Cerysmatic.Factory

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 A while ago, Tim told Cerysmatic that Tony Wilson wrote him a cheque for £75 to do a Filofax-type Fac historical document but it never happened and FAC 301 became the Think About The Future [-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.

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

Factory Night @ The Lexington 6 Sep 2014

2014-05-25T14:32:00.000+01:00

After playing Alfresco in Blackpool yesterday with fellow ex-FACsters A Certain Ratio, Section 25 return to London on 6 September 2014 for a Factory Night double-header with Crispy Ambulance The Lexington, London.

Tickets for this not-to-be-missed event are available to buy now priced £15.00 + booking fee via Stargreen.

Go Ahead, Punk 45, Make Our Day

2013-11-25T08:30:00.000+00:00

The often-reliable Soul Jazz Records label has recently issued another mahoosive tome dedicated to record sleeve imagery, in particular punk, new wave and U.S. garage-rock. Entitled 'Punk 45 - Kill The Hippies! Kill Yourself!', the hefty volume weighs 2kg, comes dressed in an eye-catching orange cover and includes over 350 pages of punk-singles cover art from 1976-80, all edited and forwarded by Jon Savage and Stuart Baker.

Of interest to Factory fans are interviews with Peter Saville, A Certain Ratio's Martin Moscrop and Cabaret Voltaire's Richard H Kirk, plus actual-size facsimiles of classic Factory-related 45s such as 'Transmission' and 'Love Will Tear Us Apart' by Joy Division, plus ACR, Section 25 and a few Les Disques du Crépuscule favourites from the early days, as well as hundreds of other luminaries of snotty new-wave and gob-rock such as Slaughter and the Dogs, Metal Urbain, Buzzcocks, The Skids, Robert Rental, XTC and the wonderfully-named Those Naughty Lumps.

The RRP is £25 (£20 from the Sounds Of The Universe shop in Broadwick Street, London) and is supported by a CD of the same title, comprised of various underground punk singles from the States. It's suffixed with the magic words, 'Volume One' which suggests the second volume may include a few UK nuggets.

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Punk 45: The Singles Cover Art of Punk 1976-80
Edited by Jon Savage and Stuart Baker
Published by Soul Jazz Books
400 pages
ISBN-13: 978-0957260009

Always New - Section 25's latest activities

2013-09-20T08:51:00.000+01:00

Following on from our recent piece on Section 25's prolific spell of activity, we take a more detailed look at the band's most recent releases, re-releases and remixes from the past year or so, as well as a quick glance at their upcoming gigs, one of which might be of interest to Factory fans next year!

Dark Light CD/download

Released early 2013, Dark Light is the band's seventh studio album 'proper' and their first since 2009's Nature and Degree (also their first without founder Larry Cassidy). By turns forward-thinking with its electronics and feminine vocals, courtesy of Bethany and Jo, yet still harbouring attitude and awareness reminiscent of earlier material, DL comes decorated in a fresh new Peter Saville sleeve and heralds something of a new chapter in the band's history. For a full review, head to Flipside here

My Outrage 7"

Perhaps the focal point of the band's pristine new album Dark Light was this sprightly pop nugget, selected for a Record Store Day release, back in April. Coupled with an otherwise unreleased instrumental called Hinterland, My Outrage came dressed in a variant of the smart Peter Saville sleeve designed for its bigger brother/sister. There may be a few copies left for a fiver - more details here

From The Hip vinyl

Summer 2012 saw a double vinyl issue appear on the resurrected Factory Records, dressed smartly in its original Peter Saville sleeve and sporting a sticker declaring the inclusion of a bonus 12". This extra slab of plastic includes the original Megamix version of Looking From a Hilltop from Fac 108 and a much-fancied remix of the same tune (re-titled as Another Hilltop) by New Order's Stephen Morris. A worthy reissue and well worth seeking out.

