16 Oct 2017
A change of pace - a change of styleFACTORY RECORDS
Releases Late Winter / Spring / Early Summer
EARLY MARCH
FAC 97 "ACT ON INSTINCT" STREETLIFE
12" single from Belgian Band led by Wally Van Middendorp
FAC 96 "TELSTAR" - AD INFINITUM
7" Reworking of classic antique. The lyrics are implicit and vocoded. Only available with special holographic sleeve
MARCH 29TH
FAC 88 "TALK ABOUT THE PAST" - THE WAKE
12" + 7" Single by Glasgow's hottest young things. Produced by Oz at Revolution Manchester. Extra Piano by Vini Reilly
APRIL
FACT 90 "FROM THE HIP" - SECTION 25
New Album from the seaside, a change of pace - a change of style. A Be Music production.
FAC 103 "THIEVES LIKE US" - NEW ORDER
12" Single De Chirico Reconstruction Sleeve. Engineered by Michael Johnson. B/W "Are you lonesome tonight". Instrumental Mix available B/W "Murder" from Factory Benelux.
FAC 92 "KEEP ON DANCING / REACH UP FOR LOVE" MARCEL KING
Double A 12" Single Sweet sensation dances out and back on a BeMusic - Dojo production.
--
Handwritten Factory Records release schedule for Late Winter / Spring / Early Summer 1984 featuring Streetlife (not sure about the Belgian description), Ad Infinitum, The Wake, Section 25, New Order and Marcel King. From the AHW collection.
Labels: Ad_Infinitum, back_in_the_cellar, DoJo, Marcel_King, New_Order, Section_25, Streetlife, The_Wake, Vini_Reilly
13 Mar 2014
Of Factory New York Michael ShambergFactory Benelux and New Order present Of Factory New York, a unique benefit album released to assist Michael Shamberg, who ran the NYC office of Factory Records during the celebrated label's Eighties heyday.
Available on CD and double gatefold vinyl formats, Of Factory New York gathers a selection of classic tracks by artists associated with OFNY including the John Robie remix of Yashar by Cabaret Voltaire, Do the Du by A Certain Ratio, Cool As Ice by 52nd Street, Love Tempo by Quando Quango, the Megamix version of Looking From A Hilltop by Section 25 and an exclusive version of Your Silent Face by New Order, recorded live on tour in America in June 1989.
Homegrown American talent featured on the album includes Ike Yard, Thick Pigeon, Konk, Anna Domino and deejay/producer Arthur Baker. The cover art is based on an original 1983 design by Lawrence Weiner, the conceptual artist closely associated with Shamberg and Factory's Big Apple operation.
Unfortunately in 2006 Michael was struck down with highly debilitating mitochondrial disease. All artists featured on Of Factory New York have donated their work free of charge, Factory Benelux will take no profit, and 100% of net revenues will be paid over to the medical trust which takes care of Michael.
"Michael has been with us from the very start," explain New Order. "Initially he was in charge of Factory New York, then became creative producer for all our early videos. He brought our attention to the early works of directors such as Kathryn Bigelow, Gina Birch, Robert Breer, Peter Care, Phillipe Decouffle, Jonathan Demme, Robert Frank, Paula Greiff, Robert Longo, Bailie Walsh and William Wegman. Michael is very ill and needs constant medical attention. We want to help him, and played two fundraising shows in 2011. This new Factory New York compilation album will contribute further financial support towards Michael’s ongoing care."
More info via factorybenelux.com.
