The PKRP Favourite Cerysmatic Factory Playlist is available now via Spotify and Apple Music for your musical factorial edification and here are the Playlist Sleevenotes:

Wim Mertens - No Plans No Projects

A prolific minimalism composer from small-town Belgium doesn't sound like a typical place to start a Factory Records playlist. But then No Plans No Projects isn't a typical Wim Mertens piece either. Built around a simple keyboard refrain, this superb track from the Educes Me album bursts into life around halfway through with LOUD synths and portentous piano. Mertens's other contribution to Factory was the soundtrack to Peter Greenaway's arthouse movie The Belly Of An Architect (Fact 195), while Educes Me holds the accolade of having one of the most sought after (and expensive) formats - the boxed cassette in the yellow case has been known to fetch up to a £200!

OMD - Almost (Hannett Mix)

The Wirral duo's sprightly iconic debut single Electricity has always been a favourite of mine, but this lo-fi Hannett mix of its attendant b-side has stayed with me since its release. Electricity has just been reissued in a new sleeve with a Vince Clarke remix of Almost on the b-side - it should have been the main attraction, not relegated to a flip. I've always liked the strange hissing sound and off-beat drum machine, the plaintive sorrowful lyric and vocal, Saville's braille sleeve and of course the fact Tony Wilson released the single for his then wife Lindsay. It really should have been a double a-side. Either track could have been a hit with a spread of radio play.

Joy Division - These Days

All those amazing and iconic album-tracks and I go and pick an often-overlooked b-side - is this bloke for real? Thing is, Love Will Tear Us Apart will always be one of the most important singles ever and needs no introduction. You'd need a heart of estuary mud to hate it. But tucked away on side two of both formats is what I consider to be one of three very important Joy Division tracks and the link to where the band were heading at the time. Isolation, Decades and These Days demonstrate the band's increased interest in electronics at the time, before Ian's sad demise. Almost 40 years on and still nothing on Movement comes close to any track on the second JD album Closer, with the possible exception of the synth-layered Doubts Even Here, but head to New Order's sophomore set Power Corruption and Lies and preceding single Everything's Gone Green and the link becomes a little more obvious. I love how this song bustles along - great drumming and driving bass from Morris and Hook.

Fadela - N'Sel Fik

Back in the '80s, when global sounds permeated the curious music-lover's conscience via John Peel's interest, Peter Gabriel's Real World and related WOMAD festivals, the public remained a bit nonplussed with the emotional synth-pomp of North African Rai. Wonderfully off-kilter and at odds with typical 4/4 beats being peddled across the pond, N'Sel Fik became a frequently dropped track at the more eclectic parties in Manchester and London. It's tenuous link to rave-culture is derived from the opening line of Fadela's lovely song being lifted and dropped onto "We Are E", a huge breakbeat tune issued in 1991. I suspect the originator was less than pleased with being associated with 'being on one' but it's a decent enough and sought after hardcore banger. Fac 197 itself remains a regular go-to when I'm playing out.

The Durutti Column - What Is It To Me (Woman)

In truth, I could have picked dozens of DC tracks to pop on this playlist but What Is It To Me (Woman) has always captivated me. It demonstrates everything great about the interplay between guitarist Vini Reilly, drummer Bruce Mitchell and attendant guests, including harmonica maestro Rob Gray. Taken from the Stephen Street-produced The Guitar and Other Machines (Fact 204) released in 1987, this track has aged very well and benefits from not being quite so drum-heavy as other tracks on the otherwise pin-sharp GOTM. It's more future jazz than art-rock (or whatever The Durutti Column were being tagged in those days) and is as contemporary as anything in Reilly's enviable and essential canon.

Marcel King - Reach For Love (NY Remix)

For a short spell in Factory's existence, the label acted as a springboard for soulful club tracks with a house twist. Soon-to-be M People luminary Mike Pickering made a decent fist of it with his Quando Quango project (Genius is just that, Love Tempo and Atom Rock were also rightfully regarded), while Section 25, New Order and A Certain Ratio embraced new technology to create the likes of Looking From a Hilltop, The Perfect Kiss and Life's A Scream. Straight out of the blocks came this bruising rework of former Sweet Sensation, er, sensation Marcel King's glorious Reach For Love. Velveteen vocals and a big-stringed 'n' synthed-up arrangement were given an overhaul by revered producer Mark Kamins, who coincidentally had mixed two of the aforementioned Quando singles. Its flip-side Keep On Dancin' was a favourite of mine for a while but this song translates better when pumped through a decent sound-system. Great record.

X-O-Dus - See Them A Come

When it came to sound-system mixes, reggae dub-lord Dennis Bovell certainly fitted the bill. The great man's deft touch can be found on one of the most collectable 12" on Factory, X-O-Dus's epic English Black Boys (Fac 11). It's such a shame that an album never materialised after such a fine landmark debut record, although LTM Records did curate a rather fetching round-up of studio material some years back. My personal preference, as with many Factory singles, is its speaker-scaring b-side See Them a Come. This is some serious heavyweight material and when piped through a capable mixing desk, is eight straight minutes of pure rib-cage rattling reggae euphoria.

Kalima - Take It Easy

I've got a soft spot for the unsung Kalima, a soul-jazz collective born out of the remains of the rather more avant-garde Swamp Children. Along the way, Kalima issued a handful of unjustly ignored singles like The Smiling Hour, Whispered Words and Weird Feelings, as well as a string of albums that had one foot in the golden age of crooners and one in the latter day Acid Jazz age. The band's final Factory album Feeling Fine (Fact 249) is perhaps their most consistent, least 'trad' set and includes some remarkable musicianship and decent songs, including this cracker. Languid, woozy and slinky, Take It Easy surpasses the album's curious single choice Shine and, in fact, most of the band's mostly likeable catalogue.

Section 25 - Inspiration

One of the first Factory albums recommended to me by one Nick Clarke who ran Rhythm Records in Plymouth during the early to mid '80s was Section 25's crystalline From The Hip. Fact 90 remains one of my all-time favourite LPs and still sounds timeless to this day. When most synth acts from the decade pummelled the hell out of our earholes with leaden drums, the Blackpool outfit wove featherlight beats with hopeful and er, inspirational songs that took the band to another level. many cite the single Looking From a Hilltop as the key track on this album but I'm positive that this epic closer made far better use of the available New Order-donated technology.