Love and Hate CD

Previously issued on CD by LTM, its newly refurbished cousin Factory Benelux dusted down this under-rated set by sprucing it up with some natty extras. As well as the main album re-assembled back into its original running order, you get both sides of Bad News Week (FAC 157), 'retro' mixes of Warhead and the previously unrecorded Boogie Beat and two tracks from the Factory Benelux EP, Crazy Wisdom. Buy it from FBN direct and you get an exclusive slipcase sleeve.

Split 12" with Stereograph

American electro stalwarts met Blackpool, er, electro stalwarts for this split coloured-vinyl 12" single, housed in a die-cut sleeve in a limited run of just 500 copies. Section 25's offerings were hard-to-find dubs of Colour Movement Sex and Violence and Inner Drive - you also get a download code to preserve your precious wax. There are still copies left at Phaneron Records direct for 10 bucks plus postage.

Invicta Max 10"

Expanding on the earlier 2011 download release on Hacienda Records, this clear-vinyl 10" on Minimal Maximal took the Invicta EP to the Max by adding two more titles to the running order, namely a double-whammy of remixes of the previously unrecorded Microgroove. Absolute Body Control lent their industrial chops for one version and very good it is too. Even rarer than the split Stereograph single, only 400 copies were pressed up. If you want a copy of MM011, you should try Daft Records in the first instance.

Eigengrau remix album

Following on from the band's own collection of reinterpreted favourites, this collection from Austria's Klanggalerie imprint featured third-party remixes of classics such as Dirty Disco, Beating Heart, Girls Don't Count and The Process, as well as adding another reworking of Looking From a Hilltop. A stellar cast of mainly electro or industrial remixers includes Cabaret Voltaire's Stephen Mallinder, Zoviet France, 23 Skidoo, Renaldo and the Loaf and Absolute Body Control. After reading the Flipside review, you should nip over to LTM to grab a copy - it's rather good.

The Post Romantic Empire album

Now this IS a grand project and no mistake. Both Vincent and Larry Cassidy can be heard on two atmospheric versions of Love Will Tear Us Apart - the former contributes drums to the first version while Larry's last ever recording, a spoken word recital of Ian Curtis' lyrics, has been interwoven with music provided by Peter Hook, Nat Wason (Haven, The Light) and Eliot Bates. The rest of the limited hand-produced vinyl-album includes equally expressive contributions by David Tibet, Annabella Lwin, Little Annie and several others. More details can be found on the PRE website.

And that's not all - a 2 x CD deluxe reissue of From The Hip has been earmarked for a 2014 release on Factory Benelux - more on this new exciting release of FBN33 to follow...

Gigs:

Section 25 have announced a veritable smorgasbord of shows during 2013 and 2014. Here's our handy guide - tickets subject to availability.

Islington Mill, Salford on 19 October

First up is the much-anticipated Machination Nation event at Islington Mill on 19 October. On the bill with S25 are AAAK, otherwise known as As Able As Kane, plus DJ slots from MC Tunes, Chewdisco and Mouseybrown. Head to Allgigs for tickets (Early Birds have all gone, still a few standard entry tickets left though).

Germany - Cologne at the Blue Shell, Luxemburger Strasse 32 on 6 December

Austria - Vienna at the Fluc, Praterstern 5 on 8th December

Blackpool County Cricket Ground, Blackpool on 25th May 2014

The band will play at the fourth instalment of Alfresco alongside Factory label-mates A Certain Ratio, plus a nifty line-up that includes Mr Scruff, Andrew Weatherall and more. Tickets from Cowbell Radio direct, priced from £10 upwards.

Section 25 FACT 90 From The Hip vinyl issue

2012-05-24T19:55:00.000+01:00

Factory Records Ltd (the resurrected imprint via LTM) releases a new double vinyl edition of Section 25's 1984 landmark album From The Hip on 28 May. The album, produced by Bernard Sumner, combined smooth synthpop with seamless electro beats. This new version features digitally re-mastered audio, with the original FACT 90 album on a single LP plus a bonus 12" single with two versions of seminal single FAC 108 Looking From A Hilltop. The 8-minute proto-techno Megamix version was edited and mixed by Sumner and Donald Johnson of ACR, and later sampled by both Orbital and The Shamen. The flip features Stephen Morris's (New Order/The Other Two) 2010 remix.

