Cerysmatic.Factory

Praxis XL - Factory and Haçienda Postcards

2019-12-09T07:00:00.000+00:00

Stuck for ideas for Christmas presents for the Factory obsessive in your family? Why not treat them to a pack of ten postcards featuring reproductions of flyers and posters designed by Trevor Johnson for Factory and the Haçienda. The set is available for the princely sum of five pounds direct from the-modernist.org on the occasion of the Praxis XL exhibition which runs in Manchester until 23 December 2019.

And then there's the Praxis XL badge set.

See also: The Praxis XL Exhibition Review

Haçienda NYE @ The Viadux, Manchester

2019-11-04T07:30:00.000+00:00

Fac 51 The Hacienda presents its NYE Residents Party at Viadux Warehouse in Manchester with a fantastic line-up of ex-Haçienda resident DJs at the new Viadux Warehouse venue not far from the site of the hallowed Haçienda dancefloor itself. Graeme Park, Greg Wilson, Tom Wainwright, Jon Dasilva, Allister Whitehead and Chad Jackson will be spinning on the night and tickets are on sale now via Skiddle.

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FAC 51 The Hacienda @ Viadux Warehouse, Manchester
Tuesday 31 December 2019
19:00 - 03:00
Viadux Warehouse, Lawrence House, 8 Albion Street, Manchester M1 5NZ

Scream City 2 - additional material

2019-11-01T07:00:00.000+00:00

Scream City 2 followed on at relative breakneck speed from the first issue in June 2006. I managed to combine two of my loves - cricket and Factory Records - into the same project by virtue of the graphic design identity this time round. The latest instalment in the ongoing Scream City digital archive series explains the journey from the Observer's Book of Cricket to Scream City - Music, Art, Books, Popular Culture.

With no overall consistent theme to the content, but two articles about Fac 51 The Haçienda, Anthony Blunt was the eventual cover star. Pulp fiction detective stories (what else?) were referenced on the back cover to round things off.

See also: Scream City #1 Additional material

Scream City 5 - The International Edition

2019-10-22T07:00:00.000+01:00

Scream City 5 was the last edition of the fanzine that I produced, back in 2010 after a 2-year gap from the fourth edition. I didn't know at the time that there wouldn't be any others. In fact, for quite a while after this edition I had an active concept for SC6 "the Video Edition" which would have delved into the world of Ikon, Doublevision, Play at Home, etc and probably come with a free VHS tape glued to the front cover (seriously, this was in the concept!). I did some tests for video titles and had some ideas for articles including the Ikonathon (a non-stop marathon of video-watching that would somehow morph into a critical masterpiece plus, on a more serious note, the extensive interview by Brian Nicholson with the late Malcolm Whitehead that eventually made it onto Cerysmatic (and which, in turn, inspired the whole Scream City digital archive).

Back to Scream City 5 and its international theme, starting with the cover and Buckminster Fuller's Dymaxion projection which has absolutely nothing to do with Factory but just seemed right for this edition. I stopped short of doing the fold-out inside front cover which would've enabled a build-it-yourself Dymaxion globe but I resolve to make the template available for those who are geometrically inclined. This, and other supporting materials such as alternate covers, source materials, etc will be made available once the main issues are published.

There were 10 different articles spread across 60 pages: Andrew James took a Factory Trip Around the World, I interviewed Fiona Allen about The Area and The Haçienda, James Nice presented an extract from his Shadowplayers book and discussed the background, David Quantick sleevenoted The Distractions, Ian McCartney gave us his magnum opus on Mozart vs Joy Division, Matthew Robertson had an exclusive interview with Andrew Penhallow of Factory Australasia, I talked to Mark Reeder, Ike Yard and Michael H Shamberg and David Nolan paid tribute to Larry Cassidy.

To top things off there was a limited edition compilation CD featuring Section 25, Ike Yard, Thick Pigeon, The Wake, The Names, The Durutti Column, Biting Tongues, The Distractions, Shark Vegas and Fidelity Kastrow & Spartak.