Stockholm Monsters - Partyline

The original scallies and Perry guys and gals weren't afraid to get all controversial and political on our asses with songs like How Corrupt Is Rough Trade?, Your Uniform and this stunning electro post-romantic belter. Issued as a 12" only, one can't help thinking that a radio 7" might, MIGHT, just have landed the Stockies with a minor cult hit back in the day. Somewhat unlike their usual edgy alternative jangle-pop, Partyline is the sort of tune that Pet Shop Boys or New Order might have made if they'd upped the speedball dosage at a Top of the Pops rehearsal. I love this record. Its flipside, Militia, is also essential, making this one of those archetypal Factory singles that works on both sides.

The Railway Children - Brighter

And here's another landmark single. Wigan's oft-forgotten songsmiths The Railway Children knocked out several sprightly singles and a pair of decent albums for both Factory and latterly Virgin Records. Brighter sported great b-sides in History Burns and Careful and sounded like a Top 10 hit all summer long. Great sleeve from Johnson Panas too. How, HOW, did this not strike a chord with the then radio DJs? It still sounds like a burst of summer some thirty years later.

The Wake - Torn Calendar

Melancholy is something that Factory Records was very good at. In Scotland's The Wake, they had it in litres. The band's debut album was Harmony, a solemn post-punk postscript that inadvertently invented twee-pop without actually being 'pop', while celebrated single Talk About The Past earned plaudits aplenty from media to fanbase. But it was the peerless much-delayed Here Comes Everybody LP that really put The Wake amongst the indie pigeons. The entire album is nothing short of a sad-face masterpiece, with the slightly trippy pretty Torn Calendar leading the field of many many centrepieces and would-be singles.

The Names - I Wish I Could Speak Your Language

My first non-JD/NO Factory single purchase was Fac 29, the exemplary Nightshift by Brussels-based rock 'n darkwavers The Names. Along with its powerful boundary-crossing flip I Wish I Could Speak Your Language, here was a 7" single that delivered some of Martin Hannett's most brutal production, without compromising the band's delicate and austere lyricism. Everything about this song demonstrates everything about those involved - the huge smash-snare drums typified by Hannett's dextrous hands, urbane almost paranoid lyrics and subtle uses of synth and guitar hooks. The Names' track record might not have spawned 'hits', but their concise canon contains few misses.

New Order - Everything's Gone Green

This is the record that kickstarted indie dance-music, no arguments. The likes of Franz Ferdinand, LCD Soundsystem, Friendly Fires and The Rapture probably wouldn't have had their 15 seconds / minutes / hours / years of exposure without this truly majestic record. It doesn't say or do much but it does everything. Never mind Blue Monday or Temptation, Everything's Gone Green remains New Order's first active foray into disco hi-hats and club mixes. Extended for a Factory Benelux 12" with new b-sides, EGG is not only one of New Order's most important records, it remains a masterclass by Martin Hannett who was ultimately swiftly spurned by band and label soon after they'd figured out how he operated his studio toys. Its attendant double 'A' Procession is also prime New Order material from the Movement sessions.

John Dowie - Idiot

Often dismissed as too surreal but revered by the likes of Stewart Lee (and myself), Birmingham's rather edgy humourist looked a bit like Jasper Carrott but couldn't have been more different. His attachment to Factory was all too brief with just three odd grin-worthy vignettes on the label's very first release, the double-7" A Factory Sample, and a lone headline single, the somewhat pub-singalong It's Hard To Be An Egg coupled with its 'visual' flip Mime Sketch. All five Factory tracks formed part of his then live poetry shows and were finally gathered together with his half-dozen Virgin label EP tracks and a slew of hilarious live tracks on the album An Arc of Hives. "I'm the kind of idiot who always ends a sentence with question. Don't I?" - we've all met someone like it and there are even more of Dowie's Idiots around nowadays.

Happy Mondays - Weekends

My first encounters with the Mondays were the Factory 'Supertent' gathering in Finsbury Park in 1987 when the band performed a somewhat chaotic set wearing huge parka jackets and puffing on suspect smoking material and the passable single Delightful, aka the Forty-Five E.P. I've always been of the opinion that Ryder's charges were more talented than people gave them credit (or abuse) for. But Delightful didn't help their cause. The two b-sides however certainly did, especially the song Oasis which eventually ended up in re-recorded form on their debut album Squirrel and G-Man 24 Hour Party People Plastic Face Carnt Smile (White Out). Recorded with a certain John Cale, 24 Hr (etc, etc) is an unexpected funky treasure in Factory's late canon. Perhaps a little more grown-up than the more familiar Madchester material, the gritty street funk of Kuff Dam (Mad Fuck backwards) and Tart Tart became a regular go-to for me at parties, as did Weekends (or Weekend S as it appears on some copies). Its odd galloping rhythm and barbed lyrics is short, sweet and might have made a hit-single in a parallel universe.

Minny Pops - Dolphin's Spurt

Dutch semi-industrialists with a near 7ft tall singer might not sound very Factory, but Minny Pops's brief honeymoon in Manchester spawned two pin-sharp electro-dance singles and an album for sister-label Factory Benelux. With the man Hannett at the helm for this single, both sides of the Dolphin's Spurt 7" are on point to this day, danceable and timeless, littered with its producer's trademark effects and atmospherics and lyrically insistent, nagging and a little confrontational. It's almost impossible to make out the words spat out by singer Wally van Middendorp but who cares? He's bigger than all of us.

Royal Family and the Poor - Visions

Liverpool's Mike Keane was the north-west's resident anarchic occultist, renouncing conventional mass-media and musical practice in favour of creating early demos and live shows of ritualistic chants, highly charged howling and the odd song here and there. After a few personal struggles, Keane's Factory output remains something of a treasure chest. Debut single Art on 45 was a sort of funky My Favourite Things and has since been given the nod by Maximo Park's Paul Smith and first album Temple of the 13th Tribe had a helping hand from Peter Hook and Stockholm Monsters' Lita Hira. For me though, sophomore set We Love The Moon - the Project Phase 2 continues to be Keane's masterpiece. Recorded with Pink Industry's Ambrose Reynolds, WLTM includes the superb Pagan Way (which still isn't on Spotify after all this time) and the 'hit' Visions, a glorious example of Keane's occasional foray into sensitive pop songs.

The Distractions - Time Goes By So Slow

Rightly acclaimed as one of Factory's most charming and rewarding singles, Time Goes By Slow was issued just after the band had already signed to Island. Musically and lyrically embedded in both '60s pop charm a la Adam Faith or The Hollies and post-punk favourites Buzzcocks, The Distractions followed up TGBSS with a handful of singles and a long-forgotten album Nobody's Perfect before taking a lengthy hiatus into the 21st century. More recently, the band have been busy writing and recording for Exeter-based indie Occultation, including the rather splendid sophomore album The End Of The Pier. For me, Fac 12 remains one of Factory Records' most important and timeless early singles.

