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

Scream City 5 - The International Edition

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

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

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

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

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

Phew! Enough fanzines already!!

Transmission - The Sound of Joy Division + The Distractions

2019-09-20T08:00:00.000+01:00

On Friday 18 October 2019, Night at The Factory presents 'TRANSMISSION: The Sound of Joy Division' plus very special guests The Distractions at the Victoria Vaults Venue in York.

Tickets are £9 in advance and £10 on the door.

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Victoria Vaults Venue
47-49 Nunnery Lane
York YO23 1AB

Fac 15 Zoo Meets Factory Half-way

2019-09-13T06:00:00.000+01:00

ZOO MEETS FACTORY HALF-WAY
LEIGH POP FESTIVAL OPEN AIR
BANK HOLIDAY MONDAY
AUGUST 27th ALL DAY FIRST BAND 1.00 pm
£2

~~FACTORY~~ ZOO RECORDS and ~~ZOO~~ FACTORY RECORDS BRING YOU
THE FLESH THAT BROUGHT YOU THE VINYL

LORI AND THE CHAMELEONS JOY DIVISION ECHO AND THE BUNNYMEN THE DISTRACTIONS
ORCHESTRAL MANOEUVRES IN THE DARK
THE TEARDROP EXPLODES ELTI-FITS X-O-DUS
CRAWLING CHAOS A CERTAIN RATIO

USE YOUR WITS OR USE THE BUS NO 26 from Manchester Victoria : NO 39 from Liverpool

Festival site - Plank Lane, Leigh, Lancs

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Handwritten rough (presumably by AHW) for the eventual Fac 15 poster for the Zoo Meets Factory Half-Way event (aka The Leigh Pop Festival). Tony Wilson designed this poster "after Peter Saville".

This translated into the eventual white-on-black poster / black-on-white draft flyer (which in this version contains a repeat of the "bring you the flesh..." line:

The reverse of the handwritten layout features the outline running order for the event:

1.00 Elti Fits
2.00 Crawling Chaos
3.00 Exodus
4.00 A Certain Ratio
5.00 Echo + Bunnymen
6.00 Distractions
7.00 OMITD
8.00 Teardrop
9.00 Joy Division

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.

Mancsgiving @ The Carlton Club Sat 8 July

2017-06-17T13:16:00.000+01:00

MancsGiving is a charity event in aid of the victims of the events of 22 May 2017 is being held at the Carlton Club in Manchester on Saturday 8 July from 13:00-23:00. This is a rearranged date after the one initially set clashed with other supportive events on in the Manchester area.

The Factory connection comes from The Distractions who are in the line-up and possibly with Dr John Cooper Clarke who is on the awaiting confirmation list.

"After the tragic few days, the Carlton Club wishes to do something to return some love into the people of Manchester. We open our doors and our hearts to our community with MancsGiving. We urge you to come down and celebrate the Mancunian spirit. Artists and helpers near and far have donated their time to this cause and we humbly thank them."

Line-up

Dust Junky Collective
Ellen
Fable
Helen Forshaw
Joe Symes and the Loving Kind
Katbrownsugar
Kit B
Midden
Oak
Open Voice Community Choir
Paul Gleave
The Brakes
The Distractions
The Exceptional Remarkables
The Low Numbers
Tim Wright
Vieka Plays

Awaiting confirmation

John Cooper Clarke
Rubber Duck Orchestra

+ Special Guests

"Acoustic or lightly amplified music outside and inside amplified music to your heart's content. The Buckateers will be at the club so please give to our lovely Buckateers."

More info at the Facebook event.

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The Carlton Club
Rowan Lodge
113 Carlton Road
Manchester M16 8BE

Manchester North of England 2017

2017-06-02T08:31:00.000+01:00

James and The Railway Children featured on the original LP and cassette version back in 1988. Now, in 2017, Cherry Red Records and the Manchester District Music Archive promise us a souped-up 6-disc 17-year set with a veritable feast of Factory and Factoryesque material including 52nd Street, A Certain Ratio, The Adventure Babies, Albertos Y Lost Trios Paranoias, Biting Tongues, Crispy Ambulance, The Distractions, Durutti Column, Electronic, Frank Sidebottom, Happy Mondays, James, Jazz Defektors, Jilted John, John Cooper Clarke, Joy Division, Life, Ludus, Manicured Noise, Marcel King, Miaow, New Order, Northside, The Nosebleeds, Quando Quango, The Railway Children, Revenge, Section 25, Slaughter & The Dogs, Stockholm Monsters, Swamp Children, The Tiller Boys, The Weeds, X-O-Dus and Yargo.

