Cerysmatic.Factory

A shadowy presence in the Factory Records narrative

2019-09-06T06:00:00.000+01:00

TheArtsDesk.com [->] neatly and positively summarises the career and output of Blackpool's Tunnelvision alongside a great review of the recent Factory Benelux anthology 'Watching The Hydroplanes' which is available to buy now via FBN Mailorder [->].

Tunnelvision - Watching the Hydroplanes [FBN 38]

2019-08-18T09:20:00.000+01:00

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

To the outside of everything

2017-11-05T19:36:00.001+00:00

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.

SAVILLE - the partner's story

2017-05-30T17:03:00.000+01:00

Here we have a transcript of the story of Peter Saville (with asides on Martyn Atkins and Stephen Horsfall) as written by Tony Wilson around 1981. Constructivism - check; Praxis - check; hip bourgeois hedonism - check. We'll assume the reference to a FAC 48 coffee table was a gentle jape.

SAVILLE: The Partner's Story

The first time I met Saville was February or March '78 . It was the Apollo Theatre, Manchester, a Patti Smith gig - after she'd gone off - artistically. He said he was at the Poly and was interested in doing graphics work that tied in to music. I took his phone number. Nice suit, nice girlifriend. Bit smooth - sharp eyes tho! The Factory club started in May '78. we needed a poster. His track record at that point; one smart brochure for AMEK¹ the Salford PA people, and a nice piece of Neon for the Smirks. AMEK had just brought out a new desk. He had failed to complete the second brochure. Perhaps it was because he was doing our poster (FAC 1; yellow and black industrial constructivist/mid-fifties Jan Tschichold). Perhaps not, perhaps it was the difficult birth. That comes later.

After the club: (there were two more posters FAC 3 and 4 (white seriffed type on black - same tune as John Foxx). For some strange reason these posters were always late and usually went up after the gig. Lateness/brute inefficiency became our house style. It's a process called praxis; do something and then find out why you did it. The inefficiency/dedication dialectic was like that and Peter played his part.

We then needed to put a record out, Autumn '78. No-one else would. Praxis. It was FAC 2, a company concept (hand made imitation of Thailand double plastic backed tissue paper for double 7" EP. Saville used silver and black definitive Hi-tech. (c.f. Record Mirror quote on video Chapter 7). Why the lovely sleeves - then and now. Well if you're putting out the best music, it seemed sort of obvious to put out the best sleeves - not just in Indieland. Anywhere. As one of those praxis things it's not clear whether it was for our fun or THEIR (that presence in record shops) value for money. It can in fact be seen, Saville artwork in particular, as a kind of hip bourgeois hedonism. Often is in the comics. Tough. The coffee table is black and red (FAC 48) and will be on mail order (approx £75.00 by Autumn).

For Factory Mr Saville then did his black on black OMITD sleeve (FAC 6). He offered his thermographic conceit to A Certain Ratio first in the coffee bar of the Royal Exchange, March 1979 but the brats turned him down settling for their dead Lenny Bruce and my four Anthony Perkins in a Saville-Warhol piss-take.

A rags to riches story; or rather a mid-Cheshire Bowie to an echt Anthony Price. There followed the odd hand-made sleeve (FAC 18 - five months for the right tracing paper) X-O-Dus (FAC 11) took Denis Bovell seven months to mix, and Peter Saville nine months to design. You have to feel a slight twinge of pity for the poor musicians in all this but they are now warned at the outset.

The Joy Division stuff was usually pretty prompt. Mostly because the one of Saville's partners who managed Joy Division had a bigger stick than the others. Though Transmission 12" - FAC 13 - took 14 months. By this time our hero has gone to Din Disc; apparently it's nearer to the Zanzibar than Factory. Now Factory and Dindins and even, in the extremest of bad taste (not the sleeve, the music) Roxy Music, and lots more late artwork. House style. There was the OMITD first album in the perforated metal outer, the only one we didn't like to see going to a nasty Major - or Minor Major. Incidentally, the first mono set was Barney's idea.