Phew! Enough fanzines already!!

Scream City 3

2019-10-18T07:00:00.000+01:00

Scream City 3 was published in June 2007, one year after the second issue. I discovered that making fanzines is not an easy thing to do and gradually the gaps between issues got longer and longer. This was the one with the seventies porno cover and so the use of Alba Super for the title and inside cover contents page seemed de rigueur. This was probably the most eclectic issue in terms of content as there was no overall theme, save for two articles about the archives at the Science and Industry Museum in Manchester (which, back then, was known as the Museum of Science and Industry or MoSI). Regular contributor Andrew James and Jan Hargreaves (now Hicks) from the Museum itself explained two different sides of the Factory archives.

David Nolan presented an extracted from his then forthcoming 'Confusion' biography of New Order's Bernard Sumner and Aloysius Munn (aka Ian McCartney) talked to Ian White of The Wendys. Michael Eastwood gave us two articles about Fac 51 The Haçienda - one on the long-lost Haçienda Classics album and another, 'Ghosts of the Haçienda' which celebrated the early years and coincided with an event at One Central under the same title.

Matthew Robertson critiqued the graphic design used by Electronic for their three main albums, David Nolan talked to Crispy Ambulance's Alan Hempsall and I snagged the cover story with the slightly suggestive title 'A Cock and Balls Story'. Whilst refreshing my memory of this last article I found an archived email with the title 'Tony Wilson's Cock and Balls'. Fortunately the article is not as puerile as the title suggests.

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Scream City 3 forms part of the Scream City digital archive.

Scream City 2

2019-10-14T07:30:00.001+01:00

Scream City 2 was published in June 2006 a mere 4 months after the first issue. This production cycle proved to be unsustainable though as it was 2007 before the third one appeared.

There was a loose theme around Fac 151 The Festival of the Tenth Summer plus interviews with Andy McCluskey of OMD, Cath Carroll of Gay Animals and Miaow, Larry Cassidy of Section 25 and Tony & Chris from 4M (whose track 'The PSV' was a covermount CD which is now available to listen to via Soundcloud).

moist wrote an article about the long-lost original 'Haçienda Classics' compilation album that was scuppered due to Factory in-fighting and other shenanigans. Meanwhile the non-original 'Haçienda Classics' was hitting the shelves...

Andrew James contributed the seminal music vs style guide with his 'Giving Alvar Aalto to the Kids' and he charged a very reasonable fee.

The cover evolved from my fondness next of Observer books and the Photoshop/Illustrator mastery of Steven Hankinson. The design evolution will be covered in a future article.

With only a very small amount of editing to protect you from my editor error in the first place and malware on obsolete websites in the second, I present to you - Scream City 2.

The Haçienda - How Not To Run a Club TV series

2019-10-01T07:00:00.000+01:00

Peter Hook's book 'The Haçienda: How Not To Run A Club' is being adapted into a 6-part television drama series according to deadline.com. Ed Whitmore will write the show which is being developed for television by Witchery Pictures.

FACT 76 The Jazz Defektors Film

2018-05-10T13:45:00.002+01:00

The Jazz Defektors Film was an eight minute video which in its original edit was intended to be released on with a "FACT 76" title card. That never happened but the film was released as part of the FACT 137 Shorts compilation video under the title 'Hanki Panki' (but without the FACT 76 title). A YouTube clip includes the FAC 76 catalogue number and uses the spelling "JAZZ DEFECTORS".

This handwritten outline comes from the AHW archive at MSI Manchester and represents a pretty faithful description of the eventual video. It can be briefly summarised as three groups assembling in different areas of Manchester before congregating at FAC 51 The Hacienda for a "dance-off" in a West Side Story homage.