The box set is expected later this year. The impressive tracklisting is still in the process of being confirmed but for more info check out the Facebook page.

The History Lesson - Stepping Out

2017-05-28T10:52:00.000+01:00

The full catalogue of Factory Records FAC numbers is loved by everyone for its patterns and idiosyncrasies. In 1979, the nascent label was planning the first real wave of releases following on from the FAC 2 sampler and various events at The Factory. This flyer, entitled "Stepping Out" provides more detail and whilst some is familiar there's a few curveballs indicating what might've been.

Notably it seems that "instrumental album" by The Durutti Column was once scheduled to be FAC 12 and The Distractions' first single was slated as FAC 14. These would eventually swap and get different titles ("Pillow Talk" was actually "Pillow Fight", the eventual FAC 12 b-side).

FAC 13 was also going to be a badge before turning into "Transmission", the first single by Joy Division. I assume that this was the same badge that came out as FAC 21.

Finally, FAC 15 was originally going to be a single by Elti-Fits but turned into the Leigh Festival/Zoo Meet Factory Halfway event held in Leigh.

Transcription

FAC 5 A CERTAIN RATIO "All Night Party" 7" 45rpm Out now
FAC 6 ORCHESTRAL MANOEUVRES "Electricity" 7" 45rpm Out now
FAC 9 FACTORY FLICK "No City Fun" 8' 16mm July
FAC 10 JOY DIVISION "Unknown Pleasures" 12" 33 1/3 rpm July
FAC 11 X-O-DUS "English Black Boys" 7" 45rpm To be mixed
FAC 12 THE DURUTTI COLUMN Instrumental album 12" 33 1/3 rpm August
FAC 13 BADGE Fac thirteen with pin July
FAC 14 THE DISTRACTIONS "Pillow Talk" 7" 45rpm August
FAC 15 ELTI-FITS "Thirty Miles" 7" 45rpm August

NEW COMMODITIES
EXCLUSIVELY FACTIONED FOR YOU
THEY ARE ALL YOU NEED;
THEY ARE IN THE SHOPS

Parabolically Yours

2014-12-07T16:41:00.000+00:00

Parabolically Yours is the definitive studio and live archive of recordings by The Distractions.

Comprising 1 LP, 3 CDs, a 12" hardback book (edited by Distractions uber-fan David Quantick) with 100+ pages and rare images, new interviews and much more, it will be issued as a limited first edition of 500 copies worldwide.

Further details – including the full tracklisting and ordering details – will be announced via Pledge Music, Facebook and Twitter on Monday 8 December 2014.

Facs In The Attic Part 2

2013-09-26T21:56:00.000+01:00

And so we continue with our trawl through the Factory rarities in order to dig out some valuables, some to be found in the unlikeliest of places. All prices are extracted from the 2014 Record Collector Guide, some eager Discogs listings and my own experiences.

Wim Mertens

Take one Belgian neo-classical composer and two simultaneously issued albums (on Les Disques Du Crepuscule), switch the logos and alter the labels and what happens? Er, very little. By the time Factory got its act together and added them to its catalogue, both Educes Me (FACT 190) and the soundtrack to the heavy Peter Greenaway art-house film Belly Of An Architect (FACT 195) had already sold as many copies as they could muster a few months earlier. To be fair, Belly did fairly well and shifted a few units off the back of the film's VHS release (on Palace, sigh) and via continued interest in Greenaway's work. Educes Me, on the other hand, didn't exactly benefit from being on Factory but it did get a curious re-release as a boxed-cassette. If you happen to have such an item - smartly packaged in a bright yellow hue with a colourful inlay booklet - then have a seat. Record Collector valuations clock in at an eye-watering £200. For a tape. No, really. Check out our Wim Mertens discography to feast your eyes on his other work (much of which fetches serious money - see Part 3 of our Facs In The Attic series).

