Back in 1981 a trio of Factory acts, The Durutti Column, A Certain Ratio and Kevin Hewick played a mini-festival in Helsinki, Finland. Tony Wilson filmed The Durutti Column's set from the side of the stage and 'The Missing Boy' appears on the Factory compilation video Fact 56 A Factory Video.

Courtesy of Kevin Hewick's own photos and magazine clippings together with screen grabs from the video itself the event can now be relived.

Labels: A_Certain_Ratio, Kevin_Hewick, The_Durutti_Column, Tony_Wilson

Factory has two connections to the "The Lord of the Rings" film trilogy: Andy Serkis plays Gollum in The Lord of the Rings, as well as Martin Hannett in Fac 401 24 Hour Party People. Quite a difference in the two roles!

Viggo Mortensen not only plays Aragorn in the Rings trilogy, but also plays Jerome Staple in the film "Salvation!" that Factory artists such as New Order and The Hood did the soundtrack for (Fact 182). Thanks to Mike Stein for help on this one.

Labels: 24_Hour_Party_People, Andy_Serkis, Martin_Hannett, Viggo_Mortensen

Jonathon Donaghy and Suddi Raval were Together who famously had a number 12 UK hit with the legendary dance track 'Hardcore Uproar'. In a slight change of direction they worked with The Durutti Column on a remix of Contra-Indications from the Obey The Time album which was released as Fac 284 The Together Mix in February 1991. Tragically Jon and his girlfried Emma were both killed in an road accident on Ibiza. There was a special evening in their memory at the Haçienda called Harmony.

Suddi takes up the story for Cerysmatic Factory: "Emma was killed in the same accident that killed Jon who was my best mate. Well, she did the vocals on the Durutti track that are described as "Suzanne Vega" style in the Mix Mag review. Something else that very few people know is that the remix is actually unfinished. We were meant to finished it after we came back from Ibiza but as you know Jon and his girlfriend died and we were never able. Tol Wilson and Vini Reilly liked the track so much that they wanted to put it out how it was, to me unfinished but to them, being the artistic people they are "unique"."

Suddi now makes "music and sound effects for most types of media out there". The Together Mix is available for download from Suddi's website - www.suddi.com.

Labels: Suddi_Raval, The_Durutti_Column, Together

Whilst typically the domain of acts like Nena, Gloria Estefan and Christina Aguilera, the concept of the foreign language version of an original song did make its way into Factory folklore. FBN 37 'Dites Moi' is the French version of Fac 106 'Tell Me' and was released in a different sleeve for good measure. There was to have been a 12" version but it never happened.

And it doesn't stop there. Dirty Disco by Section 25 was released as FAC BN 5 'Je Veux Ton Amour'.

On a similar thread there is the very peculiar practice renaming of whole albums with foreign language titles whilst retaining the original English language songs. There was an Argentinian release of New Order's 'Low Life' (Fact 100) which was called 'Vida Pobre'.

Labels: Life, New_Order, Section_25

As from today the new address for Cerysmatic Factory is factoryrecords.org/cerysmatic.

The old site at www.cerysmatic.clara.net/Factory will also continue to operate for a while and all old pages will be automatically re-routed to their new equivalents.

Labels: Cerysmatic_Factory

It appears that the Shaun Ryder documentary 'The Ecstasy and the Agony' was a one-off despite earlier indications that it was a series. If you didn't catch it first time round it's repeated on BBC Three in the evening on Monday 23 February. The director Richard Macer also did a similar documentary on Jordan (who can give Shaun a run for his money in the potty-mouth stakes) and followed it up with further shows. So maybe it's not the end of the story.

Labels: Shaun_Ryder

The excellent indie flick 'Pieces of April' which stars Katie Holmes (Dawsons Creek, Go) features an excellent soundtrack by Stephin Merritt of The 6ths and The Magnetic Fields.

The film ain't too shabby either. Apparently this is Stephin Merritt's second foray into soundtracks as he also did 'Eban and Charley' and contributed the song 'Absolutely Cuckoo' to Someone Like You (aka Animal Attraction).