Transcript

FAC 79 Black + White
VIDEO JAZZ DEFECTORS
Shirley Scott
Live ACR Tape --> get to them (Simon)

STORY - West Side
Wanderers v Warriors

3 Groups
3 Areas
Their Territory

SALTS - Whalley Range
Wayne's Firm - Flyover
Neil's Team - HULME

SALTS / SWAPES into CAR - JAG
TURNS ON RADIO
WAYNE'S FIRM SHOPLIFTING
NEIL'S TEAM - steal burglar's money
SALTS TEAM molests 2 Girls

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The "FAC 79" numbering on this note is incorrect or may have just been a typo. FAC 79 is allocated to Quando Quango's Love Tempo. FACX 79 is the 1979 Christmas present (a set of earplugs in a small red box). The Jag referred to here was Tony Wilson's Mark II Jaguar. Shirley Scott originally performed this piece as "Hanky Panky" in 1973.

Gentlemen we are agreed, it must be built

2017-11-05T19:51:00.001+00:00

Gentlemen we are agreed, it must be built - FAC 51 The Hacienda merchandise flyer

The Gay Traitor and Kim Philby

2017-10-21T19:52:00.000+01:00

Negative photograph of Anthony Blunt as featured on the Gay Traitor cocktail bar list from FAC 51 The Haçienda.

Annotated photograph of Kim Philby (after whom the main bar in FAC 51 The Haçienda was named.

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A negative and photograph from the AHW collection, presumably dating from the pre-FAC 51 era as it was being planned.

Blunt and Philby were infamous members of the Cambridge Five, a ring of spies who passed intelligence information to the Soviet Union during and after World War Two.

The third bar at the Haçienda, Hicks, was named after the cryptonym of Guy Burgess, another member of the Five.

The Kim Philby Bar (neon sign as installed at FAC 491)

HOW DO WE KILL SAVILLE?

2017-07-11T11:27:00.000+01:00

HOW DO WE KILL SAVILLE?

MAKE HIM HEAD DOORMAN AT HACIENDA

A long and painful death

or

Blow up his BMW

N.B. ALBERT FISH HA HA HA

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Mysterious and presumably jocular flipchart sheet from the AHW archives bearing the rather alarming results of an unknown Factoryesque focus group (did things really get THAT bad!?), the subject of which seems to have been Peter Saville.

Tony Wilson - What was and will be

2017-07-03T08:10:00.000+01:00

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.

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

FAC 51 The Haçienda 35th Birthday

2017-05-21T22:18:00.000+01:00

On the occasion of the 35th anniversary of the opening of FAC 51 The Haçienda it's an opportune time to revisit the 3rd and 5th birthday posters.

Those Factory Records flexis in full

2017-05-18T07:00:00.000+01:00

Vinyl has resolutely refused to be killed off by compact discs, Napster and Spotify and is one of the fastest growing sectors of the music industry, seemingly only held back from getting even bigger by a lack of available pressing plant time. However, the poorer cousin of the vinyl seven-inch single, the flexi-disc, does seem to be beyond resurrection (unless there's an emerging hipster trend about which I am unaware) (quite possibly! Ed.) with inherent poor sound quality and durability being the main reasons.

So this would seem to be a good opportunity to review Factory Records' flexi-disc output (and to give the discs themselves one last play) for posterity...

We start with the FACT 14C Test Card flexi by Martin Hannett which came free with initial copies of The Return Of The Durutti Column.

Lo-fidelity actual suits this recording apart from a bit of popping towards the end of the First Aspect. That said, the dreamier sounds of the Second Aspect don't sound too bad either. It's 33 1/3 rpm and made by Lyntone (as are all in this collection) and one-sided. This is probably only about the second time I've ever played it. According to discogs.com, the last Lyntone flexi was in 1991.

Moving on to FAC 28 Joy Division Komakino b/w Incubation & As You Said (aka And Then Again, aka Incubation 2, aka Incubation B - all these aliases being due to the fact that the track is uncredited).