Peter Saville has 'digitally remastered' his original cover design with help from Matthew Robertson and Idea Digital.

Tracklisting

Disc 1

1. The Process
2. Looking From A Hilltop
3. Reflection
4. Prepare To Live
5. Program For Light
6. Desert
7. Beneath The Blade
8. Inspiration

Disc 2

1. Looking From A Hilltop (Megamix)
2. Looking From A Hilltop (Stephen Morris Mix)

Although original vocalists Larry and Jenny Cassidy have sadly passed away, Section 25 continue to perform and record in 2012 with work on a new album ongoing. Fronted by founder member Vin Cassidy, along with Beth Cassidy (daughter of Larry and Jenny) on vocals and keyboards they are joined by Steven Stringer on guitar and keyboards & Stuart Hill on keyboards. The band brings their retro-futurism to selected live dates throughout 2012:

29 May - Leadmill, Sheffield (with Peter Hook and The Light)
1 June - Islington 02 Academy, London (with Peter Hook and The Light)
1 July - DV8 Festival, York
25 Oct - Band On The Wall, Manchester (co-headlining with X-O-Dus)
10 Nov - Wroclaw Festival, Poland

Those Beaux Labels FAC tracks in full

2011-04-26T21:29:00.000+01:00

The tracklisting for the previously-announced Les Inrockutiples / Fnac Beaux Labels Volume 1 compilation 5CD box set featuring Factory Records (and Warp, Domino, Bella Union and Sub Pop) is now confirmed as follows:

Joy Division - Love Will Tear Us Apart
Section 25 - Looking From A Hilltop (Megamix)
Stockholm Monsters - Happy Ever After
The Durutti Column - All That Love And Maths Can Do
The Wake - Talk About The Past
Crispy Ambulance - Deaf
The Names - Calcutta
New Order - Blue Monday
Quando Quango - Love Tempo (Remix)
Happy Mondays - Hallelujah

Full detailed tracklisting including credits and timings at Discogs.com.

Les Beaux Labels Vol 1 feat Factory Records

2011-04-20T10:03:00.000+01:00

French magazine Les inRocKuptibles and retailer Fnac have teamed up to produce a 50-track 5-CD box set celebrating five great independent record labels including Factory Records.

The featured Factory artists are Joy Division, Section 25, The Stockholm Monsters, The Durutti Column, The Wake, Crispy Ambulance, The Names, New Order, Quando Quango and Happy Mondays.

The other four labels in the collection (and selected highlights) are Sub Pop (Nirvana, Mudhoney), Warp (Aphex Twin, LFO, Autechre, Brian Eno), Domino (Franz Ferdinand, Arctic Monkeys, The Kills) and Bella Union (Midlake, Fleet Foxes).

Cheers to Metzgi for spotting.

Larry Cassidy (1953-2010)

2010-02-28T18:16:00.000+00:00

We report with great sadness the death of Larry Cassidy, singer and bassist with cult Factory Records post-punk group Section 25. Larry was found at his home in Blackpool on Saturday 27 February, and though the cause of death has not yet been confirmed there appear to be no suspicious circumstances.

Born in Blackpool in April 1953, Lawrence John Cassidy decided against joining his father’s family business (Casdon Toys) and opted instead to study art in London, gaining a first class degree in 1977. Inspired by psychedelia and Krautrock, and by exposure to punk at the Roxy club, Larry decided to form a band back home, recruiting younger brother Vin on drums, and guitarist Paul Wiggin. The name Section 25 referred to a clause in the Mental Health Act allowing for involuntary detention. Thanks to early mentors Joy Division the group joined Factory Records in 1979, recording their first single (Fac 18) with Ian Curtis and Rob Gretton producing.

Their debut album Always Now (1981) was recorded with producer Martin Hannett, and came packaged in a costly and elaborate pochette sleeve designed by Peter Saville. "I did get a fascinating brief from Larry," explains Saville on one of his finest works, "I seem to remember he wanted something quite European, but psychedelic - and with some Oriental influences. After that, I was on my own!"