Vinyl tracklist
A1. A Certain Ratio - Do the Du
A2. Quando Quango - Love Tempo
A3. 52nd Street - Cool As Ice
B1. Cabaret Voltaire - Yashar (John Robie Remix)
B2. New Order - Your Silent Face (live 1989)
B3. Konk - Baby Dee
C1. Section 25 - Looking From A Hilltop (Megamix)
C2. Streetlife - Act On Instinct
C3. Marcel King - Reach For Love (New York Remix)
D1. Thick Pigeon - Subway
D2. Ike Yard - Kino
D3. Arthur Baker - Come On
D4. Anna Domino - Summer (Arthur Baker Remix)
CD tracklisting
1. A Certain Ratio - Do the Du
2. Quando Quango - Love Tempo
3. Konk - Baby Dee
4. 52nd Street - Cool As Ice
5. Cabaret Voltaire - Yashar (John Robie Remix)
6. New Order - Your Silent Face (live 1989)
7. Section 25 - Looking From A Hilltop (Megamix)
8. Streetlife - Act On Instinct
9. Marcel King - Reach For Love (New York Remix)
10. Thick Pigeon - Subway
11. Ike Yard - Kino
12. Arthur Baker - Come On
13. Anna Domino - Summer (Arthur Baker Remix)
Labels: 52nd_Street, A_Certain_Ratio, Anna_Domino, Arthur_Baker, benefit, Cabaret_Voltaire, Factory_Benelux, Ike_Yard, Marcel_King, Michael_Shamberg, New_Order, OFNY, Quando_Quango, Section_25, Streetlife, Thick_Pigeon
10 Feb 2010
Auteur Labels - Robs Records [LTMCD 2542]Robs Records released a diverse selection of underground dance music, much of it from Manchester-based artists like Sub Sub, Mr Scruff, Digital Justice and Strangebrew, plus new music from A Certain Ratio following their A&M stint and the occasional licensed overseas track, most notably the excellent Security by Beat Club.
Auteur Labels: Robs Records [LTMCD 2542] features the No. 3 hit single Ain't No Love (Ain't No Use) by Sub Sub and the Bernard Sumner remix of Beat Club's Security plus 11 other cuts.
The album is out on LTM on 26 April 2010.
Tracklisting
1. Sub Sub - Ain't No Love (Ain't No Use) [2.47]
2. Beat Club - Security (Sumner Remix) [5.54]
3. A Certain Ratio - 27 Forever (Jon Dasilva Fix Mix) [5.57]
4. Spacer IV - Sirocco [7.35]
5. Strangebrew - Sky Life [7.01]
6. Roy Davis Jnr & Jay Juniel - Egyptian Jazz [4.08]
7. J-Walk - Buggin' Becky (Balihu Remix) [5.50]
8. Mr Scruff - Chicken in a Box [8.25]
9. Anambi - Our Love Climbs Higher (Extended Mix) [6.50]
10. Rack-It! - Tarantella Ritual [5.47]
11. Digital Justice - Theme From It's All Gone Pear Shaped [7.01]
12. A Certain Ratio - Listen to the Sound [4.59]
13. Sub Sub - Inside of This [4.58]
The 77 minute remastered CD covers the years 1990-1999 and features a detailed label history and archive images.
Labels: 52nd_Street, A_Certain_Ratio, Auteur_Labels, Factory_Records, Joy_Division, Marcel_King, New_Order, Quando_Quango, Section_25
6 May 2009
Auteur Labels: Factory Records 1984"Founded in late 1978, early Factory releases were guided by the five original directors: Tony Wilson, Alan Erasmus, Peter Saville, Martin Hannett and Rob Gretton. By 1984 Hannett had departed, and many Factory singles were produced by all four members of New Order under the generic name Be Music. These reflected the influence of New York dance and electro music, though the label's Haçienda nightclub was not yet a conspicuous success. Meanwhile the artier side of Factory remained evident in records by The Durutti Column and Kalima, and pop/rock in The Wake, Stockholm Monsters - and New Order themselves."
The 77 minute remastered CD features several rare edits and tracks, detailed liner notes by James Nice, and archive images.
Tracklisting
1. New Order Lonesome Tonight (7" Edit)
2. Stockholm Monsters Terror
3. The Wake Talk About The Past (7" Edit)
4. Section 25 Reflection
5. Marcel King Reach For Love (New York Remix)
6. 52nd Street Can't Afford (Unorganised Mix)
7. Quando Quango Atom Rock
8. Shark Vegas Pretenders Of Love
9. Abecedarians Smiling Monarchs
10. Red Turns To Deep Sleep
11. The Durutti Column Duet (Without Mercy)
12. Kalima The Smiling Hour
13. Simon Topping Chicas Del Mundo
14. Streetlife On Instinct
15. Lavolta Lakota Prayer
--
Title: Auteur Labels: Factory Records 1984
Label: LTM
Cat No: LTMCD 2534
Released: 1 June 2009
Labels: 52nd_Street, Abecedarians, Auteur_Labels, Factory_Records, Kalima, Marcel_King, New_Order, Quando_Quango, Red_Turns_To, Section_25, Shark_Vegas, Stockholm_Monsters, Streetlife, The_Durutti_Column, The_Wake, Tony_Wilson
6 Sept 2008
They came from Manchester, apparentlyThe hour long documentary, believed to have been produced by the makers of lasts year's Factory: Manchester From Joy Division To Happy Mondays - itself available for viewing on iPlayer until 12:19am on Saturday 13th September 2008 - features "A compilation of some of the great Manchester bands in BBC studio performance from the 1960s till the present, including Freddie and the Dreamers, The Hollies, 10CC, the Buzzcocks, The Fall, Joy Division, James, M-People, Oasis and many more."