A Certain Ratio - Waterline

A staple of the band's live set to this day, the funky near-instrumental Waterline was and still is a bit of a game-changer. Unmistakably ACR, the exclusively recorded Fac 52 single ushered in their post-Hannett future with an ankle-deep bassline, vocodered vocals, tight handclap drums and some speaker-bothering effects and atmospherics. Alongside the attendant album Sextet, Waterline with its bonged up and dubbed out flip Funaezekea turned the conventional Brit-funk sounds and ideals into the unconventional. And you can't get a much more unconventional ending to a track than the final 45 seconds on this 12".

- sleevenotes by Paul Pledger/Flipside Reviews for Cerysmatic Factory

Labels: A_Certain_Ratio, Happy_Mondays, John_Dowie, Joy_Division, Kalima, Minny_Pops, New_Order, OMD, Section_25, Stockholm_Monsters, The_Distractions, The_Names, The_Railway_Children, The_Wake, Wim_Mertens, X-O-Dus

New Order will take up residence at the Fillmore Miami Beach (at the Jackie Gleason Theater) for a very special four-night run on 14, 15, 17 and 18 January 2020. All shows start at 20:00 with support from DJ Arthur Baker and special guests.

Tickets and hotel/VIP packages are on sale now at newordermiami.com

Labels: Arthur_Baker, gig, gigs, Miami, New_Order, USA

New Order co-manager (and one-time member of Life) Andy Robinson's 'We Love It' mix from his basement session @ YES in Manchester on 6 September 2019 is available to stream now via Mixcloud.

Thanks to Colin for spotting.

Labels: Andy_Robinson, DJ, New_Order

At this exclusive evening, Stephen Morris (Joy Division/New Order) will be in discussion with Dave Haslam (ex-Haçienda) about their lives in music, their inspirations, memories, and future plans at St Michael & All Angels Church in Macclesfield on Saturday 19 October 2019 from 19:00-21:00.

This will be very much a double-header because Stephen's recent autobiography 'Record Play Pause: Confessions of a Post-Punk Percussionist (Volume 1)', and Dave's new book 'We the Youth: Keith Haring's New York Nightlife' - will be available to buy on the night and there will be a signing session with both of them.

Tickets are £11 online (via Eventbrite) and £13 on the door.

--

St Michael & All Angels Church
Market Place
Macclesfield SK10 1DY

Labels: book, Dave_Haslam, events, interview, Joy_Division, New_Order, Stephen_Morris, talk

New Order return to live action in Japan in 2020 with dates already announced for Tokyo and Osaka.

March

3-4 Shinkiba Studio Coast, Tokyo
6 Zepp Osaka Bayside, Osaka

Tickets available now

Japan residents

Rest of the World

Labels: gig, gigs, Japan, New_Order

The Peter Hook and The Light Technique / Republic tour continues at locations across the UK, Ireland, Mexico, USA & Canada during September, October and November 2019.

There will be an additional set of Joy Division material to open each show.

September

12 - Dolan's, Limerick, Ireland
13 - The Academy, Dublin, Ireland
14 - The Limelight, Belfast
19 - The Queen's Hall, Edinburgh
20 - Town Hall, Middlesbrough
21 - The Empire, Coventry

October

17 - Shankly Hotel, Liverpool, UK
21 - Fronton, Mexico City, Mexico
24 - Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, USA
25 - Brooklyn Steel, Brooklyn, NY, USA
26 - Paradise Rock Club, Boston, MA, USA
28 - Danforth Music Hall, Toronto, ON, Canada
29 - Théâtre Fairmount, Montreal, QC, Canada
31 - St Andrew's Hall, Detroit, MI, USA

November

1 - Metro, Chicago, IL, USA
2 - First Avenue, Minneapolis, MN, USA
4 - Venue, Vancouver, BC, Canada
5 - Neptune Theatre, Seattle, WA, USA
7 - Wonder Ballroom, Portland, OR, USA
8 - The Fillmore, San Francisco, CA, USA
9 - The Wiltern, Los Angeles, CA, USA
11 - Emo's, Austin, TX, USA
12 - Variety Playhouse, Atlanta, GA, USA

Buy tickets

Labels: events, gig, gigs, Joy_Division, Mexico, New_Order, Peter_Hook, Republic, Technique, The_Light

I was late to discover Joy Division. I'd heard 'Love Will Tear Us Apart' on the radio and vaguely remember hearing 'Transmission' but it wasn't until a slightly older friend, learning that I had liked New Order's then recent output leant me a copy of the 'Ideal For Living' book, sometime in late 1984, did I join the dots between the 2 bands.

The book was extremely detailed regarding gigs and releases and built up a mystique around the band and 'the myth' which has been somewhat dismantled over more recent years with the number of biographies and autobiographies produced that cover the lifespan of the band

One of the most interesting discoveries being that a video existed with footage of the band... although I had no way of knowing how or where to get it. This was 1984, however, and to a 14-year-old living in the West Midlands surrounded by Duran Duran and Frankie Goes To Hollywood fans just knowing the name Joy Division and a little of their legacy felt like being a member of a secret club.

The following year I moved back to Manchester, albeit the suburbs, and enjoyed trips into the city centre with friends. Although initially venturing into the likes of HMV or Virgin at the bottom of Market Street, or Our Price at the top. After buying what official releases I could find I was quickly turned on to the bootleg stalls in the Underground Market and the Corn Exchange.

I was amazed at the hundreds of tapes available of gigs (this was slightly before CDs were a thing) from around the world, but was dumbstruck when I saw the massive lists held by the traders of Joy Division and New Order recordings. It was when looking through these that I remembered this VHS release.

I asked around and eventually got an address to order it from, from memory it was less than £20 including postage, which was a lot, but worth it for what would be my first 'view' of Joy Division (other than a rare sighting of 'Love Will Tear Us Apart'.

When the video arrived the first thing that struck me was the lack of detail (other than band name and song titles) but the same stylish design of other Factory Releases, this time a simple gold lettering on black. It wasn't for many years I learnt that the Fractured Music logo was the band's publishing company and not a Factory Records logo. Pouring over the song titles I recognised some but not all and eagerly put it into the bulky top-loader for the first viewing...

Hopefully I'm not speaking out of turn but my first impression was that I'd been sold a dud, at worse a bootleg. The quality of sound and vision was not what I had naively expected. These were the days before the Internet so other than being able to speak to someone who had heard or seen something there was no way of googling through online customer reviews or just searching YouTube.