Saville also designed the cover of From the Hip, their third album from 1984. Co-produced by Bernard Sumner of New Order, From the Hip saw a successful transition from abrasive post-punk to smooth electronics, best heard on the proto-techno club single Looking From a Hilltop. By now Larry’s glamorous young wife Jenny had joined the band, Tony Wilson having failed to interest a pre-Smiths Johnny Marr from taking over on guitar following the departure of Wiggin.

Both Wilson and Gretton found Section 25 frustrating at times, not least their lack of orthodox management. Indeed Gretton joked that the band were unmanageable, and that their sole gimmick was that they had no gimmick. A charismatic curmudgeon, and slightly older than most other musicians on the label, Larry sometimes found it hard to balance the aesthetic satisfaction of being a Factory band with the scant financial rewards. ‘You have to stand there out in the desert, holding on to your own little truth, waiting for the boat to come in.’

Section 25 effectively split in 1986, Larry afterwards running a light industrial unit, and retraining as a schoolteacher. Plans to reform the group were upset by the tragic loss of Jenny Cassidy to cancer in November 2004, naturally also a devastating personal event for Larry, but three years later Section 25 released a new album, Part-Primitiv, followed by Nature + Degree in 2009. The Guardian also listed From the Hip as one of ‘1000 albums to hear before you die’. As appreciation of Section 25 and Factory continued to increase, the group again found themselves in demand as a live attraction, visiting Germany, Italy and the United States in 2009, and joined by Larry and Jenny’s daughter Beth Cassidy on vocals and keyboards. Larry played what proved to be his last show with Section 25 at the historic Plan K venue in Brussels on 12 December 2009, along with fellow Factory pioneers A Certain Ratio, Biting Tongues, The Names and The Wake. At the time of his death a remix album, Retrofit, was almost complete.

Larry leaves a partner, Lesley, and two children, Nathaniel and Bethany.

Peter Hook, the Joy Division/New Order bassist who joined Section 25 for several shared dates in 2008, said: "I am so deeply shocked to hear about Larry, and very upset."

Says Vin Cassidy: "My brother Larry wasn’t always the easiest person to be in a band with, but he was the best."

John Robb, writer, musician and fellow Blackpool native, writes in his blog: "Section 25 were leagues ahead of everyone else in Blackpool. They were organized and had invented their own sound – a deceptively doomy, powerful, stripped-down, bass driven, dissonant, postpunk that combined the nihilism of the times with Larry’s art school cool. Another great lost genius. Maybe Larry’s death will wake everyone up to how great his band was."

- James Nice, LTM, February 2010

Auteur Labels - Robs Records [LTMCD 2542]

2010-02-10T22:37:00.000+00:00

If Factory Records had been more serious about dance music (and had lasted a bit longer), perhaps Robs Records would never have existed. By the beginning of the Nineties, Rob Gretton, the manager of Joy Division / New Order, was becoming increasingly frustrated and so decided to take matters into his own hands. Perhaps the straw that broke the camel's back was the cancellation of a 1990 Factory project (FAC 270 Our Dance Days) by Mike Pickering to release a House remixes compilation featuring Marcel King, 52nd Street, Section 25, and Quando Quango.

Robs Records released a diverse selection of underground dance music, much of it from Manchester-based artists like Sub Sub, Mr Scruff, Digital Justice and Strangebrew, plus new music from A Certain Ratio following their A&M stint and the occasional licensed overseas track, most notably the excellent Security by Beat Club.

Auteur Labels: Robs Records [LTMCD 2542] features the No. 3 hit single Ain't No Love (Ain't No Use) by Sub Sub and the Bernard Sumner remix of Beat Club's Security plus 11 other cuts.

The album is out on LTM on 26 April 2010.

