tony Wilson Room" featuring Factory Records & Manchester Bands like: The Smiths, Stone Roses, Happy Mondays, OMD, Oasis, Chameleons, and more with NWC resident DJ Low-Life & guest DJ Andy T.

9PM until 3AM
21+ with Valid ID
7 USD before 10PM / 12 USD after

Labels: Factory_Records, Happy_Mondays, Joy_Division, New_Order, Tony_Wilson

Check out EugeneMerinov.com for some excellent photos of early New Order gigs in the USA (Ukrainian National Home and Peppermint Lounge). These are also available to buy as prints in 3 sizes on fibre-based silver gelatin paper. More photoso available soon.

Labels: New_Order

Vini Reilly will be playing live and talking to Tom Robinson on BBC 6Music on Tuesday 16 October from 19:00 BST.

Just released this week on iTunes USA is a new New Order compilation. The tracks (some of which are billed as 'iTunes Originals' versions) are interspersed with spoken interludes by the members of the band.

Tracklisting

Transmission
Dreams Never End
Blue Monday
Bizarre Love Triangle
The Perfect Kiss
Love Vigilantes
True Faith
Round & round
Run Wild
Regret
Waiting For The Sirens' Call
Love Will Tear Us Apart

--

Thanks to Bruce.

Labels: New_Order

Chris Hudson in the Macclesfield Express reports on how two guys working in a bike shop in Macclesfield came to be voice coaches on the movie Control. Alreet!?

Labels: Control, Macclesfield

Granada has finally posted David Nolan's I Swear I Was There TV documentary on its website.

Over thirty years on from that famous Lesser Free Trade Hall gig - immortalised in David Nolan's first book "I Swear I Was There" - The Sex Pistols will return to Manchester to play the M.E.N. Arena on Saturday 17th November 2007.

Coincidences abound: The Lesser Free Trade Hall became the victim of property developers (it is now a Radisson Edwardian Hotel), Pistols singer Johnny Rotten became a property developer; entry to the original gig on June 4th 1976 was GBP 0.50 pence, entry to the Arena gig will be GBP 37.50 pence!

Tickets will sell out on Friday 28th September 2007 at 9:30 am, via Ticketmaster.

Thanks to Ang Matthews (whose presently selling swathes of FAC memorabilia on eBay if you're interested) for the following recollections of The Haçienda Cat:

"The cat lived in the basement in the early 80s - I presumed it was a stray. I seem to think it was either called Fred or that Fred was the person who fed it. It was never referred to as Fac 191 - we always referred to it as the Haçienda cat.

I also seem to remember Teresa talking about it so perhaps she cared for it. It was scruffy and sort of in between black & brown. The basement had a lot of tiny mice so it would have been ideal for a cat - I occasionaly found one (a mouse) pissed in the bottom of an upturned pint pot that had a little beer left in it. (I'm being completely serious here).

I'm not a 'cat' person so would not be stroking it but I don't think anyone would have thought it was cute looking. I don't know what happened to it - I expect a canal rat got it in the end. I never saw a photo of it and I don't believe that the photo in NME was the real one."

Thanks also to Dev, whose question, triggered Cerysmatic's feline investigations.

A quite bizarre flyer announces a tribute night to Tony Wilson, Ian Curtis and Factory Records:

Conversations in Heaven
27 September 2007
The Griffin, Shoreditch (London)
7-12pm

Music that inspired them, their music that inspired others...
Come and listen in

Eminent DJs - Andrew Weatherall, Andy Fraser, Rusty, The Late Black Rob, Mole...

Spoken word and recitals by special guests on the night

From the dark comes the light

Labels: Factory_Records, Tony_Wilson

There is an interview with Samantha Morton by Chrissy Iley in yesterday's Guardian which briefly touches on Control, in which she plays Deborah Curtis.

--

As a few people have been noting on the Message Board, there was an opportunity to obtain free tickets for advance screenings tonight of Control via the official movie site / Momentum Pictures / The Guardian. However, by the time we realised this, all the screenings had 'sold out' so there was not much point in announcing the offer. Thank you for your forebearance.