Inside the box (the plastic one and not the original flip top) there was a piece of paper with the name of 'IKON Video' on... and a phone number... 061 928 7387.

I'll never know who answered the phone the day I called, possibly it was Malcolm Whitehead* who was responsible for much of Factory's video output... whoever it was, when I questioned the quality of the tape I'd received initially laughed. I guess they must have sensed some disappointment in my voice, and for the next few minutes explained the background to the material and how it'd had been shot "amateurishly" and in all honesty I should be grateful for what footage existed (in hindsight that may have been more of a "fuck off and leave us alone" than the way I took it).

Watching it occasionally now (albeit from a copy I have transferred onto DVD) I am indeed extremely grateful that an hour of Joy Division performing live does exist alongside the few TV appearances.

I wish they were clearer, I wish the sound was better, I wish there were more...

No matter what has been written by band members or associates over last 20 years or so, for me 'Here Are The Young Men' returns some of the initial mystique that surrounded Joy Division through the shadowy, blurred footage, and for the majority of us who weren't old or fortunate enough it's one of our only opportunities to see Ian Curtis in action.

We should all be extremely grateful.

- Iain Key for Cerysmatic Factory

* - Brian Nicholson (ex-Ikon) comments: "I've heard similar tales of woe before. There was a return VHS marked up "poor quality" with a covering letter from Harrods that was displayed proudly on the office wall (sadly I can't find it). It wasn't Malcolm on the phone and it wasn't me either. In 1984 Ikon still occupied the large middle room at Palatine Road, the room with all the boxes of vinyl! (That's another story) It may have been Tim Chambers but more likely Mike Scott who did all the office work. There's a great NME review, referring to it as FAC 23 Here Come the Young Men, "...they're (Factory) still marketing the sort of stuff that most people would throw in the bin."

--

Catalogue entry details via factoryrecords.org [->]

VHS: UK 1982 (Factory FACT 37) [PAL/NTSC]
BETA: UK 1982 (Factory FACT 37)

3:10 Decades
6:12 Dead Souls
3:37 Love Will Tear Us Apart
3:33 Shadowplay
4:28 Day of the Lords
2:25 Digital
2:24 Colony
2:23 New Dawn Fades
3:00 Auto-Suggestion
3:07 Transmission
4:46 Sound of Music
3:42 She's Lost Control
2:28 Walked in Line
8:30 I Remember Nothing
3:26 Love Will Tear Us Apart *

* Official promo video



Many thanks to Iain and Brian.

Labels: Brian_Nicholson, First_50_Cerysmatic, Ikon, Joy_Division, New_Order, Tim_Chambers

Factory Benelux presents a limited edition vinyl album by Tunnelvision, the youthful Blackpool band who released cult single Fac 39 Watching the Hydroplanes on Factory Records in 1981. Just 500 copies have been pressed on clear vinyl, matching the original Factory release.

Formed in 1980, the sombre post-punk quartet were mentored by Section 25 before impressing Rob Gretton and Tony Wilson at an early New Order gig in Blackpool in September 1980. Two songs from their first demo were mixed by Martin Hannett at Britannia Row and released as a 7-inch single (Fac 39) in June 1981, sleeved by Martyn Atkins in an opulent sleeve referencing dictionaries and leather-bound books. After several more gigs with New Order and other Factory artists Tunnelvision taped a second strong demo, mixed for release by Peter Hook. However, the turbulent teenage band disintegrated before a second single emerged.

Newly remastered from the original analogue reels, Watching the Hydroplanes features includes all 8 tracks from their two Cargo demos, including the Hannett mixes of the title track and Morbid Fear. The set also features Emotionless, recorded live at Bristol Trinity Hall in March 1981.

The outer sleeve is printed using silver PMS with a matt varnish. The printed inner bag features new liner notes and an attractive facsimile flyer for a gig with New Order at the Forum, London, in May 1981.

Tracklisting

A1. Watching the Hydroplanes
A2. Morbid Fear
A3. Old Comrades
A4. Glenn Miller
A5. Emotionless

B1. The Man Who Would Be King
B2. 100 Men
B3. Guessing the Way
B4. Whitened Sepulchre

Labels: album, Factory_Benelux, Martin_Hannett, Martyn_Atkins, New_Order, Peter_Hook, Section_25, Tunnelvision, vinyl

To commemorate the early works and ongoing influence of Factory Records there will be an exhibition: Use Hearing Protection FAC 1-50 / 40 [->], taking place at Chelsea Space in London, SW1.

The exhibition will tell the story of its formative years from 1978 to 1982 through the first 50 numbered Factory artefacts, including works by Peter Saville, Joy Division, John Dowie, Cabaret Voltaire, New Order, A Certain Ratio, OMD, Linder Sterling, The Distractions, The Durutti Column, Section 25, The Names, Minny Pops, Kevin Hewick and many more.

Of course, this is not the first time the First 50 concept has arisen in Factory folklore. FAC 301 was assigned to Tim Chambers's First 50 [->] project. A while ago, Tim told Cerysmatic that Tony Wilson wrote him a cheque for £75 to do a Filofax-type Fac historical document but it never happened and FAC 301 became the Think About The Future [->] international congress.

Use Hearing Protection FAC 1-50 / 40 is supported by rare and unseen materials from personal archives, as well as non-Factory period items of influence. These combine to describe a period from which Factory Records was proposed and realised, underpinning its revolutionary cultural impact on the music, art, design and ideas of our times.

Curated by Jon Savage and Mat Bancroft, the exhibition is featured in this year's London Design Festival (although it continues for longer than the Festival) and will be free entry, running from 13 September until Friday 25 October.

As if a whole exhibition devoted to the early history of Factory Records was not enough, an expanded exhibition, with the Use Hearing Protection, FAC 1-50 objects at its core is being developed by the Science and Industry Museum [->] in Manchester. This exhibition will build on the Chelsea Space display and is due to open July 2020, telling the story of Joy Division and the founding of Factory Records in the city. More on that as we have it...

p.s. if you own the Fact 10+4 posters [->] (mega-rare Saville-designed promo posters for Unknown Pleasures plus 4 other then upcoming Factory releases) and are willing to loan them for this exhibition please do get in touch.

Labels: A_Certain_Ratio, exhibition, Factory_Records, Factory40, graphic_design, Joy_Division, Linder, London, Minny_Pops, New_Order, OMD, Peter Saville, Section_25, The_Distractions, The_Durutti_Column, The_Names

Another day back in the cellar researching the AHW archives at the Museum of Science and Industry on Wednesday 15 November 2017 was very productive. Many thanks to Colin Torr for helping out. During this visit we targeted the legal documents from throughout the label's history plus a few other high value items.