Various Artists

Inevitably, that most frequent purveyor of releases comes up trumps when it comes to Factory valuables. Various Artists releases include the A Factory Quartet double-album (FACT 24 - £20), the Palatine box-set (FACT 400 - £40 to £100), particularly the vinyl and CD sets and two curios that don't feature in the RC book of dreams. The first is the 4 x 12" promo pack which has no number but comes loosely-housed in a PVC sleeve with each track's BPMs helpfully printed on it, plus four white-label copies of Pleasure Crew's I Could Be So Good For You (FAC 169), Fadela's N'Sel Fik (FAC 197 - worth a tenner on its own), The Hood's Salvation (FAC 182) and Meatmouth's Meatmouth Is Murder (FAC 196). I'd estimate a £15 price-tag, partly for at least two of the enclosed records but also for the attractive Johnson Panas sleeve. The second is Martin (FACD 325), a collection of Hannett's finest production work including Joy Division, U2 and A Certain Ratio etc.. I'd pitch this at £15 to £20 all day long for the CD and vinyl.

All of which is peanuts when compared to A Factory Sample. FAC 2 was the first release on the label, came packaged in expensive polythene outers, bolstered by some natty stickers and four sides of music. No wonder it's valued from around the £200 mark. Without the stickers, it's probably worth £100 - £125 and with a scruffy sleeve minus the polythene, around half that again.

The Wake

Before jumping the sinking Factory ferry and high-tailing it to the Sarah label, Glasgow's The Wake released some of the most beautiful songs to ever grace the label. Vinyl copies of debut-album Harmony (FACT 60) and gorgeous (and delayed) follow-up Here Comes Everybody (FACT 130) command around £20 - £25 each, although the former has just been exquisitely reissued as a double-vinyl version on Factory Benelux which may or may not have an effect on prices. The band's singles aren't too hard to come by although the 7" of Talk About The Past (FAC 88) is trickier to track down (£8).

Stockholm Monsters

This under-rated outfit feature in this article due to their two earlier singles, Fairy Tales (FAC 41) and Happy Ever After (FAC 58), both capable of reaching £15 in top condition. There are two different-coloured sleeves for Fairy Tales, a burgundy and a green one, both as easy (or as hard) to find as each other. The band's only album, Alma Mater (FACT 80) is worth £10 of anyone's money, while their superb Partyline 12" (FAC 146) might scrape a few quid less (a travesty) with 7" test pressings doubling the price.

The best of the rest

In no particular order are just some of the other least likely (and most probable) rarities worth seeking out.
The braille sleeved Electricity (FAC 6) by OMD - £60
The only Distractions single on Factory (FAC 12) - £15
The first (and only) reggae 12" by X-O-Dus (FAC 11) - £15
That infamous Sex Pistols cassette (with gold tape, pouch and card) (FACT 30) - £20 - £50
The one and only ESG 7" (FAC 34) - £30
The majestic Nightshift by The Names (FAC 29) - £15
The white vinyl John Dowie 7" with feather (!) (FAC 19) - £15
The two Dutch masters by Minnypops, Secret Story (FAC 57) and Dolphin's Spurt (FAC 31) - £12
The cassette version of Pigs and Battleships by Quando Quango (FAC 110c) - £18
The rare as hen's teeth CD promo and invite of The Other Two's Loved It (FACD 251) - £25 to £40
The first James single Jimone (FAC 78) - £12
The stand-alone Thick Pigeon album (FACT 85) - £40
The sleazy Crawling Chaos 7" Sex Machine (FAC 17) - £20
and the under-rated Chicken Rhythms by Northside on vinyl (FACT 310) - £12

Thanks to Record Collector and Discogs for prices.

Part 3 will feature rarities recorded by Factory artists and issued on Factory Benelux and Les Disques du Crepuscule.

The end of the wait for The End of The Pier

2012-07-29T20:39:00.000+01:00

Occultation Records is now taking pre-orders for the long-awaited new album The End of the Pier by The Distractions.

The album is released on 180g vinyl and all copies ordered direct from Occultation come with free CD version for your extended listening pleasure and mp3 downloads to boot.

More details on the various permutations at Occultation.co.uk.

Meanwhile, don't forget that The Distractions play two dates at King's Arms in Salford in the form of their "End Of The Pier Shows" on 31 August and 1 September, alongside fellow Occultation acts Factory Star and The June Brides.