A small mention for Factory's other designers. Mr Atkins whose upcoming Tunnelvision single sleeve (FAC 39) is very fine but who now seems to have deserted to the Liverpool camp which is if anything even more depressing than E.G. retreads. And back in Manchester Steven Horsfall newly elected to the RCA and bitter at the way Saville neutralised his label for the ESG single (FAC 34). He's done FACT 14/Durutti Column/FAC 17 embossed & FACT 24 the Factory Quartet². Sadly this sleeve was lambasted in January's Peter Saville backlash in the comics. Peter ducks as well as he weaves. The sleeve for ACR's "To Each" was designed by the group with the help of T.G. Sleazy³; it was an anti-arti-Peter effort. "Typically arty farty Factory/Saville sleeve" said the comics. And he thought it was revolting (FACT 35).

And to close I won't indulge in aesthetic adulation of a friend. Sickly. Just like to say, I do think he's the best typographer in town, any town, Factory's company address will not be changing on the new notepaper as Palatine looks too good in the new 30's Italian typeface to change it - apparently. The birth... well when this show⁴ opened in Liverpool a month ago, I happened to be in Liverpool working for the people I work for so I went along; thought I might be able to find out if he'd done the rough for the Section 25 album. Great opening; cheap wine, expensive accents, and our lad's display. A blank wall. Dada; no just late - not there. No sleeves - no Peter. When the exhibition closed, on a blank Factory wall, and still no Peter, I noticed that Peter's mum, standing in the doorway ready to leave was taking it very stoically. Though it seemed that she like me had been here before. Waiting for Peter. I asked her if his peculiar habit ever troubled her or drove her to physical violence. She smiled and said no, and said she was just glad he was alive. This seemed a bit over the top but she explained that he had been a Caesarian and had his blood changed twice. I'm a caesarian too, but I didn't get any of that. If I had I would have written this next week. "Likely to do well - but often late for school", it should also be pointed out that Peter is a catholic. There is a mafia but it's not the one you think it is.

But is it art?

Notes:

¹ - More on AMEK at langley-design.com

² - there is no other known evidence of Stephen Horsfall having worked on FAC 17 or FACT 24 but I would be interested to know if this did indeed happen.

³ - cover painting by Ann Quigley

⁴ - the Cover Versions exhibition at the Bluecoat, Liverpool in 1981, see thebluecoat.org.uk

If it's Friday, it must be Belgium

2008-11-12T19:24:00.000+00:00

Cerysmatic caught up with Section 25 following the Peter Hook Section 25 Live European mini-tour with Peter Hook and Kevin Hewick:

Vin: "It was bloody great. The turnout varied, about 600 Os (NL), 800 Brussels (BE), about 400 in Paris (FR) and Krefeld was 350-400 (DE). Michel Duval (Factory Benelux / Crépuscule) and Mark Kamins turned out in Paris. Playing with Hooky is ace cos neither of us drink and it's good not to be the only non-drinker on the firm. Also he taught me some good stuff about tempo, pace and dynamics and I am grateful 'bout that.

"The highlight for me was Krefeld. It all came together and was powerful and at times quite menacing in its intensity. The MO for each show was Kevbo, then S25 for 9 songs then we were joined by Capt Hook. We then do 10 NO/JD then we fuck off. Encore next with just S25 doing 1 song and then the grand finale with Peter joining us for Doubts Even Here.

Quote of tour has to be Mark Kamins in Paris: "Glad to see you guys still got your motherfucking chops".

Ian: "Well for starters, I don't think that I have ever been as nervous as I was before the Paris gig! Had we rehearsed enough..? Will my amp blow up? I shouldn't have worried as by the time we had done our SSXV set we were ready... for anything!

"Hooky and his 'guitar-man', Phil Murphy were great, as their 'attitude' spread like wildfire, and we just 'went for it' on the subsequent nights. Just think 'Punk Rock' and you shall be alright! (as my Granny used to say).

"By the German gig we were chuffin' rocking, so it's a shame it was the last. We had definitely 'nailed it' by that time.

"I joined Tunnelvision in 1981, so I suppose the Joy Division / New Order songs are in my DNA, but it was still bizarre to be on stage playing those songs with Hooky! We also didn't want to do 'straight' versions of the JD/NO songs, so hopefully we put a little 'twist' on them, making them rawer and bringing the SXXV 'edge' to them. Everyone on 'the team', the people working at the venues, were fantastic and also the audiences too. Lets do it again!"