On 19 July 1981, Tony Wilson wrote to Martin Hannett to explain how much money Factory owed the legendary producer who had fallen out with the label. Here is the full transcript of the letter:

----

Dear Martin,

I'm sorry it all had to end like this, but since this is the way you wish it then so be it . As of now Factory Communications Ltd ceases to exist. Efforts are being made even now to collect the totals of money remaining to you; obviously a little difficult with the FACT 40 outlay, but it seems that the approximate sum owed can be paid, probably within the week. It will clearly take some time for the accountants to come up with an exact figure, so to be going on with I have prepared a basic idea of the profits based on all records pressed by Factory between Jan 1st 1979 and July 17th 1981. You will remember that your share of the only record ever pressed before that date was in fact paid to you in the following year. Since many of the records which will fall into this pressing account have not yet been sold, the figure, though approximate, is also optimistic, but then why not be optimistic. Lets get down to figures.

For now we shall have to approximate running costs (bank charges, accountancy, legal fees, phone bills and all non record expenses) at a round figure of £10,000. This leaves from the period to FACT 25:

MATRIX	TOTAL PRESS	TOTAL AFTER BREAK EVEN	FAC PROFIT	TOTAL
FACT 10	77,523	72,000	55p	£39,600
FACT 25	145,091	135,000	55p	£74,250
FACT 14	14,000(?)	9,000	65p	£5,850
FAC 13(7)	38,245	24,000	10p	£2,400
FAC 13(12)	19,814	11,000	25p	£2,750
FAC 23	150,000(app)	142,000	10p	£14,200
FAC 23(12)	25,076	23,000	25p	£5,750
FAC 22	13,000(?)	10,000	27p	£2,700
FACUS 2 UK	70,000(?)	55,000(due to excess stock)	18p	£9,900

£160,600 of which your 20% is 32,120. I remind you that this is an approximate figure and may bear no relation to the final sum. In fact in my final calculations I don't think I have taken into account Factory's special J.D. deal, anyway it gives you a fair not to say generous idea. For the period after 25 there is only the ACR album which has sold around 15, 000 over the profit line making £9,750 and FAC 33 twelve inch. The stop (dead stop) in sales at 70,000 of the 7” after the chart rush made us press 150,000 has left no profit on the 7”, but then single profits are irrelevant anyway to the big album sales. For the 12” which has sold 25,000 we are looking at approx £5,000. 23.75% of £14,750 is £3,503.12. This would make your total earnings in your time as Factory director and partner as 35,623 which after subtracting the £6,000 already taken out leaves you with £29,623. This is significantly higher than I had got in my original workings, which is nice, cause I've earned the same amount as you so I feel pretty good, but I think it is a rather hesitant figure and I would not like you to feel it is sacrosanct. Until the accountant does the full monte on the accounts we would like to give you £25,000 with the remnant payable within four weeks if the accountant can manage it. I worked out what you would have made on a producers rate for the 261,000 albums 260,000 singles and 60,000 12”s and it comes to £23,970 which would leave you owed £18,000. In case you were interested.

As for any future sales of work done by you, either of back catalogue of of 40, 45, 50 in so much as certain parts were produced by you, in similar proportion you will be paid 2% of RRP less VAT as is usual, or if the mean average of your last three non-Factory contracts have a higher points base then we will honour that figure. As to your 23.75% of the company, the company of course ceases to exist and from tomorrow morning will become entirely worthless. According to the "Ian Adams" SPECIAL contract signed with Joy Division in 1980 and ACR AND DCOL later that same year, those three bands (the only ones whose tapes are worth anything,) have withdrawn all their work from Factory Records (AH Wilson trading as) and also FCL. Clearly as stated above you will be paid on a simple producers work rate for those records future sales. Seems pretty straightforward. Bye.

AHW

Labels: A_Certain_Ratio, back_in_the_cellar, Joy_Division, Martin_Hannett, New_Order, Tony_Wilson

To the Outside of Everything is a 5CD box set with extensive liner notes which tells the story of how the UK's post-punk scene evolved from the spirit of 1977 and the arrival of key labels such as Fast, Rough Trade, Zoo, Factory Records and Cherry Red.

The Factory Records line-up is as follows:

Transmission – Joy Division
From the Cradle to the Grave – Crispy Ambulance
Sketch For Summer – The Durutti Column
Girls Don't Count – Section 25
My Mother was a Friend of an Enemy of the People – Blurt
Ceremony – New Order
Watching the Hydroplanes – Tunnel Vision
Heart Disease – Biting Tongues

To the Outside of Everything is available to pre-order now direct from Cherry Red.

Labels: Biting_Tongues, Blurt, Cherry_Red, compilation, Crispy_Ambulance, Joy_Division, New_Order, Section_25, The_Durutti_Column, Tunnelvision

Eaton Music Limited 8 West Eaton Place, Belgravia London SW1X 8LS 24 October 1983

The Managing Director
Factory Records
86 Palatine Road
Didsbury
Manchester 20

Dear Sir

Blue Monday

We control in the United Kingdom the rights in various compositions by Bobby Orlando including "Love Reaction" and "Passion".

An allegation has been made by Warner Bros Music Ltd. that the work "Love Reaction" was written in infringement of one of the copyrights they claim to own called "Blue Monday". You may already have received a letter from Messrs. Russells acting for Warner Bros. Music Ltd.

The allegation of infringement of copyright is untrue. Conversely, the writer of all the above works feels that "Blue Monday" was written in infringement of several of his works including not only those referred to above but also "Spys". His claim is being actively investigated and pursued, and we should therefore be grateful if you would place all royalties in respect of "Blue Monday" in suspense, pending resolution of the dispute. Please confirm to us that you have done so.

If you would like any further information, please do not hesitate to let us know, and we will continue to keep you informed.

--

Transcript of original letter to Factory Records concerning copyright issues around Blue Monday by New Order. From the AHW collection.

View the complete letter.

Labels: back_in_the_cellar, Bobby_Orlando, copyright, New_Order

Photo of Bernard Sumner in USA by Anthony H Wilson - "What was I drinking last night?7/11/81"





Photo of Peter Hook in USA by Anthony H Wilson - "Peter in characteristic pose, Ozzie patiently awaits the next spliff, 7/11/81"





Photo of Ruth Polsky by Anthony H Wilson - "Half the Wilson dream fulfilled New Order on a palm-lined street in Pasadena - your agent is chuffed, 6/11/81"

--

Set of three annotated colour photos taken by AHW of New Order, Ozzie and their agent, the late Ruth Polsky in Pasadena, California, USA on 6-7 November 1981. From the AHW collection.