The End of the Pier

2012-06-06T22:00:00.000+01:00

The Distractions will release their 2nd album, The End Of The Pier on limited edition 180g vinyl LP, CD and digital download via Occultation Recordings on 21 August. The release precedes the band's only UK shows at the Kings Arms, Salford on 31 August and 1 September when they headline The Occultation End Of The Pier shows (also featuring labelmates Factory Star and The June Brides).

Factory fans will be familiar with the FAC 12 Time Goes By So Slow and other classic era output including the 1980 debut album Nobody's Perfect but, by 1981 they had disbanded Steve Perrin moving to New Zealand and singer Mike Finney going on work with The Art Of Noise before pursuing other projects.

All was then quiet until 2010 when The Distractions re-emerged with a the Black Velvet and Come Home EPs on Occultation. A year later, a studio in Exeter and after four days Finney and Perrin had laid down the basic tracks for The End Of The Pier with Mike Kellie (drums), Arash Torabi (bass) and producer Nick Halliwell (guitar and vocals).

Steve Perrin explains the long gap: "Being geographically challenged as we are means The Distractions is more occasional than full time; then again, long-awaited could also adjectivally apply to this album – Dexys look like they've rushed their new record, it's only 26 years since their last".

Mike Finney adds: "I rather like the idea of a world tour but it'd interfere with watching my son's football practice. Besides taking time off work is a bit tricky, so we've had to forego six weeks traversing North America in a bus and settle for two shows in Salford".

Album tracklisting

I Don't Have Time
Wise
Girl of the Year
Boots
When It Was Mine
Too Late To Change
The Summer I Met You
Man of the Moment
100 Times
The Last Song

More info on the album and tour at The Distractions Nothing and Occultation Recordings.

The Distractions live @ King's Arms Salford

2012-04-22T08:58:00.000+01:00

The Distractions will play their first gig since the mid-Nineties on Friday 31 August 2012 at the King's Arms in Salford with Occultation Recordings label mates Factory Star and The June Brides. Original members of The Distractions Mike Finney and Steve Perrin will be joined by new recruits. A London date for Saturday 1 September is also planned. Ticket details to follow. -- The King's Arms 11 Bloom Street Salford, M3 6AN More info at distractionsnothing

Distractions retrospective out Spring 2012

2011-12-06T19:21:00.000+00:00

The long-awaited Distractions retrospective will be released on Hidden Masters in Spring 2012. It will include the impossibly-catchy Factory Records single FAC 12 Time Goes By So Slow in all its glory. All tracks will be fully remastered and will include the Nobody's Perfect album originally released via Island.

Around about the same time that the new studio album will be released on Occultation.

More info at thedistractions.co.uk

The Distractions Come Home on Occultation

2010-10-30T10:56:00.000+01:00

The new Come Home EP by The Distractions is now available via Occultation Recordings. The main format for this release is 12" vinyl which comes in a special spot-varnished sleeve. Stocks are expected to arrive in the first week of November.

A limited number of CD promos will also be available for purchase and a special 12" + CD promo set will also be available.

--

More info at Distractions Nothing

Nothing

2010-10-15T23:00:00.000+01:00

The Distractions will release their new compilation album via Occultation Recordings in early 2011. Entitled Nothing it will include the 12" debut EP, the classic FAC 12 (Time Goes By So Slow b/w Pillow Fight), half a dozen tracks recorded in the mid-90s and possibly more. The Distractions' one and only album to date, Nobody's Perfect, is not available for release at the moment due to licensing restrictions.

Meanwhile, the band are about to release their first new material in three decades, following last month's digital release of some mid-90s material, the Black Velvet EP (and a track on Scream City SC5.1). Recorded in Liverpool this summer with original Distractions, Steve Perrin and Mike Finney, the Come Home EP will be released on 12" vinyl and digitally with a limited number of CD promos also available.

Official release date is expected to be mid-late November, but vinyl/CD orders will receive free mp3s immediately.

More info at www.thedistractions.co.uk and www.occultation.co.uk.

With thanks to Dan on the Cerysmatic Factory Message Board.

The Distractions - Black Velvet EP

2010-08-23T22:35:00.000+01:00

The Distractions, best known for FAC 12 Time Goes By So Slow, are back with their Black Velvet EP available for digital download with a limited number of CD promos available for purchase.

Check out the Occultation Recordings website for details of how to order, and keep an eye on The Distractions official site for news of the forthcoming 12" EP due in Oct/Nov and CD album due in 2011 (and featuring both sides of FAC 12).

