Cerysmatic.Factory

The PKRP Cerysmatic Factory Favourites Playlist

2019-12-19T07:00:00.000+00:00

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

Slow Car Fast Car

2019-12-06T18:13:00.001+00:00

Minny Pops follow up the Outernationale remix EP with a new release 'Slow Car Fast Car' which is out now on most major digital platforms including Soundcloud, Apple Music, Spotify and Deezer.

A suitably enigmatic message from "Your Leader " has appeared on the Minny Pops website (how'd that happen? Ed.):

"The other day I was thinking what is the point of driving a Porsche if you are always stuck in traffic? Which also made me think, what is the point of taking a Porsche out for a test ride if you can’t afford one?"

Minny Pops Outernationale Remix EP out 23 September

2019-09-22T13:05:00.000+01:00

Minny Pops have resurfaced and are set to release a brand new 3-track remix EP on the Blowpipe [->] label on Monday 23 September 2019.

The 'Outernationale Remix' EP [BP 134] features exclusive new versions of 'Waiting For This to Happen', 'Vital', 'A Feeling' by Derek Miller (Section 25).

The EP will be available digitally via all the usual major outlets and is the first in a series of releases of secret recording sessions and mixes by Minny Pops coming up over the next year.

Tracklisting

Waiting For This To Happen
Vital
A Feeling

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More info: minnypops.com

See also: Paul Haig 'Atmosphere' mixed by Outernationale [->]

Minny Pops live archive 1978 to present

2019-08-23T16:00:00.000+01:00

Whilst Cerysmatic was on hiatus (again), I couldn't totally stop myself from working on Fac-related projects. The Durutti Column and A Certain Ratio Gigographies are two examples where, in both cases, I converted and enhanced the existing gig listings created and curated by Mike Mitchell over the years and turned them into a new section of the Durutti website and a wholly new Gigography site for ACR. Any and all contributions to the Gigographies are gratefully accepted by the way.

Another project was building a completely new Minny Pops website at minnypops.com. Wally van Middendorp handed over the keys to the Minny Pops vaults and I went in there digging for gold. The most impressive aspect of Wally's record-keeping was his creation (and retention) of a complete set of gig records for the band going all the way back to late 1978, initially ending in 1981 and then jumping forward in time to the band's 2012 reunion and subsequent reinvention as artpop conceptualists. With photos also archived for many of these dates it lent itself to the creation of a complete list of every gig played by Minny Pops replete with the band line-up at the time and the setlist.

Hopefully more Minny Pops projects are in the pipeline. Watch this space (and that space) for more info.

Use Hearing Protection - Fac 1-50 / 40 exhibition

2019-08-15T17:00:00.000+01:00

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.

Noise Reduction System 4CD box set

2017-07-06T07:28:00.000+01:00

Minny Pops feature on a Cherry Red Records (who have been very busy recently) compilation called Noise Reduction System and which is out on 21 July 2017. Sub-titled 'Formative European Electronica 1974-1984' there are 61 tracks of "excursions in proto-synth pop, diy techno, noise and ambient exploration" across 4 CDs and it all comes with a 52-page booklet of liner notes by Dave Henderson (Sounds/Wild Planet/MOJO) and others.

The Minny Pops track 'Son' was part of the 'Sparks in a Dark Room' album recording sessions and was released on the Plurex label 'Hours' compilation.

Wally van Middendorp told Cerysmatic: "This track is all about being paranoid on a cold winter night and killing the killer who wanted to kill my son. We played a one minute version as the encore no-one asked for when on tour in 2012."

A year in the making, there is great range on display on the album going from electronic figureheads such as Cluster, DAF, Yello, Klaus Schulze, Vangelis, Front 242 to underground outsiders from across Europe.

More details available via cherryred.co.uk

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Title: Noise Reduction System
Label: Cherry Red
Format: 4CD/52pp BOOKPACK
Catalogue number: CRCDBOX35
Release date: 21 July 2017

Factory Records and the Trade Mark Agent

2017-05-31T22:10:00.001+01:00

In the matter of Factory Records / Minny Pops vs the Trade Mark Agent in 1981 let us present the first exhibit...