Labels: back_in_the_cellar, Bernard_Sumner, New_Order, Peter_Hook, photography, Ruth_Polsky, Tony_Wilson, USA

FACTORY 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

On the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the passing of Tony Wilson, Walthamstow Rock n Roll Book Club present 'Tony Wilson - What was and will be' at Mirth, Marvel and Maud in Walthamstow, London E17 on Thursday 10 August 2017.

"A decade after Tony Wilson's untimely passing we examine the man, the myth and his legacy.

"Paul Morley writes: "Without Wilson there may well have been in some form Joy Division, and Factory, and New Order, and the Hacienda, and Happy Mondays. There may well have been Peter Saville's dream designs, and Martin Hannett's timeless production, and a Manchester that managed to move on from its sad post-industrial decline. But none of it would have been so far-fetched, so dramatic and so fantastic."

"Ahead of the publication of Morley's long-awaited biography he will give a talk about the man and his book.

"Kevin Cummins who more than most helped turn Ian Curtis from man to Icon and made defining images of bands on Factory, Manchester and beyond will discuss Tony through the lens.

"From Boethius to Debord via Marx, Factory was the most consciously philosphical of record labels and Wilson never short of a well chosen aphorism. We have asked Dr Jennifer Otter-Bickerdike, culture critic, writer, broadcaster, author of three books on fan culture and Joy Division to explain.

"Our panel of friends and occasional foes will discuss the Tony they knew and imagine what he would be doing today. Chaired by John Robb, former Buzzcocks manager Richard Boon, Kevin Cummins, James Endeacott and Dr Jennifer will discuss the legacy."

Tickets priced 13.33 GBP and more details are available now via Eventbrite.

--

Mirth, Marvel and Maud
186 Hoe Street
London
E17 4QH

Labels: FAC51_The_Hacienda, Kevin_Cummins, New_Order, Paul_Morley, Richard_Boon, talk, Tony_Wilson

Welcome to part two of Ian McCartney's interview with Caesar of The Wake.

Did The Wake socialise with any of the other bands on the label?

We didn't really socialise much with many of the other bands - mainly because we were based in Glasgow and only spent time in Manchester when we were down to record or play live.

Through some of the shows we did get to meet a few of the other musicians. We got to know Stockholm Monsters a bit. One time they were up in Glasgow - supporting The Smiths on tour - and they stayed with us. We had a game of football with them (boys only - our keyboard player Carolyn gave it a miss) - a Scotland against England thing - and they kicked lumps out of us. After The Smiths gig we were in the van waiting to go home and a couple of Japanese girls approached them with these beautifully packaged little gifts for Sir Morrissey. And of course they said oh yeah we'll make sure he gets them and proceeded to rip them to shreds in the van when the Smiths fans had gone. They were good fun in a slightly mad way.

Vini Reilly played on the Talk About The Past single. Tony brought him along to the studio and he just improvised his piano part instantly which was impressive to see and a great help to the end of the song. We played with The Durutti Column maybe a couple of times too. One of our favourite Wake gigs was supporting them at the Bloomsbury Theatre in London. We've done some soundtrack work with Vini in recent years too with our theatre company 12 Stars.

We met Donald Johnson and some members of ACR at different points - especially the Factory All Stars thing when there was an episode of that TV show The Tube from The Hacienda and Factory put together a collective of sarcastically named non-stars to perform. It was only meant to be Carolyn taking part on vocals and keyboards but I got roped in to sing Love Will Tear Us Apart at the sound check. Oh and Simon Topping added brilliant percussion to several Here Comes Everybody tracks - that was a great idea from our producer Oz.



Obviously we played live a lot with New Order but that was never really a social situation.

Did you share concerns about lack of promotion, and so on?

We did hear some discussions about the lack of promotion but other groups seemed more concerned about it than us. We'd always looked on turning away from conventional publicity as a bit of strength at Factory. The lack of promotion was a kind of promotion in itself if that‘s not too romantic a view. The label was known for not resorting to the usual round of desperate publicity - which in truth it couldn't afford anyway. For me, as someone who got into the label through the music and presentation of the music as something I could trust without any hype, it made a sort of sense, I could see how it might work.

In the end, for a label which supposedly didn't have adequate advertising it's still around today, people are still interested, new generations. I don't see many books and movies out there about Sony. Although, unfortunately, we thought that 24 Hour Party People film was really poor. But James Nice's Shadowplayers book redresses the balance to my mind. Admittedly, James is a friend, but I genuinely believe it's a better representation, more in the spirit of the label.



Promotion is a really specialist thing and unless you can do it on a very large scale I'm not sure it makes that much of a difference. When we were with Blue Mountain for publishing they funded some music press adverts for Talk About The Past and it did seem to give it a slight boost - no more. Factory had no objections. So I'm not sure it was such an idealistic issue - more of a practical thing - they just couldn't compete in that arena.

Anyway, for what it's worth, we thought it was a good move to go in the other direction and make it a label you had to become interested in through your own reactivity and awareness.

Was Rob Gretton your main ally at Factory?

Yes, Rob was our main ally. Every time we wanted to do a record it was Rob we approached in the first instance. We stayed at his place quite often. He always dropped by the studios when he had time. He was around for most of Harmony and that made us feel like a real part of the label during those initial sessions.

I mean our relationship with Tony was good as well. Although when we did the Something That No One Else Could Bring EP we had a bit of a dispute with him about the artwork. We'd always done our own covers up to that point and we had an idea of what we wanted but didn't really have anyone to draw it up for us. Tony wanted to use specific designers - can't remember the name but it was some company who did a lot of the ACR stuff at the time. They came back to us with a sleeve that was basically for an ACR dance record and it just wasn't right for us at all - very 80s New York, very clubby - and nothing to do with our starting point. Had any of these people even listened to tracks like Gruesome Castle and Pale Spectre? That was the first time we felt Factory could easily slip into being a bit formulaic. We were expected to say yes to an idea that had nothing to do with our work just because Tony thought some art school guy was the next Peter Saville. We went in the opposite direction and went for something a lot more punk. But Tony didn't like it and the record was given a pretty low key release even by Factory standards to teach us a lesson. Apart from that though, Tony was great to us.



I'd say Rob would've been a lot more supportive over an issue like that but he wasn‘t around so much or accessible to us at the time. Rob actually enjoyed people challenging any preconceived notions of what a Factory record should look or sound like. I'm not saying Tony wasn't like that. I think he was deep down. It was just a period when the label was changing and certain people were becoming more influential and convinced Tony that dance music was the only way forward. We thought our EP was a much more interesting direction for Factory to go in than the dance stuff. We were right in my humble, but correct, opinion. It was never a natural dance music label apart from the ACR side of things.