Colin Sinclair, one-time manager of one-time Factory artists The Railway Children and A Certain Ratio and now Chief Executive of Midas - the inward investment agent for Manchester - is interviewed in the latest Manchester Evening News.

"Mr" Sinclair rose from the ranks of Salford University Federation of Conservative Students to become the SUSU Entertainment Officer in the early eighties. After a stint as an independent Manchester promoter (first gig Lavolta Lakota @ Deville's!) Colin invested in property: renovating a dilapidated Victorian school building and turning it into the Boardwalk venue (of Nirvana fame) and rehearsal rooms (home to ACR, Happy Mondays and Oasis).

After managing the The Railway Children's releases on Factory Records (FAC 162, FAC 167 & FACT 185) and the signing of A Certain Ratio to A&M, Sinclair eventually sold The Boardwalk building in the nineties before going on to "produce major televised events like the Commonwealth Games handover in Manchester in 1998 and the opening of the Welsh National Assembly in Cardiff in 1999".

Labels: A_Certain_Ratio, Factory_Records, Happy_Mondays, The_Railway_Children

John Metcalfe has had a very active summer and his autumn and winter schedules look no less busy. He rounds up what he's been up to at john-metcalfe.co.uk.

Labels: John_Metcalfe

Happy Mondays have announced a European tour in November, climaxing with a revisit to Manchester Central (formerly G-MEX) on 14 December 2007:

November

08 Paris, France
09 Lausanne, Switzerland
10 Cologne, Germany
22 KB, Malmo, Sweden
23 Rockefeller Music Hall, Oslo, Norway
24 Stravanger, Norway
25 Berns, Stockholm, Sweden
27 Vega, Copenhagan, Denmark
28 Train, Aarhus, Denmark
29 B1 Maximum, Moscow, Russia (Date TBC)

Labels: Happy_Mondays

Urbis have announced a further programme of events to complement the current 25th Anniversary Haçienda exhibition:

Design with a conscience: A forum event
Thu 25 Oct, 6-8pm
£3
An opportunity to reflect on, discuss and debate the growing trend of sustainable and ethical design, with industry experts, including Peter Saville and Ben Kelly.

Design Lecture: Factory and The Haçienda…
Wed 14 Nov, 6-8pm
£3
Urbis and D&AD proudly present a key note lecture from Peter Saville and Ben Kelly, two of the seminal designers responsible for creating a Manchester aesthetic which invaded the British high street in the mid 1980s. Its influence continues to be seen both there and across the world today.

Late Nights at the Haçienda: SINGLES NIGHT
Thur 15 Nov, 7 - 9pm
£5
The outrageously fun Haçienda Singles nights uses the traffic light system of speed-dating and all attendees will be issued with red, green and amber stickers to indicate to others whether its 'all systems go' or 'easy tiger'! Join us under the mirror ball for games and good times...

Late Nights at the Haçienda: SILENT DISCO
Thur 13 Dec, 7 - 9pm
£5
A creative performance event involving a DJ (spinning classic Haçienda tracks and some forgotten live stuff), headphones and some dancing. But no sound will be heard by all. Hence, silent disco baby. You have to see it to believe it.

Labels: A_Certain_Ratio, Ben_Kelly

Eyes down for a re-run of Elliot Eastwick's 25th Anniversary Haçienda quiz from the event of the same name at Urbis the other night.

Obvious technical limitations mean we can't run the "name the artist and title" audio or video questions - nor can we re-run Frank Sidebottom's sublime medley of Manchester hits that constituted an entire round of its own!