Tracklisting

1. Sub Sub - Ain't No Love (Ain't No Use) [2.47]
2. Beat Club - Security (Sumner Remix) [5.54]
3. A Certain Ratio - 27 Forever (Jon Dasilva Fix Mix) [5.57]
4. Spacer IV - Sirocco [7.35]
5. Strangebrew - Sky Life [7.01]
6. Roy Davis Jnr & Jay Juniel - Egyptian Jazz [4.08]
7. J-Walk - Buggin' Becky (Balihu Remix) [5.50]
8. Mr Scruff - Chicken in a Box [8.25]
9. Anambi - Our Love Climbs Higher (Extended Mix) [6.50]
10. Rack-It! - Tarantella Ritual [5.47]
11. Digital Justice - Theme From It's All Gone Pear Shaped [7.01]
12. A Certain Ratio - Listen to the Sound [4.59]
13. Sub Sub - Inside of This [4.58]

The 77 minute remastered CD covers the years 1990-1999 and features a detailed label history and archive images.

Encore un fois

2009-12-15T21:32:00.000+00:00

The Names (with strings), The Wake, Biting Tongues, Section 25 (with Beth Cassidy) and A Certain Ratio (without Denise Johnson) tore it up late into the Brussels night at Plan K (La Raffinerie) the former sugar refinery in the wilds of Molenbeek on Saturday night.

A hitch with the lighting meant that the doors opened late. Fortunately those waiting outside were eventually let at least into the lobby so they didn't freeze to death in the creeping Brussels winter. Once inside everyone warmed up with James Nice's "black and white art film", Umbrellas in the Sun, turned monochrome specially for the evening.

The main bands were ably supported by the Kevin Cummins / Graham Massey A/V presentation of Manchester Looking for the Light through the Pouring Rain, Re:Order, and DJs Graham Massey, Tom Moderne, plus much more.

Copious (rather too much in some cases) amounts of beer were purchased quite literally with (yellow) beer tokens and drunk with abandon. Various stalls plyed their wares including James Nice's LTM, Parklife, gig posters, and second hand records.

Big Cerysmatic shouts to Caesar, Philippe Carly, Vin Cassidy, Kevin Cummins & Susan Ferguson, DoJo, Frédéric Cotton, Jez Kerr, Marc and Michel from The Names, Mark Rutter, Graham Massey, (The Real) Mathieu, Bruce Mitchell, Mr Moscrop, Liam Mullan, Norbert Dewender, James Nice, Paul Pledger & Ameta, Tony Quigley, Iain Smedley, Ronald & Anya klein Tank and Hans Joerg Zopp (and anyone else who knows me).

And finally, a big apology to the lovely lady in the upstairs bar for taking those tasty sandwiches. However, seeing as this was the only thing we ate all night it turned out to be a good move!

The event page will be updated idc but in the meantime:

- discuss on the Cerysmatic Factory Message Board

- check out my photos on Facebook (viewable even if you don't have a Facebook account).

- read Paul Pledger's review at allgigs.co.uk.

- read Caroline Dunski of LeSoir.be's review (in French) of the night featuring photographs by Philippe Carly.

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ACR setlist: Choir/Waterline, Do The Du, Wild Party, And then again, Flight, Mind Made Up, Heart and Soul, Forced Laugh, Feel Light / Fox, Wonder Y, Knife Slits Water, Shack Up, Si Fir Mir

A Factory Night (And Then Again) again

2009-11-19T00:11:00.000+00:00

There are just over three weeks until A Factory Night (And Then Again) at Plan K in Brussels on Saturday 12 December 2009 and there's still time to bag your ticket for a (long) night of top notch Factory Records action including ACR, Section 25, Biting Tongues, The Wake and The Names.

Plus there are photographic exhibitions featuring the work of Kevin Cummins, Philippe Carly and Daniel Oeyen.