What are your memories of Palatine Road?

Again being based in Glasgow we didn't get to Palatine Road that much - maybe four or five times - no more than that. Most of our business was done over the telephone - mainly with Rob at his place and later with Tony and Tina who worked at Palatine Road.

All I can remember is it being a lovely big house in Didsbury. There were lots of boxes and office paraphernalia lying around. It had a nice relaxed atmosphere. Some might say too relaxed. And yet it could get quite chaotic suddenly. My impression was it operated on the spur of the moment - there was a lot of spontaneity involved - not much in the way of a strict business plan or anything like that. I suppose there must've been a hell of a lot to deal with in respect of Joy Division and New Order at the time. But if you approached anyone at the Palatine Road office for help they would always try to get something done. It had the feel of a place that had grown organically - defined by the people who worked there and who ran the label on a day-by-day basis. I have good memories of it but as I say we weren't there very much.



What are your memories of Manchester in the mid-80s? (The Hacienda pre-acieeed, the city pre-Madchester, Manchester United pre-mega-global success.)

Memories of Manchester are fairly limited too. After that early period when we were chasing support slots and trying to find a label we weren't down that much and when we worked there we were in studios and hotels mainly or Rob's house in Chorlton (hardly the centre of any burgeoning music scenes). We spent an equal amount of time in Stockport during the Harmony and Of The Matter sessions working at Strawberry.

When we did go out it was to The Hacienda once that was up and running. We were there at the opening and quite a few occasions after that and played there a couple of times. Once supporting Howard Devoto and once on our own. They were good gigs but the sound there wasn't so great as is well known. Before it took off as a club it was a strange one. It was an exciting and impressive space to be in but of course people weren't going in any great numbers at the start. I think the gigs did okay. I always felt something significant was going to happen there eventually - it had so much potential. I'm just not sure that what actually happened was that significant artistically although it undoubtedly left its mark all over the city.

I suppose living in Glasgow we were closer to what was happening here. This was a very active and creative place at the time too. We spent more time around the groups here and had more awareness of what was happening with the Postcard label really.

As for Manchester United - well, for me football begins and ends with the SPL in spite of all the Sky billions.

--

See also: part one, parts one and two

Many thanks to Ian and Caesar.

Labels: 24_Hour_Party_People, Caesar, interview, New_Order, Shadowplayers, Stockholm_Monsters, The_Durutti_Column, The_Wake_interview

The Wake formed in Glasgow (Scotland) in April 1981, after singer/guitarist Caesar joined forces with drummer Steven Allen and a bassist, Joe Donnelly. Caesar had previously played with Altered Images and wrote their first single Dead Pop Stars, but elected to leave shortly before the band crashed into the UK charts.

- extract from the LTM biography by James Nice

The interview that follows was conducted via email with Caesar between around 2010 and 2012. Originally planned for Cerysmatic Factory's print fanzine Scream City, it never saw the light of day. This was my fault and down to my dilatory approach. The interview process should take, ideally, about 90 minutes. In this case we're talking 18 months. By which time Scream City's editor had decided it was time for the print project to rest (at least for the moment. Ed.). So, what follows is some talk about the past, from the (5+ years) past.

- Ian McCartney

In a VBS TV "Soft Focus" interview a few years ago, ex-The Wake bassist Bobby Gillespie tells the story of how the band signed to Factory. His version of events seems pretty simple: you basically knock on Rob Gretton's door and hand him a tape, leading to the band recording for Factory. Is this how you remember the events leading up to The Wake's being on the label?

Bobby's version of events is basically right. Some of us went to Manchester. It must've been around January 1982. I'm not sure who was there from the group and who wasn't. Anyway, a Wake delegation went down.

The idea was to visit Richard Boon at the New Hormones office - as well as Rob - to give them a copy of our self-released single On Our Honeymoon. We might have handed in a tape as well as the single - I can't remember - but the main thing was to give both a copy of the record. We were looking to support Buzzcocks or New Order. Also, obviously, we hoped that something might happen label-wise eventually.

Anyway, New Hormones wasn't really operating as a label anymore. Richard Boon had his hands full just managing Buzzcocks of course. But he was very friendly and helpful when we went to see him. I'm not sure how we got Rob's home address. It could be that Richard Boon gave it to us - I can't think how else we would've got it. But Richard Boon was kind enough to advise us a little and he was very encouraging.

However, we managed to find him, Rob was hugely approachable when we turned up at his door. We gave him the single and I got in touch with him shortly after to see if we could do any gigs with New Order. Sure enough something came up immediately; I'm not certain where it was - one internet site mentions Trinity Hall in Bristol 26th Feb 1982 and that sounds about right to me. After playing with them a few times he spoke to us about doing something with Factory. He'd already had a word with Tony about us.

As well as seeing us live, I guess Rob liked the fact we'd done the single independently and had the initiative to take it down to him and so on… The brilliant thing about people like Rob and Richard Boon was that they kept in touch directly with new music. Well, NEW Hormones and NEW Order after all.

Cheekily enough, when Rob asked us to do something - probably having in mind a single or an EP - I said we wanted to do a mini-album even though we were completely unknown. Again, the great thing about Factory then was they just went with an idea and enabled you to do it if they thought there was something behind it. No demos, no proposals, no need to explain what you were trying to achieve. If they believed in you, they backed you.

They booked us into Strawberry Studios in Stockport to record - it was a pretty state-of-the-art studio at that time, part owned by 10cc. I suppose Rob liked the fact they'd provided that facility outside of London.

And that's how we came to make Harmony.



A release like The Wake's debut single On Our Honeymoon would, I'm sure, have had the likes of Virgin records knocking on the door. Were labels other than Factory making offers at the time, and were they considered? Also, how many copies of On Our Honeymoon were pressed?

As for the notion that On Our Honeymoon (1,000 copies pressed) might have had the likes of Virgin Records approaching us that certainly wasn't the case...

I had been signed to a major label for a short time as part of the original line-up of Altered Images. I was the guitarist and wrote quite a lot of their early songs - first single Dead Pop Stars for instance - and I was still potentially contracted to CBS/Epic when I left to form The Wake. Even though I could've been tied to them legally they had absolutely no interest in keeping me on fortunately. We didn't contact any majors re The Wake.

It's hard to realise now the impact the new independent labels were having - we think of indie music as a genre, a style of music, whereas back then it was actually an explosion of small labels like Fast, Rough Trade, Factory and Postcard - and they were just the better known ones. It wasn't a guitar based beat group style of music at all - there were all kinds of musical approaches out there - it was more a way of thinking about how to keep creative control.