Setlist

Section 25

New Horizon
Wretch
Up To You
Friendly Fires
Charnel Ground
After Image
Can't Let Go
Looking From A Hilltop
Dirty Disco

Peter Hook + Section 25

No Love Lost
She's Lost Control
Temptation
Ceremony
Ultraviolence
Dreams Never End
Love Will Tear Us Apart
Shadowplay
Interzone
Warsaw
--
Poppy Fields (SXXV)
Doubts Even Here (PH + SXXV)

Thanks to Vin and Ian. Stand by for more including Kevin Hewick and photo gallery. Meanwhile, check out Fred's (Fantastique Nights) Flickr photostream and another gallery on soundofviolence.net.

Box Set Go-Going

2008-11-10T21:33:00.000+00:00

Latest news (from Amazon UK and Tower JP) sees the new 4-disc Rhino 'The Factory Box Set' released on 8 December. As noted before, it is compiled by Jon Savage, includes an essay by Paul Morley, and the artwork is by Peter Saville.

Tracklist is as follows:

DISC 1
1. Joy Division: Digital
2. A Certain Ratio: All Night Party
3. OMD: Electricity (Original version)
4. Joy Division: She's Lost Control
5. The Distractions: Time Goes By So Slow
6. Joy Division: Transmission
7. The Durutti Column: Sketch For Summer
8. X-O-Dus: English Black Boys
9. Joy Division: Love Will Tear Us Apart
10. A Certain Ratio: Shack Up
11. Section 25: Girls Don't Count
12. Crawling Chaos: Sex Machine
13. A Certain Ratio: Flight
14. The Names: Night Shift
15. New Order: Ceremony (Original 7" version)
16. Minny Pops: Dolphin's Spurt
17. John Dowie: It's Hard To Be An Egg
18. Crispy Ambulance: Deaf
19. Section 25: Dirty Disco

DISC 2
1. New Order: Everything's Gone Green
2. ESG: Moody
3. Tunnelvision: Watching the Hydroplanes
4. The Durutti Column: Messidor
5. A Certain Ratio: Knife Slits Water (LP version)
6. Royal Family and the Poor: Art on 45
7. Swamp Children: Taste What's Rhythm
8. New Order: Temptation
9. 52nd Street: Cool As Ice
10. New Order: Blue Monday
11. Cabaret Voltaire: Yashar (John Robie Remix)
12. Quando Quango: Love Tempo
13. The Wake: Talk About The Past

DISC 3
1. New Order: Confusion
2. Marcel King: Reach For Love
3. Section 25: Looking from A Hilltop (12" Restructure)
4. Stockholm Monsters: All At Once
5. Life: Tell Me
6. The Durutti Column: A Little Mercy (Duet)
7. James: Hymn From A Village
8. Kalima: Trickery
9. A Certain Ratio: Sounds Like Something Dirty
10. Quando Quango: Genius
11. Happy Mondays: Freaky Dancin'
12. Miaow: When It All Comes Down
13. The Railway Children: Brighter
14. Biting Tongues: Compressor
15. New Order: True Faith
16. Happy Mondays: 24 Hour Party People

DISC 4
1. New Order: Fine Time
2. Happy Mondays: WFL (Think About the Future)
3. Revenge: Seven Reasons
4. Happy Mondays: Hallelujah (Club Mix)
5. Electronic: Getting Away With It
6. Happy Mondays: Step On
7. Northside: Shall We Take A Trip
8. England New Order: World In Motion
9. Happy Mondays: Kinky Afro
10. The Durutti Column: Home
11. Electronic: Get The Message (DNA remix)
12. Northside: Take 5
13. Cath Carroll: Moves Like You (Remix)
14. The Other Two: Tasty Fish (12" mix)
15. Happy Mondays: Sunshine and Love (Lionrock Remix)

From Blackpool With Love

2008-09-09T20:10:00.000+01:00

There's a new addition to the four Peter Hook Section 25 gigs announced last week in the shape of a gig at the Piper Club in Rome, Italy on 25 January 2009. Support comes from Tunnelvision.