Please refer to: EKH/CN

17th August 1981

Mr. A. Wilson
Factory Records Ltd.,
Flat 4,
86, Palatine Road,
Didsbury,
Manchester 20.

ref: FAC 31 SHIELD EMBLEM - MINNY POPS.

I refer to your telephone message and note the shield emblem was used in respect of a limited number of records and this has now been exhausted. Further you do not intend to utilise the trade mark again.

It would assist me if you will kindly drop me a line confirming the following:

1. the number of records sold bearing the trade mark
2. all the records has been disposed of
3. no reordering has been started
4. the Shield emblem trade mark will not be used again
5. you will not feature any Philips products on record sleeves in the future.

Your early reply will be greatly appreciated.

Yours sincerely,

R.W. WALSBY.

A reply to the letter has not yet been found but it is thought that only the initial pressing (in an unknown quantity) was ever made and it is definitely known that the logo was not reused. It is our understanding the matter never went any further.

Philips was based in Eindhoven, Netherlands and therefore a connection was presumably made by designer Martyn Atkins given the Dutch heritage of Minny Pops.

Respect and thanks to those on the sampler

2017-05-24T06:30:00.000+01:00

Noblesse Oblige (FBN 125 / TWI 1234) is a free sampler CD from Factory Benelux and Les Disques du Crépuscule featuring new and rare tracks from releases in 2016/17, together with several exclusives, and tracks from selected label friends. The line-up includes The Names, The Durutti Column, Paul Haig and Minny Pops.

It's available free when you order two or more CDs, records, t-shirts or card sets via FBN mailorder service (i.e. two or more items in total). It will not be available in the shops.

Tracklisting

1. Cathy Claret - Todo Se Va
2. Isabelle Antena - Over You
3. Marsheaux - Treasure
4. White Sea - Gangster No. 1
5. Fritz Catlin - Shooting the Hunter
6. Maxwell Sterling - The Death of Juno
7. Blaine L. Reininger - Demis
8. Jean-Marc Lederman - A Darker Snare
9. Ultramarine - Equatorial Calms
10. Dislocation Dance - Songs That I Like
11. ElutzC!a
12. The Names - Spectators of Life (2013)
13. Minny Pops - Island (Remix)
14. Paul Haig - Do We Have the Time?
15. The Durutti Column - Requiem For a Father (live 1980)

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!

Minny Pops live transmissions 2015 Pt 2

2015-04-15T16:49:00.000+01:00

Minny Pops leader Wally van Middendorp confides:

"I went away: it was neither a holiday nor a vacation. I waited for delayed trains, leaving my station late. I wanted to visit my parents and ended up stranded in the town where I was born. I reconnected with some old friends; I did not remember their names or the names of their wives and children. I got lost but managed to return and arrived seven days ago at Liverpool Street Station. At 6.48am, to be precise.

I did not quite know what to do. I have been thinking, thinking, thinking about my next steps. Move sideways, forwards but never backwards. I am still struggling with the concept of time, but I have managed to get a better grip on it since I started wearing a watch. And I no longer want to waste any precious time, time.

I am looking at my diary and see that I need to get ready; ready to get on to a stage, ready to perform, ready to enjoy myself. I will go out there to entertain you; I will go out there to embrace you."

Live adventures to come in 2015 include:

20 May 2015
The Lexington, 96-98 Pentonville Road, London N1 9JB
Minny Pops will be onstage at 8.28pm, supporting Agent Side Grinder.
Tickets are 7.00 GBP
Buy Tickets Now

23 May 2015
Gothic Pogo Festival X
Werk II, Leipzig, Germany
In their first-ever live performance in Deutschland, Minny Pops will headline the Saturday night of this four-day festival.
Buy Tickets Now

7 June 2015
Tuesdays Post
The Others, 6 & 8 Manor Rd, London N16 5SA
Pay on the door

Minny Pops live @ Scaledown #106

2015-02-28T19:27:00.000+00:00

Minny Pops played Scaledown #106 in that London and a great time was had by all.