Unlike previous independents like, say, Stiff Records, labels like Factory weren't just calling cards to try and get a major deal, they were labels that appeared to be saying this is a way ahead - responding to the supposed ideals of punk - a new way of doing things, a new way of releasing music, and we were really attracted to that and thought it was the way forward for The Wake. Personally speaking, I would've seen The Distractions single on Factory, Time Goes By So Slow, that record, the song itself, the way it was presented by Factory, as some sort of ideal, that was what I wanted the group to be doing, that was the template.

Major label interest actually came later around the time of Talk About The Past. Just as that was about to come out on Factory we signed a publishing deal with Blue Mountain Music which was a company connected to Island Records. When we signed that deal, which came off the back of a headlining gig at the Hacienda, the boss of Island at the time - it was Dave Robinson who had started Stiff Records - heard Talk About The Past playing in the Blue Mountain office - and in true corny showbiz style burst into the room saying, ‘That‘s a hit! Who is it? They‘ve got a deal.'

Not too surprisingly, in subsequent meetings, when it came down to the details of signing to the label for real, some conflicts arose. The main problem was our determination to choose which songs could be released as singles. Another big stumbling block was our suggestion that singles might not necessarily appear on albums as was our way of doing things at Factory. Also we wanted final say on - and the option to design - all artwork including any advertising. Basically we were trying to retain the creative controls we had at Factory. This was the ultimate test for us - had this so-called major learned any lessons from smaller labels like Factory? And, of course, they hadn't taken the slightest bit of notice. So the deal never happened.

In any case, Tony really encouraged us to follow up on any major label interest. He was always very open about that. He was pleased when bigger labels took an interest in the Factory groups.

Around the same time, we recorded a session for the David Jensen Show on BBC Radio and the broadcast led to phone calls from - and meetings with - a few other well-known labels but it never came to anything.

We were always trying to move forward on a creative level - that was the main thing - and Factory was the right place to be when working on the Here Comes Everybody album which was coming next.



The Wake's time at Factory was about five or six years. Starting round about sometime in 1981, with the final release Something That No One Else Could Bring being in 1987. Now, I'm not trying to be a cheeky bastard (and please correct me if I've got it wrong) but by my reckoning the sales of the records wouldn't have paid enough to live off. Did you have another way of making money during these years?

...and did you have any discussions about moving elsewhere?

You're so wrong - we were living the dream and owned properties across the world. OK - I'm only kidding.

Record sales weren't enough to live from on a regular basis but we got occasional royalties and made money from gigs. Basically, we went through phases of having enough to get by on and some times of signing on and doing a few part time jobs now and then. The publishing deal made a big difference as it involved an advance.

Certainly now we make more from the LTM reissues than we ever did from the original Factory recordings. Then again, the records wouldn't exist at all without Factory's considerable financial input.

As mentioned before, we had major label interest around the time of Talk About The Past. The one we took most seriously was when Sounds journalist Dave McCullough, Geoff Travis (Rough Trade) and Mike Alway (Cherry Red) started up Blanco y Negro Records through Warners and there was definite interest from Dave in his new role as head of A & R. In the end we stuck with Factory for as long as we felt a connection. Possibly it was the right place for us to be all that time although it changed later.



--

End of part one.

See also: part two

Labels: interview, New_Order, Rob_Gretton, The_Wake, The_Wake_interview, Vini_Reilly

True Faith explores the ongoing significance and legacy of New Order and Joy Division through the wealth of visual art their music has inspired and runs at Manchester Art Gallery from Friday 30 June to Sunday 3 September 2017 in conjunction with the Manchester International Festival.

"Curated by Matthew Higgs, Director of White Columns, New York (see FAC 171) and author and film-maker Jon Savage with archivist Johan Kugelberg, True Faith is centred on four decades' worth of extraordinary contemporary works from artists including Julian Schnabel, Jeremy Deller, Liam Gillick, Mark Leckey, Glenn Brown and Slater Bradley, all directly inspired by the two groups.

"Also featuring Peter Saville's seminal cover designs, plus performance films, music videos, fashion and posters from John Baldessari, Barbara Kruger, Lawrence Weiner, Jonathan Demme, Robert Longo, Raf Simons and Kathryn Bigelow, True Faith provides a unique perspective on these two most iconic and influential Manchester bands. The exhibition will also present a selection of rarely seen personal materials, including original hand written lyrics."

Labels: Barbara_Kruger, exhibition, Jeremy_Deller, Jon_Savage, Joy_Division, Lawrence_Weiner, MIF2017, New_Order, Peter Saville, Robert_Longo

Here we have a typewritten invoice (on beautiful letterhead) dated 14 July 1983 from Peter Saville Associates to Factory Records requesting payment for graphic design services rendered on several key items for New Order (including FAC 73 Blue Monday and FACT 75 Power, Corruption and Lies) and FAC 51 The Haçienda (including the original logotype and stationery) and which totals just over £8K. Adjusted for inflation that represents approximately £25K which is quite a tidy sum. There is no evidence (yet) of when the bill was paid.



The bill, in summary, is as follows:

---

Current Account with Factory Records, BeMusic, FCL and The Hacienda.

New Order 'Temptation' 7" & 12" FAC 63 £528.21
Hacienda Logotype Membership card/leaflet FAC 51 £535.38
New Order EP for Canada/USA FEP 313 £1304.54
New Order 'Blue Monday' 12" FAC 73 £538.20
New Order 'PCL' album FACT 75 £3557.62
New Order 'PCL' cassette liner for Italy FACT 75 £110.38
New Order 'Confusion' 7" & 12" FAC 93 £556.09
New Order Video Liner FACT 77 £478.47
Hacienda Anniversary Poster/ad for NME FAC 51 £57.50
Hacienda Stationery System FAC 51 £556.11

VAT payment £604.20

TOTAL £8826.70

Payment received Dec.1982 £750.00

Balance now due to Peter Saville Associates £8076.70

---

You may wish to view the full invoice is presented in monospaced type on Peter Saville Associates stationery.

Labels: back_in_the_cellar, graphic_design, history, New_Order, Peter Saville

Here we present the True Faith "leaf" promo badge/brooch (in gold and in silver editions) for special promotion of FAC 183 True Faith by New Order.

The promotional fun didn't stop there either for this release - there was also a poster and the True Faith Paperweight.



See also: Factory Records Badges and Factory Records posters.

Labels: badges, New_Order, Peter_Saville, poster

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