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Anthêsis, Charleroi Danses and LTM Recordings present A Factory Night (And Then Again)

Concerts

A Certain Ratio
Section 25
Biting Tongues
The Wake
The Names (with strings)

Exhibitions and Projections

Kevin Cummins - Manchester: Looking For The Light Through The Pouring Rain
Philippe CARLY (New Wave Photos - new book)
A Certain Ratio (Daniel Oeyen)

Afterparty & DJ sets

Graham Massey (808 State/Biting Tongues)
Tom Moderne (LTM/Crépuscule)
Re:Order (A Tribute To New Order)
Gore (Cruise [CTRL]), Muffin (Code(s)), X-Pulsiv (Pilgrimage)

Venue

Plan K / La Raffinerie, Brussels Rue de Manchesterstraat
21-1080 Brussels
Belgium

Time

Saturday 12 December 2009 18:00 to Sunday 13 December 2009 05:00

Price

25 / 30 Euro

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More info at lefantastique.net/factory and on Facebook

Parklife 060 - the Factory Records issue

2009-11-16T22:11:00.000+00:00

The new issue of Parklife [060], a French language music magazine, is out now and features new interviews with Section 25, The Names, Jean Pierre Turmel (Sordide Sentimentale) and a Factory Records profile plus Genesis P Orridge, Antoine Bernardt, DJ Cheche, Sons des Disco, Eric T Luricka and a six-track CD by Manson's Child.

Auteur Labels: Factory Records 1984

2009-05-06T13:26:00.000+01:00

On 1 June, LTM releases a new volume in the ongoing compilation series Auteur Labels, featuring releases on Factory Records in 1984.

"Founded in late 1978, early Factory releases were guided by the five original directors: Tony Wilson, Alan Erasmus, Peter Saville, Martin Hannett and Rob Gretton. By 1984 Hannett had departed, and many Factory singles were produced by all four members of New Order under the generic name Be Music. These reflected the influence of New York dance and electro music, though the label's Haçienda nightclub was not yet a conspicuous success. Meanwhile the artier side of Factory remained evident in records by The Durutti Column and Kalima, and pop/rock in The Wake, Stockholm Monsters - and New Order themselves."

The 77 minute remastered CD features several rare edits and tracks, detailed liner notes by James Nice, and archive images.

Tracklisting

1. New Order Lonesome Tonight (7" Edit)
2. Stockholm Monsters Terror
3. The Wake Talk About The Past (7" Edit)
4. Section 25 Reflection
5. Marcel King Reach For Love (New York Remix)
6. 52nd Street Can't Afford (Unorganised Mix)
7. Quando Quango Atom Rock
8. Shark Vegas Pretenders Of Love
9. Abecedarians Smiling Monarchs
10. Red Turns To Deep Sleep
11. The Durutti Column Duet (Without Mercy)
12. Kalima The Smiling Hour
13. Simon Topping Chicas Del Mundo
14. Streetlife On Instinct
15. Lavolta Lakota Prayer

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Title: Auteur Labels: Factory Records 1984
Label: LTM
Cat No: LTMCD 2534
Released: 1 June 2009

The Master Tapes

2008-12-07T10:08:00.000+00:00

If you're an avid or casual follower of the Cerysmatic Factory Message Board, the discovery of a cache of original Factory Records master tapes by artists such as The Wendys, Northside, Section 25, X-O-Dus and Cath Carroll by Oli Wilson whilst clearing his dad's Loft won't have escaped your attention.

A number of the artists in question (the full list also includes Hopper, Fadela, The Railway Children and Thick Pigeon) have already posted on the thread or been in contact with Cerysmatic and/or Oli regarding the find.

In his message, Oli describes what's happened "When clearing my dads loft out I found lots of original master tapes from Factory Records releases over the years. I intend to return these to their rightful owners (the artist) or preferably I would like to put them into an archive in Manchester (whether this is Museum of Science and Industry or somewhere else I dont know yet)."

"I would rather store them as so far they have been kept in great condition by my old man and it would be great to keep them that way... have a feeling that if they aren't kept like that they would just gather dust and rot away in a studio!!!"

That the tapes have been lovingly looked after for all these years is not a surprise given their custodian. Of course, under Factory's infamous "no contract" policy, all the artists owned their own music and Factory "owned nothing".

It would be difficult to begrudge the reunion of the tapes with their rightful owners (particularly if rare and unreleased, or even un-re-released) material exists. However, the donation of such historically significant material to an institution such as MoSI has a nice ring to it. Perhaps there is scope for both to happen.