Instead we have the twenty-one remaining text-based questions over two rounds with a possible twenty-seven points maximum score. This is for FUN only - so no cheating - and please do not email us the answers, which we will post next weekend:


Round One

1. Name the first DJ and the first live act at The Haçienda. (2 points)

2. Which famous spy was 'The Gay Traitor' bar named after? (1 point)

3. Give the name (or type) of two businesses that were run from The Haçienda during the day. (2 points)

4. Name the last DJ and the last live act at The Haçienda. (2 points)

5. 'Flesh' was the second gay night at The Haçienda. Name the first. (1 point)

6. The Pet Shop Boys used an artist's films as a backdrop at their Haçienda concert. Name the artist. (1 point)

7. Name the two resident DJs at 'Wide'. (2 points)

8. Name the three designers of The Haçienda trainers. (1 point)

9. What was the building originally used for before becoming The Haçienda? (1 point)

10. Name the person that co-promoted 'Flesh' with Paul Cons. (1 point)

Round Two

1. Following closure, The Haçienda reopened with three new nights. Name them. (3 points)

2. Name either the author or the work from which The Haçienda name was taken. (1 point)

3. What was the name of The Haçienda's 1989 US tour? (1 point)

4. Name the band formed by Paul Morley and Trevor Horn. (1 point)

5. Name the building company responsible for The Haçienda flats. (1 point)

6. When Frankie Knuckles played The Haçienda on New Year's Eve 1996 was he paid:
a. GBP 5k?
b. GBP 15k?
c. GBP 25k? (1 point)

7. Who bought The Haçienda DJ booth at the auction (and then lost it)? (1 point)

8. A regular performer at The Haçienda, born Alexander Coe in Bangor, worked at Shelley's in the mid-eighties, now a superstar DJ. Who am I? (1 point)

9. Which internationally famous ex-Haçienda DJ started out as a chef at Dry Bar? (1 point)

10. What was the Factory catalogue number of The Haçienda cat? (1 point)

11. Which famous television music programme was recorded at The Haçienda in the mid-eighties? (1 point)


Many thanks to both Elliot Eastwick and Urbis for kindly allowing us to re-run the quiz.

Labels: Pet_Shop_Boys

In today's Guardian Weekend photographer Natalie Curtis gives an insight into what it's like to be the daughter of a singer on the set of the film about his life and death, and how the writers and producers of the Ian Curtis film Control encouraged her to get involved in the production of the film itself.

"One of my favourite moments was being an extra at the Bury riot gig scene of 1980. It felt strange shouting, "Fuck off!" at a pretend Alan Hempsall... I got caught up in the skinheads' fight and had a bruise on my foot for a month."

Labels: Joy_Division

A reminder that BBC4's Factory Records documentary 'Factory: Manchester from Joy Division to Happy Mondays' is on tonight at 9pm.

Labels: Factory_Records, Happy_Mondays, Joy_Division

As was pointed out to uberquizmeister Elliot Eastwick at last night's Urbis Haçienda quiz night: any question about the Haçienda has around 25 different answers (depending upon who is being asked), all of them probably correct!

So it came to pass with the hastily assembled 'FAC IT' team - featuring your cerysmatic northern representative and artist Trevor Johnson - being cheated into third place and, thus, missing out on the prizes by a combination of incorrect 'official' answers, dodgy marking practices and our own amateur attempts at cheating!

Given that 'FAC IT' had blagged their way in without paying the GBP 15.00 entry fee anyway, the result was probably fair on reflection.

The eventual winners, 'FAC OFF', were treated to GBP 100.00 of books from the excellent Urbis shop.

"That's an awful lot of keyrings!" commented said quiz master, who was ably assisted by Timperley's own Frank Sidebottom.

Elliot has kindly allowed cerysmatic to run the quiz for ourselves. Stay tuned...

"Small enough so everyone’s connected, big enough to influence the world, Manchester’s influence on British culture is legend."

The Southbank Centre in London is hosting a Manchester evening on Friday 9th November 2007.

24 Hour party People?, curated by Manc-poet-in-residence Lemn Sissay, promises an evening of spoken word and music featuring Dave Haslam; Zoe Lambert; Terry Christian; Julian Daniels and Josephine Oniyama.

Tickets are available at GBP 8.00 (plus booking fee).