The prologue featuring a manual typewriter is captured in Part One for posterity.

The full 9 minutes and nine seconds gig is in Part Two.

Alternate black & white intro footage.

Minny Pops live two zero one five

2015-02-07T12:26:00.000+00:00

Minny Pops, the rejuvenated artpop collective steered by Wally van Middendorp, return to live action in 2015 with two confirmed dates (and the promise of more to follow):

27 February 2015
9.09pm
Scaledown
The King & Queen
London W1W 6DL

Facebook event

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3 April 2015
Fat Bastard Cock Fest All-dayer
Islington Mill
Salford
Manchester

Minny Pops on stage around 10.00pm, 10.30pm latest.

Also featuring Joyce D'Vision!

Facebook Page

Tickets available now priced GBP 6.00 + £1 booking fee from fatout.co.uk

Deconstruct and Reconstruct

2014-11-05T13:13:00.000+00:00

Check out Cerysmatic Factory's video of a special 16-minute Minny Pops performance of Drastic Measures, Drastic Movement live at The Others, London N16 on Sunday 2 November 2014.

Meanwhile, don't forget that Drastic Measures, Drastic Movement is available in a new 2CD version via Factory Benelux.

Minny Pops @ Tuesdays Post 2 November

2014-10-25T18:40:00.000+01:00

2014 10 25
On the seventh day, restless

On Sunday 2 November 2014, Minny Pops will take part in November's edition of the monthly Tuesdays Post evening at The Others in Stoke Newington, London. Good people, innovative music, comfortable sofas.

In honour of the re-release of their debut recording, Minny Pops' 16-minute performance will deconstruct and construct a song from Drastic Measures, Drastic Movement.

Minny Pops will be on stage at 10.14pm sharp. Doors 7pm, 5 quid.

More info at minnypops.com.

Minny Pops - Collective Manifestations

2014-09-16T20:13:00.000+01:00

Following on from their excellent low-key return to live action at The Forge in Camden in August, the Minny Pops collective will play two dates in October and November 2014:

MUS_IIC Festival 01 @ Red Gallery, London with Wrangler and Gazelle Twin on Saturday 18 October 2014 [Buy tickets priced 15.00 GBP via SeeTickets.com]

Tuesdays Post @ The Others, London N16 - with Darkroom, Michael Peters, Georgina Brett and David Cooper Orton - 5.00 GBP entry - more info at tuesdayspost.com

Drastic Measures, Drastic Movement

2014-08-06T18:50:00.000+01:00

Drastic Measures, Drastic Movement, the first studio album by Minny Pops (originally released on Plurex in September 1979) is re-editioned by Factory Benelux 16 October 2014 just as the Minny Pops reinvents itself as a collective and resumes live concert duties.

The 13-track set mixes hard-edged electronica with modernist noise, sharing much in common with contemporaries Cabaret Voltaire, The Normal, Suicide and early Human League and features an early version of classic Factory single Dolphin's Spurt.

The nine (count 'em) bonus tracks on Disc 1 include all three tracks from the debut 1979 Plurex 7" EP Kojak plus a 2003 remix of Dolphin's Spurt by Zip and DJ Smacker. The first disc is completed with 12 minutes of vintage audio-visual clips featuring 5 live tracks recorded at the Amsterdam Filmakademie in 1979, playable in QuickTime forma.

Disc 2 features a complete live performance of the album recorded at Amsterdam Dansmakers on 11 March 2012, with band members Wally van Middendorp, Pieter Mulder, Dennis Duchhart, Thomas Myrmel, Bart de Vrees, Jeroen Kimman and Wilbert Bulsink present and correct.