Labels: Magnetic_Fields, Stephin_Merritt

According to this story from NewOrderOnline.com, as well as working on the next New Order album, Hooky is writing songs for his side-project with Mani (The Stone Roses, Primal Scream, all-round geezer) and Andy Rourke (The Smiths).

Apparently the group will be called Freebass (three bass players, geddit?) or Stalingrad but they "haven't decided yet...".

Labels: Freebass

This is giving him his third plug of the day, but Aidan O'Rourke also has a rather good photo of Vini Reilly of The Durutti Column from the launch party of the Peter Saville Show at Urbis.

Labels: Aidan_ORourke, photography, The_Durutti_Column

Dave Haslam, notable Manchester luminary and damn fine DJ (Temperance Club, 'Manchester, England') and Aidan O'Rourke (www.aidan.co.uk) are collaborating on the Shrinking Cities project. They are documenting the various ways in which parts of the sadly demolished Fac 51 The Hacienda are now being used around the world. Check out the Dead Frog Studios website for an ingenious example of girder recycling.

Labels: Aidan_ORourke, Dave_Haslam, FAC51_The_Hacienda

Peter Saville's flag for the Necessary Group which is campaigning for political devolution in England's North West can be viewed at the official website (along with posters, desktops and other downloads) and on Aidan O'Rourke's excellent photography website.

Labels: Aidan_ORourke, Peter_Saville, photography, poster

According to a reliable source, the title of the new album by The Durutti Column is 'Tempus Fugit' and it's due for release in Spring 2004. That's the new album that isn't 'The Definitive Durutti Column', the forthcoming 2CD best-of collection, which is also set for a 2004 release. What with the 'Live At The Venue' CD release and gigs galore it's all go for the band.

Labels: The_Durutti_Column

Saville flies the flag for the north-west of England. Tony Wilson is behind a drive which might see England's north-west with its own flag. Peter Saville has designed the flag which is based on the George Cross.

Read the full BBC News story.

Labels: design, graphic_design, Peter_Saville, Tony_Wilson

Here's a message from Colin at Vinyl Revival for any Joy Division tribute bands out there. "We are looking to host a night in Manchester to celebrate 25 years of Unknown Pleasures. If any you are up for playing then please contact me for further details." Maybe Unknown Pleasures or Known Pleasures (yes, both exist) are interested.

Labels: Joy_Division, Vinyl_Revival

The Shaun Ryder documentary 'The Ecstasy and the Agony' debuted on BBC3 on Sunday night (9pm, repeated at 1:55am). There's also an article in the Guardian on Saturday by the filmmaker Richard Macer entitled 'Straight But Not Great' (a reference to Ryder's current delicate predicament) which includes the classic line about Bez: "Shaun confided in me that most people can't understand a word his friend says and that I might want to consider subtitling him in the film."(!) We should remember that Bez is the man who wrote his autobiography 'Freaky Dancin: Me and the Mondays' in his own phonetic Mancunian patois. But that's why we like him!

Addendum: There's a not-so-complimentary review of The Ecstasy and the Agony in tonight's Evening Standard.

Labels: Shaun_Ryder

New release CDs by Anna Domino (LTMCD 2397 Anna Domino - a re-release of Fact 165) and the brand new Blue Orchids set (LTMCD 2374 Mystic Bud) are available from LTM direct ahead of the store release dates.

Labels: Anna_Domino, LTM

The first episode in the new Shaun Ryder fly on the wall documentary screens on BBC Three on Sunday 15 February at 9pm. The full title is 'Shaun Ryder: The Ecstasy and the Agony' whereas it was known in development as 'Shaun Ryder Comes Clean'. From the BBC Three website:

"Shaun Ryder is one of the most iconic and controversial musicians of the last twenty years. He's lived a hell raising life so extreme it's a wonder to many that he hasn't died. But despite having huge success with his bands The Happy Mondays and Black Grape, the wild frontman is living in poverty."

If the preview is anything to go by this should be an outstanding piece of television.

Labels: Shaun_Ryder

Industrial Fantasy in Pigeon Blue, Poppy, RAF Blue, Aztec Gold, Salmon Red, Black, Aluminium, Pale Gold, Goose Grey, Signal Red & Light Orange.