Labels: Dave_Haslam

Rian Evans in The Guardian reports on a recent concert by one-time Factory Classical artists I Fagiolini at St George's, Bristol.

Labels: Factory_Classical, labels

The MEN reports that Bez, Domino Bones, Rowetta and Andy Rourke are among the artists to play a 3-day mini-festival at Dry Bar on Oldham Street in aid of Versus Cancer. The festival is on from Thursday 20 until Saturday 22 September.

The Control movie website [latest Flash Player required] has been updated with new content including:

- Official Soundtrack (listen to the first play of the soundtrack. Featuring exclusive cuts from New Order, David Bowie, The Velvet Underground, The Buzzcocks and Joy Division)
- Control Diary (the journey from Joy Division to the big screen)
- New Scene (the latest exclusive excerpt from the award winning screenplay)

Control is in UK cinemas on Friday 5 October.

Labels: Joy_Division, New_Order

As previously mentioned, the Pennine Lancashire initiative was launched this week. Yvette Livesey and Peter Saville were in attendance. How-Do.co.uk and The Marple Leaf report.

Update:

WHEN WE WERE THIN: Music, Madness & Manchester
by CP Lee

URBIS EVENT - BOOK LAUNCH/ALBERTOS LIVE (on screen)!
12 October 2007
6.30pm

URBIS in the CITY CENTRE

ADMISSION - FREE!

Send an email to books@itsahotun.com with your name and how many people you want in.

Labels: books

Big Arm

featuring Happy Mondays
founder member Paul Ryder
++Support : The English Channel
& DJ someotherguy

Single Launch @
The Mint Lounge
46-50, Oldham St, Mcr
Thursday 27th September
Doors Open 8:30
Tickets : £6 www.ticketweb.com
www.bigarm.co.uk

Labels: Happy_Mondays

The BBC's Factory Records mini-site to accompany the new documentary Factory: Manchester from Joy Division to Happy Mondays, is now online.

Read director Chris Rodley's notes, watch outtakes featuring Tony Wilson, and much, much more.

The film is broadcast this Friday, 21 September 2007 at 21:00 on BBC4.

Labels: Factory_Records, Happy_Mondays, Joy_Division, Tony_Wilson

Paul Morley reports extensively from in and around the set of Control in today's Observer (which along with the Guardian, continues its apparent stranglehold on all things FAC these days). The print issue is lavishly illustrated with exclusive photos by Anton Corbijn.

Following up a story from two years ago, Money Guardian reports how Tony Wilson and Yvette Livesey's Pennine Lancashire is finally going to be launched.

Labels: Tony_Wilson

More in-depth coverage later but suffice to say, if you get the new October edition of The Word and you're a Factory Records fan, you're not gonna be disappointed!

There's a special tribute to Tony Wilson by Andy Gill, a special Control feature, a Shaun Ryder interview plus other bits and bobs.

Labels: Factory_Records, Tony_Wilson

The Firing Squad Poem
by Ed Barton
arrangement byCFlan

Labels: Tony_Wilson

As the release of Control approaches and with big films on the Beatles, Bob Dylan and the Rolling Stones on the way, The Times remembers great music biopics of the past and has a quick word for 24 Hour Party People.

As plans to downsize regional ITV newsrooms are announced, Media Guardian takes a look at the characters who have made the UK's local independent TV stations what they are and affectionately recalls Tony Wilson as the man who "went to see the Pistols at the Manchester Free Trade Hall, then went on to found Factory Records and the Hacienda nightclub - helping launch acid house and Britpop on the way."

Labels: FAC51_The_Hacienda, Factory_Records, Tony_Wilson

Robert Koehler of Variety reviews 'Joy Division' (which now has its own entry on imdb.com) in some detail. They say the "Pic takes full measure of the extraordinary unit's music and its unlikely rise to instant-legend status, and has an eye for detail many similar docs simply lack."

Special mention is also given to Matthew Robertson (FAC 461) work on the graphic design of the documentary - "(his) system of graphic design can't be underestimated as a crucial component of pic's modernism."