The flexi was supposedly available free to record shops indefinitely but stocks eventually ran dry. The quite large number that were pressed mean that it isn't that rare a release. It would later resurface in the Appendix of certain versions of FACT 250 Substance. It's sounds pretty damn good here too, despite perhaps lacking the full sonic depth associated with more modern formats.

Next we have FAC 51B Merry Christmas From The Haçienda and Factory Records.

This was a highly quirky release (even by Factory's eclectic standards) which celebrates the first Christmas at the Haçienda. Simplistic synths and processed vocals from New Order create two Christmas carols (Rocking Carol / Ode To Joy) the like of which you've never heard before. It's unavailable elsewhere to the best of my knowledge.

And finally we have FAC 214 The Guitar and Other Marketing Devices which present four excerpts from The Durutti Column's 1988 magnum opus in the glorious lo-fi of flexi-disc.

This promoted a modern-sounding album so what better medium to use than flexis!? This was probably an ironic ruse by Tony Wilson. A matching counter-top self-service box for the flexis was also designed and provided in matching exquisite design by 8vo. It's also the only square disc in this collection (which makes cueing the tonearm difficult). The music tracks are short and sweet and trail an album that would ultimately be listened to on higher quality formats such as CD and DAT. The in-track sound is fine but loud popping and scraping is highly evident between clips. It remains unclear as to how effective this disc was from a promotional perspective.

That's all our four FAC flexis folks!

FAC 51 The Hacienda Postcard Box Set

2015-01-29T19:26:00.000+00:00

A box set of 24 full colour A6 size postcard images of local artist Nick Hardy's stunning 1:50 scale reconstruction model of FAC 51 The Hacienda.

The set features quotes from the people who owned it, designed it, ran it, DJ'd in it, worked in it and went to it as customers over the 15 years the club was open.

It's available to buy now from musicglue.com priced 20.00 GBP.

Meanwhile, Nick's original model will be on display at Manchester Central Library until May 2015.

Hacienda Easter 2015 @ Sankeys, Manchester

2015-01-19T20:27:00.000+00:00

Hacienda Easter Saturday 2015 @ Sankeys
Saturday 4 April 2013
10:30pm to 5am

Sankeys
Radium St
Manchester M4 6JG

Tickets 10.00 GBP (Earlybird) / 12.00 GBP (First Release) / 15.00 GBP (Second Release) available now via Skiddle.

Line Up: Todd Terry, Graeme Park, Mike Pickering, Tom Wainwright, 808 State DJ Set feat MC Tunes, K Klass plus more

More info via www.sankeys.info / www.fac51theHacienda.com

The Haçienda Has Been Rebuilt

2014-09-27T12:22:00.000+01:00

Artist Nick Hardy built a 1:50 scale model of the Haçienda which was used to mark the 30th birthday party celebrations [->].

The good news if you missed that is that that the model is back on show at Manchester Central Library, Lower Ground floor and will be there for the next 6 months.

To mark the occasion there is a box set of postcard images of the model with the full backing of FAC51 The Haçienda. On the back of each postcard there is going to be a quote from people who ran, DJ'd there, worked there and went as customers.

Cerysmatic readers are invited to contribute to the project by way of a story or anecdote about their favourite memory of going to the Haç, best band you saw, favorite night, people you met, how the club influenced you creatively, or anything else.

Either contact Nick via the Hacienda has been rebuilt Facebook page or email Nick direct.

FAC 51 The Hacienda/Happy Mondays live Manchester/London 2014

2014-08-06T18:10:00.000+01:00

Happy Mondays team up with the finest DJs from FAC 51 The Hacienda for a trio of dates in Blackburn, Manchester and London this October. The original line-up of the Mondays will perform a full live show backed up by Marshall Jefferson, Graeme Park, Jon Dasilva, Peter Hook and Herbie Saccani on the decks. Stereo MCs will also return to live performance at the Manchester date.