With thanks to Dan on the Cerysmatic Factory Message Board for info.

Scream City - the Factory Records fanzine

2010-07-11T15:50:00.000+01:00

It's still not too late to buy your copy of Scream City, the Factory Records fanzine which was published at the end of June. Yes, Scream City is back with its fifth (the biggest and best ever) issue which is 60 pages in colour and black & white and is available to buy now for 3.00 GBP + Worldwide postage and packing via eBay (Buy it Now with Paypal only).

Contents

- A Factory Trip Around The World - the art of international collecting by Andrew James
- An interview with FAC 51 The Hacienda's (and Smack The Pony's) Fiona Allen
- The Distractions by David Quantick
- An exclusive extract from James Nice's new book about Factory Records 'Shadowplayers' plus a Q&A with James Nice
- Closer, Karamazov and K550 by Ian McCartney
- Looking From A Hilltop... at Lytham St Annes (or "When Interviews Go Wrong") - a salutary lesson about the dark art of the interview and a touching tribute to Larry Cassidy by David Nolan
- An interview with Shark Vegas man and remixer extraordinaire Mark Reeder
- Matthew Robertson talks to Factory Australasia man Andrew Penhallow
- Factory Over America - Scream City talks to the US wing of Factory Records with new interviews with Michael H Shamberg and Ike Yard's Stuart Argabright and Michael Diekmann

Scream City is still an old school fanzine and is made from paper, ink and staples.

Scream City 5 CDR tracklisting

2010-07-03T20:00:00.000+01:00

Scream City 5, the Factory Records fanzine, is out now and there are still copies available with the limited edition compilation CDR, the tracklisting of which is:

1. Section 25 Poppyfields (Live at Plan K) 5.12
2. Ike Yard Sweep 4.56
3. Thick Pigeon Merry Christmas 3.41
4. The Wake Something Outside (Live at Plan K) 5.35
5. The Names Zeroes 5.30
6. The Durutti Column Untitled Guitar Piece 1989 1.46
7. Biting Tongues Iyahbhoone (Live at Plan K) 6.09
8. The Distractions (I Thought You Were Dead) Josephine (Hollywood Mix) 2.02
9. Shark Vegas You Hurt Me (Radio Edit) 4.47
10. Fidelity Kastrow & Spartak Bad Love (Reeder's Playing the Game Radio Mix) 3.19

Scream City 5 (and a few copies of Scream City 4) are available to buy on eBay priced £3.00 plus Worldwide P+P.

Scream City 5 out now

2010-06-28T23:39:00.000+01:00

Scream City, the Factory Records fanzine from the people who brought you Cerysmatic Factory plus special guest contributors, is back (finally) with its fifth (and biggest ever) issue. Scream City is still an old school fanzine and is made from paper, ink and staples.

Scream City 5 (60 pages in colour and black & white) is priced 3.00 GBP + Worldwide postage and packing via eBay (Buy it Now with Paypal only).

- A Factory Trip Around The World - the art of international collecting by Andrew James
- An interview with FAC 51 The Hacienda's (and Smack The Pony's) Fiona Allen
- The Distractions by David Quantick
- An exclusive extract from James Nice's new book about Factory Records 'Shadowplayers' plus a Q&A with Mr Nice
- Closer, Karamazov and K550 by Ian McCartney
- Looking From A Hilltop... at Lytham St Annes (or "When Interviews Go Wrong") - a salutary lesson about the dark art of the interview and a touching tribute to Larry Cassidy by David Nolan
- An interview with Shark Vegas man and remixer extraordinaire Mark Reeder
- Matthew Robertson talks to Factory Australasia man Andrew Penhallow
- Factory Over America - Scream City talks to the US wing of Factory Records with new interviews with Michael H Shamberg and Ike Yard's Stuart Argabright and Michael Diekmann

Initial copies come with a free 10-track compilation CDR featuring live / rare / unreleased material by Section 25, Ike Yard, Thick Pigeon, The Names, The Wake, The Durutti Column, The Distractions, Biting Tongues, Shark Vegas and Fidelity Kastrow & Spartak (produced & remixed by Mark Reeder).

The tracks by Section 25, The Wake and Biting Tongues were recorded live at Plan K in December 2010.

The CDR is a strictly limited edition of 160 copies available on a first come first served basis.