Labels: Joy_Division

The MEN has a new interview (by Sarah Walters) with Shaun and Gaz from Happy Mondays. Shaun reveals what it was like living in Ireland with next door neighbour Oliver Reed.

Happy Mondays play Manchester Central on Friday 14 December 2007. The Twang, The Sunshine Underground support. Clint Boon DJs. Tickets are GBP 28.50 and are on sale on Friday 14 September 2007. Call the Box Office on 0870 060 1768 to book or click here.

Labels: Happy_Mondays

According to Pitchfork et al, ESG will play their final ever gig on Friday 21 September 2007 at the Abbey Pub in Chicago and then disband.

ESG's Renee Scroggins said, "It's been a long career. We were able to play a good 30 years in the business. I'm just really tired right now. We love our fans, and we appreciate 30 years of support."

Labels: ESG

On Tuesday, Hooky talked to the MEN about the possibilities for a New Order reunion. NewOrderOnline.com has since published a clarification by Hooky on what exactly he meant. It seems it could still happen but the chances are "slim".

Labels: New_Order

David Nolan talks to the MEN today about his new book 'Confusion - Joy Division, Electronic and New Order Versus the World' and in particular about Bernard Sumner apparent lifelong identity crisis.

Labels: Electronic, Joy_Division, New_Order

Stephin Merritt (The Sixths, also known to have recorded as The Magnetic Fields, furthermore known to be a member of The Gothic Archies) has supplied the music for a new advertisement for Volvo cars. Stephin sings "The wheels on the car go round and round" in a new version of the nursery rhyme.

Labels: Magnetic_Fields, Stephin_Merritt, The_Sixths

Salon.com reviews 'Joy Division' (and 'Control') at the Toronto International Film Festival and highlights director Grant Gee's technical and creative abilities, saying: "He has a knack for nonfiction storytelling: He never resorts to frenetic editing to capture our attention, nor does he bore us to death with expository voice-overs. The performance footage captures perfectly the weird magnetism of the band's live performances. The year 1980 may seem like a long time ago, but Grant's picture is so immediate, and so alive, that it may as well have been yesterday."

Meanwhile, cinematical.com has a downloadable Grant Gee audio interview.

Labels: Joy_Division

The launch of 'When We Were Thin: Music, Madness & Manchester', the new book by CP Lee takes place at Urbis on 12 October 2007 from 18:00.

The evening also features a screening of a film of the legendary Alberto y Lost Trios Paranoias (a group which also featured Bruce Mitchell of The Durutti Column) live in concert.

Admission is free. If you send an email to books@itsahotun.com with your name and how many people you want in you will get an email back and be promised a surprise gift on arrival.

Programme

18:00 - Doors
18:30 - CP Lee and some Berts do a ramble
19:00 - Screening Albertos In Concert
22:00 - Short reading plus book signing and more sights and sounds

Labels: books, The_Durutti_Column

Hooky speculates about the possibilities of a one-off reunion of New Order in honour of Tony Wilson in the MEN.

He says, "The idea has been mooted by Oliver (Tony Wilson's son) - that was when it was talked about. And the thing is, for Tony, I'd do anything. So, I'm not ruling anything out - I never do really."

Labels: New_Order, Oliver_Wilson, Tony_Wilson

BBC Four's new documentary film about Factory Records is now confirmed for broadcast on Friday 21 September at 21:00. The 90 minute film directed by Chris Rodley is titled 'Factory: Manchester from Joy Division to Happy Mondays'.

The film will be shown as part of the 2007 Electric Proms. The screening takes place on Sunday 28 October 2007, 16:45, at FreeDM Studio, The Roundhouse, Camden, London. Registration for free tickets opens at 12:00 tomorrow, Wednesday 12 September 2007.

Also, a BBC 4 website (exact address to be confirmed) is due to go online in the next few days and will have some extra interview material with Tony Wilson that is not in the film.