Disc 1

1. Springtime I
2. Minny Pops
3. Hologram
4. Total Confusion
5. Dolphin's Spurt
6. Motor City
7. Springtime II
8. Monica
9. Flash Goes The Eye
10. M.D. Mania
11. R.U. 21
12. Mono
13. Muzak
14. Kojak
15. Footsteps
16. Nervous
17. Dolphins Spurt (Remix)
18. New Muzak
19. Total Confusion
20. Mono
21. M.D. Mania
22. Dolphin's Spurt

Disc 2

1. Springime I (Live)
2. Minny Pops (Live)
3. Hologram (Live)
4. Total Confusion (Live)
5. Dolphin's Spurt (Live)
6. Motor City (Live)
7. Springtime II (Live)
8. Monica (Live)
9. Flash Goes The Eye (Live)
10. M.D. Mania (Live)
11. R.U. 21 (Live)
12. Mono (Live)
13. Muzak (Live)

Minny Pops live @ The Forge 31 July 2014

2014-08-02T12:48:00.000+01:00

Minny Pops, now reinvented by Wally van Middendorp as a collective, made a triumphant return to the live stage with a concert / performance art show at the excellent Forge in Camden on Thursday 31 July 2014.

The show began with a blindfolded Wally dressed in red shirt and black trousers stood amongst the audience for several minutes before he was eventually joined by John and Louise for opening number Wong.

After a second number, Vital, any thoughts that the remainder of the show would be conventional were ditched with the advent of Patty Hearst, a splendid avant-garde reading with electronic background noises.

The show was billed as running from 8.35pm to 9.14pm. Unfortunately, the precise schedule was slightly disrupted when the penultimate number broke down due to a technical glitch. This led into the set closer Secret Story revisited (FAC 57 - not FUC 57) during which Wally held up and then scrunched up a piece of paper containing the words in brackets. This was a sprightly and extended reimagination of the original Factory Records single. However, Wally declared that the collective had failed in its stated ambition when closing 2 minutes ahead of the timetable.

A glorious failure though...

Setlist

Wong
Vital
Patty Hearst
Time
Tracking
Secret Story revisited (FAC 57 - not FUC 57)

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Don't forget that Minny Pops play Red Gallery in Shoreditch on 18 October with Wrangler.

Also, Drastic Measures, Drastic Movement is re-released by Factory Benelux on 16 October 2014.

Wrangler & Minny Pops @ MUS_IIC Festival.01

2014-07-18T12:50:00.000+01:00

Saturday 18 October 2014 at Red Gallery, London sees a special evening of electronic music curated and headlined by Wrangler (Stephen Mallinder of Cabaret Voltaire, Benge and Phil Winter) plus electro pioneers Minny Pops.

Tickets are available to buy now priced 15.00 + booking fee.

More info at Red Gallery and the Facebook event

Minny Pops live @ The Forge, Camden 31 July

2014-07-17T18:49:00.000+01:00

From your Minny Pops leader (Wally van Middendorp) on Facebook/Twitter:

"London gig alert: Minny Pops' latest shape-shifting incarnation will play a last minute, under-the-radar gig with Solus3 and Shabsi Mann at The Forge in Camden, London on 31 July. This will be a test-lab gig for our next London date on 18 October 2014: expect new sounds, new hands, some surprises and possibly a new shirt.

Minny Pops will be on stage some time between 8.30 and 9.15pm. There are no pre-sales for the 31 July date; tickets are available only on the door. And especially for all of our loyal followers, entry is free before 8pm / £6 after 8pm. Please note that The Forge (3-57 Delancey Street, Camden NW1 7NL) accepts only cash payments."

In a further transmission, Wally says:

"31/7 will be a test-lab gig for our next London date on 18 October 2014: expect new sounds, new hands and possibly a new shirt."

Minny Pops on Twitter
Minny Pops on Facebook

A Factory Night for Record Store Day

2014-04-11T20:46:00.000+01:00

Here's your final call for A Factory Night for Record Store Day featuring Crispy Ambulance, Section 25 and Minny Pops (+ DJ FAC Col MCR) at the Ruby Lounge in Manchester on Record Store Day - Saturday 19 April 2014 from 6.30pm.

Tickets are still available (but selling fast) now priced 10.00 GBP over the counter (no booking fee) via Vinyl Revival, Hilton St, Manchester and online via Ticketline (plus booking fee).

Don't forget that on the same day at The Bay Horse there is the Manchester Spins Vinyl EP Launch #1 featuring a special exhibition of vinyl record artwork by Factory Records design maestro Trevor Johnson.