A special blue plaque to celebrate BBC Music Day was unveiled by original partner and in-house designer Peter Saville at 86 Palatine Road, the old Factory Records HQ on Thursday 15 June. Bearing the inscription "Factory Records Founded Here (1978-1992) it is affixed just below a first floor window.

There were plenty of Factory Records folk present to honour the occasion including Shaun Ryder, Bez, Mark Day and Rowetta from Happy Mondays, Bruce Mitchell (the Gonzo Drum Master himself from The Durutti Column), Jez Kerr out of ACR, Hacienda designer Ben Kelly, DJ Graeme Park and the Mayor of Manchester Andy Burnham was there too plus media coverage from BBC Manchester and North-West.

See the more pictures courtesy of Lawrence Cassidy at 86 Palatine Road Blue Plaque.

Listen to Alison Butterworth and Phil Trow talk about Factory Records and the blue plaque preparations on BBC iPlayer (geographical restrictions may apply).

Labels: Ben_Kelly, Bruce_Mitchell, Happy_Mondays, history, Jez_Kerr, Manchester, Peter Saville, Rowetta

FAC 51 The Haçienda returns to Manchester for a special New Year's Eve party at the newly-renovated Albert Hall. A top line-up is headlined by DJs Frankie Knuckles, Todd Terry and Marshall Jefferson and they are backed by regular Haçienda favourites including Graeme Park, Herbie Saccani, Allister Whitehead, Tom Wainwright and 808 State DJs.

Main Room

Frankie Knuckles
Todd Terry
Marshall Jefferson
Graeme Park
Herbie Saccani
Rowetta (Live PA)
Bez (Vibe Provider To Bring In The New Year)

Downstairs

Hacienda Classics with Allister Whitehead, Tom Wainwright,808 State Djs, Tricky Disko & Chris Crooks on Percussion

Tickets priced 25.00 GBP are available now via See Tickets, Skiddle and Ticket Text.

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The Albert Hall
27 Peter Street
Manchester
M2 5QR

Labels: 808_State, Allister_Whitehead, Bez, DJ, FAC51_The_Hacienda, Rowetta

Peter Hook's The Light perform Closer - Live at The Factory on Wednesday 18 May 2011 with guest vocalist Rowetta. This, the 31st anniversary of the death of Ian Curtis, will be the first time that Joy Division's masterpiece Closer has been performed live in its entirety.

Tickets priced £20.11 (Includes charity donation to Mind & The Keith Bennett Appeal) go on sale from Thursday 10 March 2011 at factorymanchester.com.

The Light's performance of Closer at The Factory is being recorded by Ronnie Lane's mobile recording studio for a vinyl only release later in 2011.

Meanwhile, The Light (with Rowetta on selected dates) continue to play Unknown Pleasures live at dates around the World in March, April and May.

March

9 - La Carene, Brest, France

10 - Le Trabendo, Paris, France

11 - Big Band Cafe, Caen, France

17 - Astro Hall, Tokyo Japan

18 - Zepp, Tokyo, Japan

19 - Creative Centre, Osaka, Japan

25 - Helsinki, Finland

27 - Oslo, Norway
30 - Rosso, Manchester (Nordoff Robins Charity Event)


April

23 - Scala, London [w/Rowetta]
30 - Liquid, Edinburgh [w/Rowetta]

May

7 - Festival Donorte, Pontevedra, Spain

18 - The Factory, Manchester
 [w/Rowetta]
28 - Den Haag, Holland

29 - Eindhoven, Holland

[Please note that all of the above dates apart from 18 May The Factory, Manchester, see The Light perform Unknown Pleasures]

Labels: Joy_Division, Peter_Hook, Rowetta, The_Light

Peter Hook's The Light featuring Rowetta will release their debut EP digitally via Hacienda Records on Monday 2 May 2011. The palindromically-titled 1102 / 2011 EP was recorded by the band and Rowetta on 11.02.2011 at Blueprint Studio in Salford. It features the first ever recording of a previously unfinished Joy Division track Pictures In My Mind with vocals by Peter Hook and three tracks which highlight Rowetta's unique vocal talents: Insight, New Dawn Fades and Atmosphere.

Tracklisting

1. Pictures In My Mind (vocals by Peter Hook)
2. Insight (vocals by Rowetta)
3. New Dawn Fades (vocals by Rowetta)
4. Atmosphere (vocals by Rowetta)

Pictures In My Mind was an unfinished Joy Division track which was unearthed by the band's "bootleg society" from a rehearsal tape stolen in 1977, setting it between Warsaw and Unknown Pleasures. The track was first performed by The Light at the opening night of The Factory in February 2011 with Hooky mindful of Ian Curtis's maxim that one started a song should always be finished, he takes the vocal himself to finish up the track.

Having performed with the band consistently since 2007 at events such as Versus Cancer, 1234 Festival, Vintage and The Factory gigs, The EP features The Light's regular guest vocalist Rowetta, across three of the classic Joy Division tracks which she has been consistently singing live with the band, Insight, New Dawn Fades and Atmosphere.

Having received great reviews for her vocal performances from Joy Division fans, Factory aficionados and her own fan base, Hooky decided to record Rowetta's unique renditions of these tracks late last year, and she joined the band at Blueprint to lay down the vocals in February 2011.

Peter Hook's The Light features Peter Hook on vocals and bass, Jack Bates on bass, Nat Wason on guitar, Andy Poole on keyboards and Paul Kehoe on drums.

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More info at www.fac51thehacienda.com and www.peterhook.co.uk.

Labels: Ian_Curtis, Joy_Division, Peter_Hook, Rowetta, The_Light

FAC 51 The Hacienda August Bank Holiday Special

Sankeys, Manchester
Friday 27 August 2010
10pm to 5am

Tickets £12 Earlybird / £15 Advance

Line Up – Todd Terry, Graeme Park, Peter Hook, Dave Haslam, DJ Woody and Rowetta (Live PA)

Tickets available from www.ticketline.co.uk, www.sankeys.info, www.skiddle.com and in person, from usual outlets including Piccadilly Records, Eastern Bloc, Gaffs (Fallowfield).

"The Hacienda returns to Sankeys for an extra special August bank holiday party that sees US House legend Todd Terry back in Manchester for the first time since his last sell out show here with The Hac two years ago.

"A true pioneer of dance music and a name synonymous with quality house music, "Todd The God" (as they call him) headlines proceedings alongside Hacienda resident Graeme Park downstairs. Meanwhile upstairs at Sankeys Temperance Club's Dave Haslam will showcase his newest project "Sweet Sensation" along with sets by Peter Hook and a very special Hacienda scratch set from DMC mix champion Dj Woody and they will also be joined by Rowetta (Happy Mondays) for a special and exclusive PA."

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Facebook event page

fac51thehacienda.com

Labels: Dave_Haslam, FAC51_The_Hacienda, Peter_Hook, Rowetta

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