Labels: Factory_Records, Happy_Mondays, Joy_Division, Tony_Wilson

Swiss publisher JRP-Ringier is now saying that the much-delayed book of Peter Saville's archive, Estate, is now expected in October 2007.

--

Edition: English
Expected publication date: October 2007
ISBN: 978-3-905701-66-1
Softcover, 210 x 270 mm
376 pages
CHF 60 / EUR 36 / £ 25 / US 49

Labels: books

from KookyDisc.co.uk:

The Kooky Records Tenth Anniversary CD 'Once Upon A Time A Kooky', previously only avaiable free at the Kooky 10 birthday in November 2006, is being made available on general sale at mid-price. Yes, the last few remaining copies of this limited edition disc are being sold in record shops.

STOP PRESS: Buy it now direct from Kooky for 5.00 GBP

The lucky few that managed to get tickets to the Peter Hook event at Urbis were treated to a highly entertaining and extremely candid interview by Paul Morley ("You know so much now I'm going to have to kill you all...").

Billed as a conversation predominantly about The Haçienda, Morley quickly abandoned the usual format of talk-followed-by-audience-questions with the request that questions be asked at any point during the proceedings - which led to two hours of chat about every aspect of Hooky's career, only a relatively small proportion of which covered The Haçienda itself.

Although marred by the inevitable, occasional anorak question, a number of revelations followed:

- New Order have recently had a fractious band meeting (outcome not revealed).

- The upcoming 'remastered' Joy Division albums are not actually taken from the original album masters - which have been 'misplaced' - and so are slightly different mixes from the originals.

- Early TJ Davidson Joy Division could only afford six hours of rehearsal time per week (four on Sunday, two on Wednesday), and would usually write one new song per session.

- Transmission was written in the week preceding the Mayflower 'Emergency' gig.

- Sam Riley (Ian Curtis in the upcoming Joy Division film 'Control') and Alexandria Maria Lara (Annik Honoré in the film)have enjoyed a (ahem) close relationship.

- Hooky actually chose the artwork that the 'Movement' album cover was based upon due to Peter Saville having a headache.

- New Order lyrics - up to 'Technique' - were written by the whole band.

- Martin Hannett had difficulty coming to terms with the lack of an Ian Curtis in New Order, didn't seem to like the other band members' vocals and, on one occasion, made Bernard go through 43 vocal takes before being satisfied with the result.

Among the small audience on the night were Larry Cassidy (SXXV), Andy Spinoza (SpinMedia) and Twinny.

Many thanks to Andy Brydon for the guest list and Alex for looking after the camera!

FAC491, the (must see) Urbis 25th anniversary Haçienda exhibition, is showing daily, 10:00-18:00, until 17th February 2008.

Labels: Joy_Division, Larry_Cassidy, New_Order, Peter_Hook

Kevin Hewick has written and recorded an album's worth of songs for a new musical 'School of Hard Rocks' that's been concieved by him and his old schoolfriend and ex-Eastenders/Emmerdale scriptwriter Jez Simons with the actors for Hathi Productions.

The play is a parody of everything from X Factor and Fame Academy to Grease, Rocky Horror, High School Musical and, of course, School of Rock.

Songs include take-offs of U2 and Neil Young with Crazy Horse and a foolhardy attempt to cross Bon Jovi with Section 25.

Worth seeing for the sight of the dozen young cast members doing wild dance routines to Kevin Hewick songs alone SOHR's debuts at Leicester's Phoenix Arts Centre at 7.30pm on Friday 14 September and Saturday 15 September.

Tickets are GBP 5.00 (4.00 concessions)

More info on www.kevinhewick.co.uk

Labels: Kevin_Hewick, Section_25

The new (October) editions of Mojo, Q and Uncut have just been published and all contain obituaries of Tony Wilson. Here are a few extracts:

Steve Lamacq in Mojo

"Everything that Manchester's got today as a top rock 'n' roll metropolis is down to Tony Wilson," says punk poet John Cooper Clarke, who knew Wilson for 30 years. "He was a guy who had a lot of time for everybody. There was a guy who was in it for the music. The guy was a saint. He should have been minted."