Plus, Section 25 play a special benefit gig for their friend Fes Parker who was recently struck down with cancer. The gig is this Friday 12 September 2008 at the West Coast Rock Café in Blackpool from 8pm. All proceeds go to Mr Parker and other bands are to be confirmed in the line-up.

Finally, the band return to the West Coast Rock Café on 20 December 2008 for a pre-Christmas gig.

Section 25 live at Beat Club, Blackpool

2008-05-24T16:41:00.000+01:00

Section 25 + Special Guests Tunnelvision Plus DJ set from Martin Moscrop of A Certain Ratio play at the Beat Club (22 Corporation Street, Blackpool) on Friday 20 June 2008 in celebration of the 30th Anniversary of SXXV.

9pm - 2am
Admission 5.00 GBP

XXV=XXX

The Guardian gets on the Factory floor

2007-08-18T09:33:00.000+01:00

Chris Salmon in yesterday's Guardian showcases the NYC-based Sound Bites mp3 blog which has compiled an excellent tribute to Tony Wilson by way of a compilation of some of the lesser-known Factory bands including The Adventure Babies, Abecedarians and Tunnelvision plus ten others.

Blackpool Disconnection - Tunnelvision split

2006-02-20T12:16:00.000+00:00

Tunnelvision have split with their component members now working on projects as follows:

- Ian Butterworth is working with Section 25 on their new album.
- Chris Anderton was producing / engineering the new Section 25 album but this is no longer the case.
- Chris and Tony Ashworth are now working under the name of FORM.
- Matthew Ashworth is recording as Calpol Child as well as promoting gigs out of Manchester and also playing as one half of a duo Lion Kiosk.

Latest Tunnelvision and Section 25 news

2006-01-24T18:38:00.000+00:00

An intriguiing message on the Tunnelvision website reads:

"Chris is no longer working on the new Section 25 album due to various reasons which we won't go into here. Ian appears to be now a full time member of Section 25... we await your call on this one Ian. Chris and Tony are therefore looking forward to working with different musicians and singers under a new name."

The new name for Chris and Tony's band is "Form" but no other details at present.

A letter from Larry Cassidy of Section 25

2005-10-24T17:13:00.000+01:00

Larry Cassidy of Section 25 has posted an open letter on the band's official website, section25.com. He talks very openly and with great candour about the early history of the band, their relationship with Factory Records and the new Section 25 album mentioned here previously. Vin Cassidy has also written a letter and is joining Larry in the new line-up of the band which also includes Ian Butterworth of fellow Blackpool band Tunnelvision.

Thanks to OMNY for spotting.

New Section 25 album?

2005-10-22T10:18:00.000+01:00

Tunnelvision's official website is reporting the following:

"Ian (Butterworth) is currently working on new material for a new Section 25 album. Chris (Anderton) will be recording and producing the album."

Watching The Hydroplanes / Guessing The Way

2005-05-22T15:50:00.000+01:00

LTM is re-releasing LTMCD 2313 Guessing The Way by Tunnelvision as two newly-enhanced discs.

James Nice explains how and why: "Some of you already own 'Guessing the Way' which we released way back in 1998, mixing demos and live tracks. At that time, we did not have access to all master tapes (some were then lost), and the rights to the Factory 7" single were in dispute.

"Since then much has changed, chiefly that the master tapes to both studio demos from 1980 and 1981 were discovered (thanks Peter Hook!), and the 7" is also available. LTM and TV therefore decided to remaster and reissue 2313, and the decided that it would be better still to split GTW into two expanded full length CDs.

"So, we now have LTMCD 2409 Watching the Hydroplanes, which is essentially a studio CD with all the demo tracks (inc Hook mixes) and the Factory 7", in new artwork based on the excellent Fac 39 sleeve. And then we have LTMCD 2313 Guessing the Way V2.0, which contains the complete Blackpool and Bristol shows, both New Order supports and both mastered from the original sound desk cassettes."

More details of both CDs and the recent Tunnelvision CD single available direct from LTM.

Tunnelvision cd single and album any day now

2005-03-23T08:59:00.000+00:00

To coincide with the remastered and repackaged release of the LTM cd 'Guessing The Way', Tunnelvision are releasing a 3 track CD single on 4 April.

Tracklisting

Anyday
Where Was I
Stones

It costs £2.95 incl P+P

Further details can be found at tunnelvision.moonfruit.com.