Expect spills and thrills and maybe the odd bellyache if things go well as Happy Mondays continue their live resurgence playing single, album tracks and rarities from their extensive back catalogue at King George's Hall in Blackburn on Friday 10 October, Manchester Albert Hall on Saturday 11 October and rounding off at the Forum in London's Kentish Town the following Saturday 18 October.

Tickets are on sale now or available soon via Skiddle.com.

October 2014

Fri 10 7.30pm - 3am - King George's Hall, Blackburn [Happy Mondays live, DJs Marshall Jefferson, Graeme Park, Jon Dasilva, Peter Hook, Herbie Saccani - Facebook Event]
Sat 11 9pm - 4am - The Albert Hall, Manchester [Happy Mondays live, Stereo MCs live, DJs Graeme Park, Jon Dasilva, Allister Whitehead, Peter Hook, Herbie Saccani - Facebook Event]
Sat 18 9pm - 4am - The Forum, Kentish Town, London [Happy Mondays Live. DJs Marshall Jefferson, Graeme Park, Jon Dasilva, Peter Hook, Herbie Saccani - Facebook Event]

There's also an exclusive early bird pre-sale for The Albert Hall, Manchester date which is being handled by Skiddle.com with tickets priced 25.00 GBP available from 09:00 BST Wednesday 6 August 2014 until 09:00 Friday 8 August 2014 after which tickets will go on general sale. A limited number of VIP tickets are also available for The Albert Hall date.

More info at fac51thehacienda.com.

FAC 51 The Hacienda Good Friday @ Sankeys

2014-04-14T19:22:00.000+01:00

The final tickets for the FAC 51 The Haçienda Good Friday at Sankeys are now on sale. The most excellent line-up features many of the original DJs that shaped the club including headliners Mike Pickering & Graeme Park, Greg Wilson, Hewan Clarke, Jon Dasilva, Justin Robertson, Herbie Saccani and Russ.

Tickets are available now priced from 15.00 GBP via Sankeys, Skiddle, Ticket Arena.

More info at the Facebook Event.

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Haçienda Good Friday 2014 @ Sankeys
Friday 18 April 2014 / 10pm to 5am

Mike Pickering and Graeme Park
Greg Wilson
Hewan Clarke
Justin Robertson
Jon Dasilva
Russ
Herbie Saccani

Sankeys
Radium St
Manchester
M4 6JG

www.fac51thehacienda.com

Haçienda Good Friday 2014 @ Sankeys MCR

2014-03-05T20:50:00.000+00:00

FAC 51 The Haçienda returns to the resurrected Sankeys on Good Friday with a line-up featuring many of the original DJs that shaped the club including headliners Pickering & Park and Greg Wilson, Hewan Clarke and Jon Dasilva.

Graeme Park and Mike Pickering will play both individually and together as they present their finest records of then and now. Hewan Clarke's set of will feature early Eighties cuts whilst original resident Greg Wilson brings his sublime selection of remixes and edits to the event, with both looking to highlight the musical history of the Haçienda in their sets.

Acid house and Balearic supremos, Jon Dasilva and Justin Robertson, who shaped the independent, open minded, soundtrack to the Haçienda and Manchester in the last Eighties and early Nineties with Hot, Most Excellent, Spacefunk and more, also drop by to provide their great tunes selection and upfront choices to the event.

Finishing up the extensive bill, Manchester Underground’s Russ rocks up with his vinyl while Herbie Saccani delivers one of his much praised warm up sets to kickstart what is set to be another great event for FAC 51 in its Manchester hometown.

Tickets available now priced from 10.00 GBP Earlybird via Sankeys, Skiddle, Ticket Arena

More info at the Facebook Event.

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Haçienda Good Friday 2014 @ Sankeys
Friday 18 April 2014 / 10pm to 5am

Mike Pickering and Graeme Park
Greg Wilson
Hewan Clarke
Justin Robertson
Jon Dasilva
Russ
Herbie Saccani

Sankeys
Radium St
Manchester
M4 6JG

www.fac51thehacienda.com