Stephen Morris of New Order in Q Magazine

"When the news of his death broke, Manchester Town Hall flew its glag at half-mast. He'd have loved that. There ought to be a monument to him. Perhaps a statue with a Factory FAC catalogue number. Would New Order reform for a memorial tribute gig? That's not for me to say, but Tony's death certainly puts things in perspective. Life is too short."

Stephen Dalton in Uncut

He was a great catalyst, a champion bullshitter and a pretty terrible businessman. He was also a dream interview. "Don't print this," he once told me, "but all musicians are cunts."

"He saw himself as a patron of the arts rather than a record company boss," New Order's Bernard Sumner told me recently.

Tony Wilson was a smart self-publicist, sometimes a bolshie gobshite, often wildly and brilliantly wrong. But ultimately, he spent his career promoting the city of his birth and the talent of its citizens. A noble man and a true original.

Labels: New_Order, Oliver_Wilson, Tony_Wilson

The sold out Urbis 'Talkie' with Peter Hook and Paul Morley, part of the FAC491 Haçienda exhibition taking place on Thursday (6th September 2007) evening, is to be broadcast - live - online in Second Life.

The launch party for FAC 491 was also broadcast live on the evening, and is subject to regular reruns.

Go to www.secondlife.com and click on Urbis in the search bar on the right hand side. Membership is required.

Labels: Peter_Hook

Saturday 1 September 2007 saw the Stockport launch of 'Confusion', David Nolan's officially unofficial biog of Bernard Barney Albrecht Sumner.

Among those in attendance at The Bull's Head pub were ex-Haçienda Ang Matthews, ex-Factory Tracey Donnelly, ex-Warsaw Terry Mason, ex-Crispy Ambulance Alan Hempsall and ex-Swing (the Haçienda hairdresser) family member Cath Berry.

Many thanks to three-piece (!) Joy Division-alikes 'Transmission' for the noises, David Nolan for the excerpts and Terry for the commentary.

Labels: Crispy_Ambulance, Joy_Division

As previously reported, the episode of new Reality TV series 'Don't Call Me Stupid' featuring Bez and James Whitaker is on ITV1 tonight at 22:00 (check local listings).

Graphic design afficionados across the world will welcome the imminent arrival of a new compendium from everyone's favourite coffee table book publisher, Taschen. The book, 'Contemporary Graphic Design' is out now and not only does it feature a Peter Saville-designed cover it has sections on both Saville and Mark Farrow.

'This compendium showcases the extraordinary cutting-edge work of 100 of the world's most progressive graphic designers, from the hard-hitting political messages of Jonathan Barnbrook to the lyrical digital compositions of Peter Saville to the iconoclastic imagery of Stefan Sagmeister. Alongside the array of visually stunning and thought-provoking advertisements, CD covers, posters, packaging, websites, and corporate identities are texts by each designer expressing his or her individual approach to graphic design practice as well as personal insights into the motivations that lie behind the work. An accompanying introductory essay highlights the current issues surrounding graphic design practice, from the ascendancy of digital tools to the amorality of consumerism. By presenting a provocative survey of the latest, most experimental and forward-looking graphic design from around the globe, this exciting book provides a unique and totally unforgettable snapshot of where the discipline stands today and hopefully offers directions for its future.
Contemporary Graphic Design is absolutely essential to anyone interested in the power of images.'

Edited By Charlotte & Peter Fiell
Hardcover Plus Clear Plastic Wrap With Yellow Typo
19.6 x 24.9 cm
560 pages
ISBN 978-3-8228-5269-9
€ 29.99

Cover Illustration: Peter Saville
Project: 'Suite For Adobe', Special Edition Marketing Poster 2003 (In Collaboration With Howard Wakefield)
Client: Adobe

Endpapers: Peter Saville
Project: 'Waste Painting #1 En Suite', Unique Iris Print 2003 (In Collaboration With Howard Wakefield)
Client: Paul Stolper Gallery

Labels: A_Certain_Ratio, books, Mark_Farrow, poster

With 'enhanced' versions of Joy Division's albums to be released by Warners in September, the movie Control being released in October and a documentary about Joy Division slated for 2008, Paul Lester tells how "Ian Curtis's story has become rock legend" and talks to his three bandmates, who "lived through the sad reality" in The Guardian.