True to recent BBC form the compilation is made up of excerpts (rather than full performances), leans toward the sensational (ooh! Michael Clarke's bum!), is clumsily edited and heavily overtyped with subtitles (Curtis' 'dead fly dance' and New Order's 'nazi connotations' anyone?) that manage to miss more intra-Manchester connections than they actually highlight.
So. Keep an eye out for:
Factory artist Marcel King miming the lead vocals of Sweet Sensation's 'Sad Sweet Dreamer'.
Swing Out Sister's Martin Jackson miming the drums alongside composer Barry Adamson in Magazine.
Durutti Columnista Vini Reilly playing guitar and esoteric Factory producer Martin Hannett playing bass in John Cooper-Clarke's backing band The Invisible Girls.
One time Durutti Column collaborator Tim Kellett miming keyboards and trumpet with Simply Red.
Electronic co-founder Johnny Marr miming guitar with The Smiths.
The entire Voodoo Ray video, which was shot almost exclusively in the Haçienda by the - at that time - Haçienda lighting crew Swivel.
Further smug points to note:
Mancunian artists certainly like to keep an eye on the camera!
Shaun Ryder's band were, in fact, PLURAL.
The Bee Gees are neither sufficiently pop nor Mancunian to have been included.
The Charlatans are not actually from Manchester.
Unfortunately Freddie and the Dreamers were.
NB Apologies for the original posting that erroneously directed non-UK residents to the iPlayer service. According to the men in suits: "BBC iPlayer television programmes are only available to users to download or stream (Click to Play) in the UK. However, BBC Worldwide is working on an international version, which we will make available as soon as possible."
Otherwise known as youtube.
Labels: Happy_Mondays, Joy_Division, Marcel_King, New_Order, The_Durutti_Column
14 Jul 2005
Ghosts of the Hacienda mesmerise BlackburnAccompanying excerpts from original Factory acts New Order, ACR, James, Marcel King and (opening night guests) ESG were clips that reflected the true diversity of those largely forgotten or ignored pre-acid house years : Gregory Isaacs, Virgin Prunes, Orange Juice, William Burroughs, Echo & the Bunnymen and The Smiths. Completing the picture were home videos of the Hacienda as construction site, an interview with VJ Claude Bessy and an unseen ikon video christmas card featuring that famous situationist puppeteer combo Harry Corbett and, er, Sooty.
Plans are afoot to take the show on the road to Manchester and Liverpool in the coming months (echoing the original ikon video 'tour' of the early eighties).
Full review to follow.
--
Thanks to OMMCR.