Did you know that the stage covered 72.25 square metres and there was 43km of hard wiring in Fac 51 The Hacienda?

In its early days the Hacienda was membership only due to licensing restrications and prospective members had to fill out the application form to get their coveted membership card.

Labels: FAC51_The_Hacienda

The official Durutti Column website has today been updated to include the City Life review of the Peter Saville Show launch party with mention of the band's short set.

Also, for those who missed it, the review from The Guardian of December's Manchester Academy 3 gig is reproduced.

Labels: The_Durutti_Column

Thanks to Abílio Nova for allowing us to step back to 1982 to enjoy The Durutti Column's appearance at the Vilar de Mouros Festival in Portugal with these photos which he's also given copies of to the band.

Labels: The_Durutti_Column

To coincide with the First Annual Creativity Now Conference at which he was a speaker, Peter Saville gave this interview to Tokion Magazine.

Labels: design, graphic_design, Peter_Saville, Tokion

In these two interviews, from theage.com.au and dbmagazine.com.au, Shaun Ryder's discusses his recent stays in Australia (with and without visas) with cousin Pete Carroll (Off World Sounds) and the events which led to the recording of the Amateur Night In The Big Top album.

Labels: Amateur_Night_In_The_Big_Top, Pete_Carroll, Shaun_Ryder

Intimacy directed by Patrice Chéreau. A Certain Ratio's Shack Up clearly plays in the background for about twenty seconds.

Labels: A_Certain_Ratio

The missing images from the recently enhanced Fac 229! The Music Week Factorial page are now present and correct.

Labels: Factory_Records

Pete Carroll, the man behind Amateur Night In The Big Top, has been working on a new track by Bez and Shaun Ryder called 'Rattle'. Bez 'n' Shaun have also made a video with Pat Carroll who was part of Central Station Design. Watch out for other great new Ryder tracks and don't forget to watch the Shaun Ryder fly on the wall documentary on BBC3, starting this month.

Labels: Amateur_Night_In_The_Big_Top, Central_Station_Design, Pete_Carroll

24 Hour Party People, The Beach, The Belly Of An Architect, Blue, Jerry Maguire, The Lawless Heart, Letter To Brezhnev, Mad Fuckers, Married To The Mob, Pretty In Pink, Salvation!, Series 7: The Contenders, Shooting Stars, Too Young To Know, Too Wild To Care, Trainspotting.

All contain music by Factory acts including New Order, Joy Division, A Certain Ratio, The Durutti Column, Wim Mertens.

Some were just concepts or not finished, others full-blown movies to which tracks were contributed.

Labels: A_Certain_Ratio, Joy_Division, New_Order, The_Durutti_Column, Wim_Mertens

Chris Ott's new book on the making of Joy Division's Unknown Pleasures is published this month. Kevin Cummins's Joy Division book may also see the light of day eventually but has been delayed due to his publisher going bust.

Labels: books, Joy_Division, Kevin_Cummins

Thanks to OMNY for spotting this "Buy It Now" eBay item which is a 2000 limited edition art catalogue by Iconoclast Editions of Ed Templeton's recent show "The Prevailing Nothing", at the Roberts & Tilton gallery in Los Angeles.

It's only USD 10 plus shipping (regular USD 3.00, to the UK, USD 8.00). The short biography on the sale page actually mentions his past work for Factory Records (Hopper's sleeves on Factory Too) which is more often than not overlooked.

Labels: Factory_Records, Factory_Too, labels

Those lovely people at Phil Jones Presents have announced another live date by The Durutti Column. It's Saturday 8 May 2004 at Liverpool Academy 2 (University of Liverpool). Tickets at £14 adv are available online at www.ticketline.co.uk and and these other outlets: Radio City Box Office - (c/c 0151 256 5555), Royal Court (c/c 0151 709 4321), Probe, Guild Card & Ticket Shop.

Labels: The_Durutti_Column

Groovy The latest Back To Mine compilation on DMC for "after hours grooving" is compiled by Death In Vegas and includes Decades by Joy Division. In amongst Bo Diddley and The Cowboy Junkies this may seem like a long shot (but it just might work!).

Labels: Joy_Division

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