Factory Records - History

History

Factory's genesis was in January 1978, when Wilson, a TV presenter on Granada Television, formed a partnership with Erasmus, an unemployed actor and band manager. The Factory name was first used for a club in May of that year, which featured local bands including The Durutti Column (managed at the time by Erasmus and Wilson), Cabaret Voltaire from Sheffield and Joy Division. Advertising for the club was designed by Peter Saville, and in September the trio decided to release an EP of music by acts who had played at the club (The Durutti Column, Joy Division, Cabaret Voltaire and comedian John Dowie). Rob Gretton, manager of Joy Division, decided he did not want the band to sign to a London record label, preferring to do it all in Manchester. At that time there was a fairly successful punk label in Manchester called Rabid Records, run by Tosh Ryan (formerly of music collective Music Force) with Martin Hannett. They had had several successful acts, including Slaughter & The Dogs (whose tour manager was Rob Gretton), John Cooper Clarke and Jilted John. Rabid would build artists up with a few punk singles, and then license them to bigger labels (Jilted John to EMI, Slaughter & The Dogs to Decca, John Cooper Clarke to CBS). Tony Wilson would often be around the Rabid offices and Rob Gretton was friends with Tosh Ryan, Martin Hannett and others in the set up as they were all from the same council estate in Wythenshawe. After his seminal TV series 'So It Goes', which gave TV debuts to the likes of Iggy Pop, The Sex Pistols, Buzzcocks etc., Tony Wilson was interested in the way Rabid Records ran, and was convinced that the real money and power was in album sales. With a lot of discussion, Tony Wilson, Rob Gretton and Alan Erasmus set up Factory Records, stealing Martin Hannett from Rabid. Thus Factory Records was born, with Wilson, Erasmus, Saville and producer Hannett as partners in the enterprise. In 1978 Wilson compered the new wave afternoon at Deeply Vale Festivals; this was actually the fourth live appearance by the fledgling Durutti Column and that afternoon Wilson also introduced an appearance (very early in their career) by The Fall featuring Mark E. Smith and Marc "Lard" Riley on bass guitar.

The Factory label set up an office in Erasmus's home on Palatine Road, and the EP was released in early 1979. Singles followed by A Certain Ratio (who would stay with the label), and Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (who left for Virgin Records shortly afterwards). The first Factory LP, Joy Division's Unknown Pleasures, was released in June. Joy Division would make a notable appearance at the Leigh Rock Festival in August 1979. Gretton became the fifth partner in the label towards the end of the year, and the Factory club closed down (it would reopen briefly the following year).

In January 1980 The Return of the Durutti Column was released, the first in a long series of releases by the "band" (now effectively a solo project for guitarist Vini Reilly). In May, Joy Division singer Ian Curtis committed suicide shortly before a planned tour of the USA. The following month saw Joy Division's "Love Will Tear Us Apart" reach the UK top twenty, and second album Closer was released the following month. In late 1980 the remaining members of Joy Division decided to continue as New Order. Factory branched out, with Factory Benelux being run as an independent label in conjunction with Les Disques du Crepuscule, and Factory US organising distribution for the UK label's releases in America.

In 1981, Factory and New Order decided to open a nightclub, and preparations were made to convert a Victorian textile factory near the centre of Manchester, which had lately seen service as a motor boat showroom. Hannett left the label, as he had wanted to open a recording studio, and subsequently sued for unpaid royalties (the case was settled out of court in 1984). Saville also quit as a partner due to problems with payments, although he continued to work for Factory. Wilson, Erasmus and Gretton formed Factory Communications Ltd.

The Haçienda (FAC 51) opened in May 1982. Although successful in terms of attendance, and attracting a lot of praise for Ben Kelly's interior design, the club lost large amounts of money in its first few years due largely to the low prices charged for entrance and at the bar, which was markedly cheaper than nearby pubs. Adjusting bar prices failed to help matters significantly, as by the mid 80s crowds were increasingly preferring ecstasy to alcohol. Therefore the Hacienda ended up costing New Order 10,000 pounds a month.

The following year, New Order's "Blue Monday" became an international chart hit, and 1985 saw the first release by Happy Mondays. The two bands were to be the most successful on the label, bankrolling a host of other projects. Factory, and the Haçienda, became a cultural hub of the emerging techno and acid house genres, and their amalgamation with post-punk guitar music (the "Madchester" scene).

Factory also opened a bar (The Dry Bar, FAC 201) and a shop (The Area, FAC 281) in the Northern Quarter of Manchester. Factory's headquarters (FAC 251) on Charles Street, near the Oxford Road BBC building, were opened in September 1990 (prior to which the company was still registered at Alan Erasmus' flat in Didsbury).

In 1991 Factory suffered two tragedies: The deaths of Martin Hannett and Dave Rowbotham. Hannett had recently re-established a relationship with the label, working with Happy Mondays, and tributes including a compilation album and a festival were organised. Rowbotham was the original member of The Durutti Column and shared the guitar role with Vini Reilly, being one of first musicians signed by the label; he was killed by an axe murderer and his body found in his flat in Burnage. Saville's association with Factory was now reduced to simply designing for New Order and their solo projects (the band itself was in suspension, with various members recording as Electronic, Revenge and The Other Two).

By 1992 the label was in serious financial trouble due to the two bands who had been most successful. The Happy Mondays were recording their troubled fourth album Yes Please! in Barbados, and New Order reportedly spent £400,000 on recording their comeback album Republic. London Records were interested in taking over Factory, but the deal fell through when it emerged that due to Factory's early practice of eschewing contracts, New Order's back catalogue was owned by the band rather than the label. Factory Communications Ltd, the company formed in 1981, declared bankruptcy in November 1992. Many of the former Factory acts, including New Order, found a new home at London Records.

The Haçienda closed in 1997 and was demolished shortly afterwards, being replaced by a modern luxury apartment block in 2003.

The 2002 film 24 Hour Party People is centred on Factory Records, the Haçienda, and the infamous, often unsubstantiated anecdotes and stories surrounding them. Many of the people associated with Factory, including Tony Wilson, have minor parts in 24 Hour Party People. The central character, based on Wilson, is played by actor and comedian Steve Coogan.

Anthony Wilson, the founder of Factory records, died on 10 August 2007 at age 57, due to complications arising from renal cancer.

Colin Sharp, singer of The Durutti Column during 1978 who took part of the A Factory Sample EP, died on 7 September 2009, after suffering a brain haemorrhage. Despite his involvement with Factory was brief, Sharp was an associate for a short while of Martin Hannett and wrote a book called Who Killed Martin Hannett which unfortunately upset Martin's surviving relatives owing to the large amount of untruths and fiction Sharp put into the book.

Only months after Sharp's death, Larry Cassidy, bassist and singer of Section 25, died of unknown causes, on 27 February 2010.

In early 2010, Peter Hook, in collaboration with the Haçienda's original interior designer Ben Kelly and British audio specialists Funktion-One renovated and reopened FAC 251: The former Factory Records headquarters on Charles Street, as a nightclub.

The club still holds its original name of FAC 251, but people refer to it as 'The Factory'. Despite the design influences from Ben Kelly, Peter Hook insists 'It's not the Haçienda for f*cks sake'.

The club has a weekly agenda, featuring DJ's and live bands of all sorts of different genres.

In May 2010 the book Shadowplayers was published. Written by James Nice, owner of LTM, the book charts the rise and fall of Factory and offers detailed accounts and information about many key figures involved with the label.