Labels: A_Certain_Ratio, ESG, FAC51_The_Hacienda, Marcel_King, New_Order
5 Dec 2004
Intastella 'Dream Some Paradise' (MCA)
MC Magic Max 'I Don't Want Your Love' (Whole)
Mind Body & Soul 'Lost In A Maze' (Adventures Underground)
CFM 'Welcome Back Brother James' (Ray-D)
Love Decade 'Is This A Dream?' (w/l)
If? 'If?' (MCA)
Jesus Loves You 'Hate Is Not My Drug' (More Protein)
Incognito 'Always There' (Talkin' Loud)
M.I.C. 'The Gorgon' (Slimbo)
The Associates 'Waiting For The Loveboat' (Circa)
Cranes 'Adoration' (Dedicated)
Massive Attack 'Safe From Harm' (Circa)
Kool & The Gang 'Get Down On It' (Mercury)
Bomb The Bass 'Winter In July' (Rhythm King)
Catherine Wheel 'Painful Thing EP' (Wilde)
G.W. McLennan 'Easy Come Easy Go' (Beggars Banquet)
Mantronix 'Step To Me' (Capitol)
Karma 'Somebody' (w/l)
The Rare Earth 'Feeling Alright' (Rare Earth)
ACR with Denise Johnson 'The Planet' (Rob's Records)
Julian Cope 'Dragonfly' (Island)
M&M 'Don't Stand In My Way' (Suburban Base)
The End 'You Drive Me Wild' (Flying)
The Spencer Davis Group 'High Time Baby' (Fontana)
Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam 'Let The Beat Hit 'Em' (Columbia)
Electronic 'Electronic' (Factory)
Sub Sub 'Space Face - remix' (10)
The Real People 'Window Pane' (Columbia)
Julia Driscoll & Brian Auger 'Indian Rope Man' (Polydor)
Flood 'Jealousy EP' (Quarry Records)
Thirst 'The Enemy Within' (10)
SLD 'Gettin' Out' (Creed)
Soul Opportunity 'Lowdown' (Flying)
Primal Scream 'Higher Than The Sun' (Creation)
Welfare Heroine 'Starve The Eagle' (Nonfiction)
2-Mad '(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction' (Big Life)
Habit 'Power' (Virgin)
Saint Etienne 'Filthy' (Heavenly)
Eskimos & Egypt 'Don't You Do It' (DEF)
Terminal Power Company 'Wired' (Situation Two)
The Wolfgang Press 'Mama' (4AD)
SSR 'To Be House' (Guerilla Records)
Double Sense 'You Make Me Feel' (Energy)
2 Frenchmen 'Black Planet' (Rapino)
Saint Etienne 'Only Love Can Break Your Heart'
World of Twist 'Sweets' (Circa)
Paris Angels 'Fade' (Virgin)
Kraftwerk 'Radioactivity'
The Stone Roses 'One Love'
Happy Mondays 'Judge Fudge' (Factory)
James 'Sound'
Marcel King 'Reach for Love' (Factory)
Dream Frequency 'Feel So Real'
Thanks to Rebecca and record players.
Labels: A_Certain_Ratio, Factory_Records, Happy_Mondays, Marcel_King
11 Oct 2004
UndoneFac 20 A Certain Ratio Too Young to Know, Too Wild to Care: A film, never made, which was to feature most of the Factory roster, but mainly A Certain Ratio and The Distractions attempting various forms of terrorism around Manchester, kidnapping Ian Curtis and blowing up Joy Division. (Soundtrack was to be by The Durutti Column). Shareholder's statement: "The film has become a video...has become a series of surrealistic sketches. Will change again. No date No time."
Fac 27 Sex Machine Alternative Sleeve: An alternative sleeve for Fac 17, but never issued/completed. This was an abandoned project for an alternative sleeve for Fac 17, but it was never printed. Fac 159 (Tim Difford's Fac Facts Booklet) states 'Cancelled Saville/Gretton revenge programme project for alternative FAC 17 sleeve. £200.00'. The Factory Shareholder's statement says: "£500.00. Rob's got it. Cancelled Saville revenge project for alternate Fac 17 sleeve."
Fac 101 (Tony Wilson's) Lofts: the visionary developer AHW's aborted plan to convert disused warehouses into loft apartments.
Fac 109 Caroline Lavelle Untitled: an unreleased 12" single. Caroline says: "I remember doing the Durutti Column and another few things for Factory and although I did undertake to do some recording under my own name I don't think anything came of it."
Fact 181 Bailey Brothers Mad Fuckers!: possibly the greatest unrealised project rumbled on from 1987 to 1992 and would have been a "youth exploitation" movie. Tony Wilson went to Hollywood to try to raise money for its projected £2.5m budget, an event which itself was Fac 221.
Fac 211 'Book of Ideas': mentioned in the Fact 400 Palatine booklet but never realised. Number also allocated to the Wired Joy Division documentary film.
Fac 237 New Order Here Are the Old Men: unreleased video concept whose proposed title plays on the title of the Fact 37 video by Joy Division.
Fact 254 Durutti Column Guitar One - House and Fact 264 Durutti Column Guitar Two - Acoustic: unreleased Durutti Column projects, presumably in the styles hinted at in the titles.