New single and re-released album for Tunnelvision

2005-03-01T13:27:00.000+00:00

According to their official website, Tunnelvision will be releasing a limited edition single shortly to coincide with LTM's forthcoming re-release of their 'Guessing The Way' collection (LTMCD 2313) of rare and live recordings. Also, there is an official statement which says "Matthew Ashworth is no longer a full time member of Tunnelvision. We would like to thank him for his valuable input and hope to work with him again in the near future."

"Unswerving aesthetic dimensions"

2005-01-27T16:50:00.000+00:00

Our journey through the main Factory catalogue part of the Shareholder's Analysis End Of Year '80 concludes with Fact 37 to Fact 50. The further sections on Factory Benelux, Factory US and "Other projects" will follow. The typos and spelling mistakes from the original hand-typed version are again reproduced here in all their glory. Thanks as ever to Sebfact for transcription duties.

FACT 37 Joy Division ; as yet untitled. 3hr VHS cassette. Complete J.D. video. three concerts plus three TV's of variable picture/sound quality but unswerving aesthetic dimensions. Mail Order perhaps by June. Don't apply now until price is announced. Buy yourself a cassette player first anyway... doesn't work on the turntable son.

FACT 38 "Reality is 3/4inch wide." One hour VHS of Factory promo U-matics, same deatils as above....WAIT etc.

FAC 39 Tunnelvision; "Watching the hydroplanes" 7" 45rpm. Sum more lads frum Blackpool. Great techno-ballad. Out March/April.

FACT 40 Joy Division: "Still"; double album, one live, one full of all the tracks people keep complaining they haven’t got..bleeding elitists.. ..etc..to seal the past, undercut the bootlegs and leave open the tree-lined avenues for 50 etc.

FAC 41-4 Undetermined except plans for Hewick single and Reilly album underway. ...whaddyamean we're not taking the backlash seriously.

FACT 45 Section 25 ; album, first, to be recorded at Brittannia Road in February. Demos already completed…let’s hope the sleeve concept's...

FACT 50 New Order... an album probably....or maybe just a nice picture of Hookey like what they had in Sounds. Demo's just completed for this one at Cargo. Latest on the announced gig circuit;"Middlesborough is a hole." Surprised.

Of particular note in this final portion of the Analysis is Fact 38 which is the unfinished and unreleased Below The Canal video by A Certain Ratio. The 'Factory Newsletter and Shareholders Analysis No. 5 September 1981' elaborates further on what this would have contained: "2 Hours. Early promos 'Forced Laugh'/'Shack Up', live from Music Machine and Heaven. 'Back to the Start', 'Crippled Child', TV stuff from Manchester and Milan, M. Shambergs 13 minute 'Tribeca' from the New York loft, plus art... lots of art. Post-synched erotica by Johnson. Available by December/January, same price and arrangements as 37 in similar apropos bridge bag with G&L flip-top convertible." The 'Tribeca' video clip eventually surfaced on Soul Jazz Records ACR enhanced CD compilation 'Early'.

Happening

2004-09-06T18:22:00.000+01:00

According to their official website, Tunnelvision, who recently made their live comeback, will be playing live again in Blackpool soon are looking for:

a) anyone with a short film to show [up to 20 mins]
b) any bands interested in participating
c) an original short piece of theatre
d) suggestions for an interesting venue

Comments and suggestions to Tunnelvision.

In vision

2004-08-18T13:04:00.000+01:00

Check out the full review of Tunnelvision at Summer Daze last weekend together with a photo gallery.

Dazed

2004-08-16T13:10:00.000+01:00

Tunnelvision played their first show since they trod the boards at Manchester Gallery on 1 October 1981 when they appeared at the Summer Daze festival at Ashton Gardens in St Annes, Lancashire yesterday afternoon. They played a 25-minute set of all new material (because they didn't have time to rehearse the old stuff) and, despite the odd sound glitch, went down well with an enthusiastic crowd of sun-worshippers. Afterwards, the band (Chris - vocals/guitar, Tony - drums and Ian - guitar) were in relaxed mood and looking forward to possible further live dates.

Setlist

Summerisle
Psychopath
Stones
Any Day
Where Was I?