"When I listen to Nirvana, I hear [New Order's] Ceremony bass line on quite a few of those songs. So I'd have to say, yes, we are the missing link between the Beatles and Nirvana." says Hooky.

"I'd agree with that," says Bernard.

"It's not for me to say whether we're the most important band since the Beatles," says Steve. "I just happened to be in a group whose music I loved. When you're doing it, there's no intent in terms of being historically important."

Labels: Joy_Division, New_Order

Meanwhile, in another Guardian piece (not available online, unfortunately), the Ian Curtis 'style' is explored in pictures.

According to a fashion shoot entitled 'Closer Encounter' in The Guardian's Weekend supplement: "Joy Division's Ian Curtis was a trendsetter in more ways than one..."

Featured clothes include "Parka, GBP 245.00, by APC"; "Grey military shirt, GBP 210.00, by Burberry Prorsum"; "Trousers, GBP 200.00, by Jil Sander" and "Brogues, GBP 115, by Armand Basi".

Labels: Joy_Division

The Guardian's Top 50 UK Designers features Peter Saville and modern typographer and some time Saville-collaborator Paul Barnes.

- - - -

08.03 | 09.03 | 10.03 | 11.03 | 12.03 | 01.04 | 02.04 | 03.04 | 04.04 | 05.04 | 06.04 | 07.04 | 08.04 | 09.04 | 10.04 | 11.04 | 12.04 | 01.05 | 02.05 | 03.05 | 04.05 | 05.05 | 06.05 | 07.05 | 08.05 | 09.05 | 10.05 | 11.05 | 12.05 | 01.06 | 02.06 | 03.06 | 04.06 | 05.06 | 06.06 | 07.06 | 08.06 | 09.06 | 10.06 | 11.06 | 12.06 | 01.07 | 02.07 | 03.07 | 04.07 | 05.07 | 06.07 | 07.07 | 08.07 | 09.07 | 10.07 | 11.07 | 12.07 | 01.08 | 02.08 | 03.08 | 04.08 | 05.08 | 06.08 | 07.08 | 08.08 | 09.08 | 10.08 | 11.08 | 12.08 | 01.09 | 02.09 | 03.09 | 04.09 | 05.09 | 06.09 | 07.09 | 08.09 | 09.09 | 10.09 | 11.09 | 12.09 | 01.10 | 02.10 | 03.10 | 04.10 | 05.10 | 06.10 | 07.10 | 08.10 | 09.10 | 10.10 | 11.10 | 12.10 | 01.11 | 02.11 | 03.11 | 04.11 | 05.11 | 06.11 | 07.11 | 08.11 | 09.11 | 10.11 | 11.11 | 12.11 | 01.12 | 02.12 | 03.12 | 04.12 | 05.12 | 06.12 | 07.12 | 08.12 | 09.12 | 10.12 | 11.12 | 12.12 | 01.13 | 02.13 | 03.13 | 04.13 | 05.13 | 06.13 | 07.13 | 08.13 | 09.13 | 10.13 | 11.13 | 12.13 | 01.14 | 02.14 | 03.14 | 04.14 | 05.14 | 06.14 | 07.14 | 08.14 | 09.14 | 10.14 | 11.14 | 12.14 | 01.15 | 02.15 | 03.15 | 04.15 | 05.17 | 06.17 | 07.17 | 08.17 | 09.17 | 10.17 | 11.17 | 05.18 | 12.18 | 01.19 | 08.19 | 09.19 | 10.19 | 11.19 | 12.19 | 03.20 |

- - - -