Fac 270 Various Artists Our Dance Days: a planned 1990 release to consist of Marcel King, 52nd Street, Section 25, and Quando Quango "House remixes" organised by Mike Pickering. The long lost never realised Factory Dance project in essence.
Fac 301 'First 50': a book to have been written by Ikon's Tim Chambers about the first 50 Fac numbers. Number also allocated to the Factory International Congress held at Mottram Hall, Cheshire.
Fac 342 Happy Mondays Charter Clinic
Fac 396 Two Guitarists Still Life: Unrealised Factory Classical project. The only missing piece from 226 to 406.
Labels: 52nd_Street, A_Certain_Ratio, Factory_Classical, Happy_Mondays, Joy_Division, labels, Marcel_King, New_Order, Quando_Quango, The_Distractions, The_Durutti_Column, Tony_Wilson, undone
2 Dec 2003
May I have the envelope please...My Top 10 (for what its worth...)
1. FAC 183 - New Order "True Faith": New Order's highest chart position at the time and still one of their best pop singles. Peter Saville's artwork for both the standard and remix 12"s remains his best. Enough said.
2. FAC 34/FACT 35 - A Certain Ratio and ESG recording with Hannett in New Jersey: Factory goes to New York for the first time and records two seminal dance punk records across the river at EARS in New Jersey with Martin Hannett [->] at the knobs. One of the resulting ESG recordings would go on to become a Larry Levan favorite ("Moody") and another one of the most sampled records in hip-hop history ("UFO"). The equally groundbreaking ACR LP ("To Each") would forever be shrouded in myth due to the resetting of Hannett's mixing board settings by a studio engineer.
3. FAC 126 - "Alan Goes to Moscow": In true Factory fashion, an absolutely beautiful poster commemorating absolutely nothing. Alan's trip was a failure and it took another five years for Factory Classical to become established. Nevertheless, the poster works quite well in my living room!
4. FACT 275 - New Order "Technique" artwork: Saville goes Warhol to bring us some of his brightest and most memorable sleeves. The LP artwork, along with the "Fine Time," "Round & round," and "Run 2" singles were Saville's hottest streak for New Order.
5. FAC 242 - Happy Mondays "Madchester" EP: Hallelujah indeed! The Madchester frenzy begins leading to two years of NME front covers on the Mondays and Roses, along with countless MTV specials and magazine articles exploiting the scene surrounding the Hacienda. The single not only proved Hannett's continued viability, but launched the still on-going careers of Paul Oakenfold and Andy Weatherall, who produced the remixes for FAC 242R.
6. FACT 14 - The Durutti Column "The Return of...": Factory's way of "killing us softly with his song." The LP was an ahead of its time paradox of punk anarchy and Vini's tranquil guitar all wrapped in sandpaper. John Lydon threatened to destroy your record collection with a sandpaper sleeve but instead opted for a metal canister. In a Wilsonesque act of situationist fandom, Factory actually executed the concept.
7. FACT 75 - New Order "Power Corruption and Lies" artwork: Saville moves a step forward from his Graphica Industria phase to juxtapose Fantin-Latour's "Roses," a nod to 60s flower power, with Saville's self-invented color coded numbering schema for the computer age. The result was the perfect sleeve for New Order's movement (Movement - get it?) to sequencer driven pop. Saville's color coding concept was also brilliantly carried on New Order's associated "Blue Monday" (FAC 73) and "Confusion" (FAC 93) singles as well as Section 25's "From the Hip" LP (FACT 90).
8. FACT 210 - Cath Carroll "England Made Me": An ashamedly underrated LP. An eclectic mix of Cath's soulful voice with dance pop, Brazilian rhythms, and a touch of Steve Albini. Like many Factory productions, it was expensive to make and didn't sell well!
9. FACT 250 / FAC 213 - Joy Division "Substance" and "Atmosphere" artwork: It is extremely difficult to limit the number of Joy Division / New Order sleeves from this list, but Saville's work for the "Substance" retrospective and its accompanying single "Atmosphere" was again timeless. The posters for the album and single incorporating the Jan Van Munster sculptures are particularly stunning. As always, Saville's artwork would not be as special were it not backed with some of the best pop gems of the last century.