Now... where's Fadela!?

Auteur Labels @ LTM

2008-06-09T12:41:00.000+01:00

LTM presents the ongoing compilation series Auteur Labels which profiles independent record labels with a unique and enduring sound, vision and design sensibility, usually guided by one or two directors, and concerned more with art than commerce. Each release, summarised here by Frank Brinkhuis at the Crepuscule and Factory Pages, comes with extensive liner notes.

Auteur Labels: New Hormones 1977-1982 (LTMCD 2492)

New Hormones was founded in 1977 by Buzzcocks and their manager Richard Boon to release the epochal Spiral Scratch ep. The label released approximately 25 records, the catalogue combining post-punk, pop and avant-garde by Ludus, Diagram Brothers, Biting Tongues, Dislocation Dance and Eric Random.

Auteur Labels: Les Disques Du Crepuscule 1980-1985 (LTMCD 2517)

Profile of Crepuscule's 1st phase. The label was founded by Michel Duval and Annik Honoré with the release the epochal cassette From Brussels With Love (TWI 007). The chic, cosmopolitan label went on to assemble an extensive cross-genre catalogue, much of it dressed by celebrated designer Benoit Hennebert.

Auteur Labels: Factory Benelux 1980-1985 (LTMCD 2521)

Factory Benelux was a collaboration between Factory Records and Les Disques du Crepuscule. Early releases were 'spare' recordings by A Certain Ratio, The Durutti Column and Section 25, after which Factory Benelux released a mixture of all-new recordings by Factory artists and licensed repertoire.

All formally released on 7 July 2008 or available now direct from LTM Mail Order.

New Horizon

2008-05-31T20:44:00.000+01:00

Section 25 and Peter Hook of Joy Division/New Order have announced the first of a series of joint live concerts, at the Ancienne Belgique venue in Brussels (Belgium) on Friday 7 November 2008. Further dates in France and Germany will be confirmed shortly.

Their combined set will include highlights from the combined catalogues of Joy Division, Section 25, New Order and Monaco, as well as a sprinkling of new material. Songs will include 'Transmission', 'Temptation', 'Looking From A Hilltop', 'Shadowplay', 'Dreams Never End', 'What Do You Want From Me?', 'Dirty Disco', 'Love Will Tear Us Apart' and 'Blue Monday'. Section 25 will also perform a separate opening set.

Section 25 and Peter first gigged together in 1979, during the heyday of Factory Records, when Section 25 often supported Joy Division in London and the North-West. After a gap of two decades, Section 25 again performed as guests of New Order in Blackpool in October 2006, while Peter performed the classic Temptation with SXXV at A Factory Night (Once Again), the sold-out live event staged at Plan K in Brussels on 15 December 2007.

"I'm scared to death, but it'll be great to do a full gig. I’ve missed playing too much!" (Peter Hook)

"It's a privilege to perform these songs with Hooky and the band. There will be power and passion." (Larry and Vin Cassidy)

Factory Week at Clash Music

2008-05-02T07:30:00.000+01:00

Clash Music, the online and print music magazine, celebrates Factory Records with a whole week of features and interviews. Highlights include new interviews with Peter Saville, Section 25, Jon Savage and Peter Hook.

No Crazy Cowboys?

2007-11-17T18:08:00.000+00:00

Cerysmatic is pleased to confirm that the new Lawrence Weiner exhibition 'AS FAR AS THE EYE CAN SEE' at the Whitney Museum of American Art, in New York, NY includes at least some of his work for Factory Records, namely the posters he did for Section 25 at The Ritz and New Order at Paradise Garage.

We await confirmation of the presence of his sleeve for Thick Pigeon's Too Crazy Cowboys.

Check the visual evidence in the first photo in this review in the New York Times (be sure to also check the slideshow in the multimedia sidebar).

Offshoot

2007-10-18T17:35:00.000+01:00

Forced Laugh is a new blog "devoted to the art & music of Manchester label Factory records & Factory Benelux". Early postings cover Stockholm Monsters, New Order, Section 25, The Names and much more.