10. FAC 331 - Ben Kelly board room table: Quite simply an ultra modern and expensive table that the Mondays broke! One of Factory's greatest examples of hedonism and corporate waste - well before the dot com boom. It also made for a great scene in "24 Hour Party People" with Paddy Considine (playing Rob Gretton) trying to strangle Steve Coogan (playing Tony Wilson).
Thanks very much to Mike. But now, the winner – Andrew James from Blighty:
My 10 — Not a top 10, 'cos no way is 'Can't Afford To' better than 'Flight', but 10 good reasons to like the label.
New Order Play At Home. Long before Big Brother and Wife Swap, Channel 4 was known for innovative programming, and once a week in late 1983 (?) let various groups loose with cameras and total editorial control. Siouxsie and the Banshees created a surreal homage to Alice In Wonderland, Level 42 waxed lyrical about the Isle of Wight, and New Order chatted to their mates about Factory in this one hour documentary. Includes priceless footage of a naked AHW explaining "praxis" to a fully clothed Gillian Gilbert — in the bath — and Bruce Mitchell in the Hacienda bar, regaling sundry Fac artists with tales of Wilson’s parsimony.
Fact 204 The Guitar and Other Machines Durutti Column Martin Hannett and Vini produced some sublime moments to be sure, but for me, DC’s greatest producer was Stephen Street, and this was the best of their collaborations. Their "White Rabbit" from around this period is equally good, but you have to get the original 12" version on The City Of Our Lady single, and not the watered-down mix tacked on to the Domo Arigato reissue.
Fac 92 Reach For Love Marcel King Why wasn’t Marcel King a huge star?
Fact 210 England Made Me Cath Carrol They spent zillions making it, then only had 47p left to promote it. An overlooked masterpiece.
Fac 104 Tube special Madonna, Martin Fry, plus the Factory All-Stars. And Leslie Ash, post-Quadrophenia, pre-collagen injections, if I remember correctly.
Fac 201 Dry All the style bars of the 90s owe Ben Kelly.
Fac 52 Waterline ACR ACR: always the bridesmaids, never the bride. This was 20 years ahead of its time. And quite a few months before Blue Monday.
Fac 118 Can’t Afford To 52nd Street. Though often accused of being raincoat-wearing miserablists, Factory were always diverse, and never more so than with 52nd Street, who were closer to Five Star than Fad Gadget. Diane Charlemagne later enjoyed success with The Key and sang backing vocals for Goldie. If your friends tell you the label was po-faced, show 'em the video for this.
Fact 219 Flyaway Kalima, like 52nd Street, are rarely mentioned on the Faclist. Am I allowed to say "overlooked" again? For me, though, groups like Kalima and the Jazz Defektors (and John Dowie and Steve Martland) are what make Factory more interesting than, say, Sarah and InTape. This compilation is a good place to start.
Factus 17 Young, Popular and Sexy Various Artists Michael Shamberg's finest moment (and pretty much the Factus swansong). Includes Shark Vegas' fantastic "Pretenders of Love". And "No New Order".
Nice one Andrew. Your Cerysmatic Factory mousemat is on its way.
Labels: 52nd_Street, A_Certain_Ratio, Ben_Kelly, ESG, Factory_Classical, Happy_Mondays, Jazz_Defektors, John_Dowie, Joy_Division, Kalima, labels, Marcel_King, New_Order, Shark_Vegas, The_Durutti_Column, Tony_Wilson
Use Hearing Protection - Factory Records 1978-1979
Use Hearing Protection Factory Records 1978-1979 review
Hacienda How Not to Run a Club TV series
Use Hearing Protection - Fac 1-50 / 40 exhibition
Out of Order - Curating the Factory Catalogue
The Drifting Cowboys Durutti Column T-Shirt
- Electronic Sound magazine [Issue 54] Factory Records
- May 1980 release schedule
- hallowed articles
- FAC 148
- FAC 148 letter from Quarry Bank Mill to Tony Wilson
- FAC 81 stationery source materials
- FAC 81 stationery
- 86 Palatine Road Blue Plaque
- Joy Divison USA Tour Itinerary
- Tony Wilson letter to Ralph Steadman re John Dowie
- IKON stationery
- The Factory stationery
- In the City badge
- Peter Saville Associates stationery and bill
- Movement of the 24th January stationery


































