Come November, it’ll be almost three decades since Factory Records folded. But someone forgot to turn the music off on the way out.
Wherever you go in Manchester, you’ll hear the label’s records playing. The city remains as proudly black and yellow as the day Hacienda designer Ben Kelly wrapped up the superclub’s pillars in bumblebee coats.
Even the famous FAC catalogue – an inventory to which each Factory Records item was assigned – is still alive and well; the 40th anniversary edition of Joy Division’s Unknown Pleasures receiving a number in 2019.
The world has changed in the 43 years since Factory was formed, and three of its five founders aren’t with us anymore. But the label – and its legacy – endures; gaining a new lease of life with every salvaged anecdote or long-lost artefact plucked from the archives.
Not even FAC’s instigators – Tony Wilson, Peter Saville, Alan Erasmus, Rob Gretton and Martin Harnett – could have predicted they’d leave such a permanent mark on Manchester. Although the ambition was there from the beginning.
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This quintet of movers and shakers did something different by taking the region’s industrial aesthetic and channelling it into art – and they brought aboard other people who thought like they did.
The artists that peddled the Factory sound were similarly open-minded, embracing trailblazing technology, instruments and techniques to produce a pioneering form of style and sound. It led to the label quickly acquiring its own unique look and feel – and any product befitting of ‘Factoryness’ was assigned a prestigious catalogue number.
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All of it was new, exciting, and wildly ahead of its time. And this extended to representation.
As a new exhibition at Museum of Science & Industry reveals, an embedded narrative runs through the Factory story: The prominent role of women.
Use Hearing Protection (UHP) – an exhibition chronicling the early days of Factory Records – currently houses the first 50 items of the FAC catalogue, including some items on display for the very first time.
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Discontent with simply scratching the surface, UHP delves deeper into the origin story of the label – analysing the backdrop from which ideologies were born and what it was like to live in Manchester in the 1970s and 80s.
Beyond the series of display cases paying homage to the era, UHP moves towards the realms of sociological study. And in doing so, it awards spotlight to the lesser-known figures of the Factory family and beyond – including the females that helped push the label’s status beyond ‘visionary’ and into ‘immortality’.
1978 was a time when opportunities for women in music were limited at best. Yet, as UHP reflects, Factory would not have come to fruition or thrived without several key female members.
Use Hearing Protection explores the landscape that Factory Records – and its pioneers – grew from.
Use Hearing Protection explores the landscape that Factory Records – and its pioneers – grew from.
Several “relatively unsung pioneers” in the Factory story receive renewed recognition at UHP, with sections dedicated to the likes of general manager Lesley Gilbert – an essential behind-the-scenes leader who “ran the Factory office”.
The exhibition also focuses on Lindsay Reade – Wilson’s former partner who helped get Factory off the ground with her input and savings. Reade was a crucial participant in the early part of the story and even wrote a book all about it – Mr Manchester and the Factory Girl (which is on sale at the Museum shop).
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Further tributes are paid to Gillian Gilbert, the talented keyboardist and guitarist for New Order, and artist Linder Sterling – whose conceptual work The Factory Egg Timer concept was assigned number FAC 8 in the Factory catalogue. Sterling would also form the group LUDUS – one of the first acts to perform at the Hacienda during the superclub’s opening year in 1982.
Another credited with contributing to the overall movement is Liz Naylor – a writer who worked on local music magazine City Fun and penned a film script titled Too Young to Know, Too Wild to Care (see FAC 20).
The exhibition itself has also been curated by a female: Archives Manager of the Science and Industry Museum Jan Hicks.
The Use Hearing Protection exhibition charts the early days of Factory and finishes in The Hacienda in 1982
Many of the instrumental figures throughout the history of Factory Records were women – from the label’s inception right up to its final days.
Indeed, shortly before label execs received the bill for Happy Mondays’ indulgent Barbados recording session of Yes Please! (a critical and commercial flop now best remembered for hammering the final nail in the coffin of Factory Records), great art was still being produced by women. A perfect case in point was Cath Carroll – whose England Made Me LP from 1991 is considered as one of the label’s least-known, best-received productions.
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Factory closed down forever in 1992 as the Madchester era fizzled out, with its flagship club The Hacienda following suit five years later.
But curiously, public interest in those heady days has only piqued. People are eager to remember a time when Manchester was centre of the universe.
And as for the group that made it happen? It was a little bigger and a lot more diverse than many might have thought…
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Use Hearing Protection: The early years of Factory Records is open now – running right through to 3 January 2022.
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An after-hours celebration of Manchester’s music scene will also take place on 23 September.
Fontaines D.C. announce massive gig at Manchester’s Aviva Studios as part of UK tour
Danny Jones
Irish post-punk pioneers Fontaines D.C. have just announced a brand new UK and Ireland tour ahead of their new album later this year and leading new arts and live entertainment venue, Aviva Studios, has been selected for their massive Manchester date.
The Dublin powerhouses have emerged as one of the most exciting acts on the planet for our money, combining everything from new wave, alternative and often grungey guitars, to more classic rock and even indie sounds, making them one of the most instantly recognisable sounds on the modern scene.
With all that being said, we cannot wait for their return to Manchester and what will no doubt be one of the biggest and best gigs Aviva Studios has seen yet.
Fontaines D.C. roll up to 0161 in Fall 2024 and they’ll have a brand new album under their belt to boot.
Become a Factory International Members to gain early access tickets on Wednesday 24 April, 10am.
Fontaines D.C. return to Manchester for the first time since 2022.
Home to Factory International, which kicked off an incredible debut calendar of cultural events last year, Aviva Studios is already proving to be an impressive addition to the Manc skyline, especially now it’s coaxing names like Fontaines D.C. to come and perform there over other gig spaces.
As for the band themselves, they dropped the lead single entitled ‘Starburster’ this week and it proved to be quite the sea change for often fast, frantic and no-nonsense five-piece. If you haven’t heard it yet, strap in and get ready to be over-exhaling out loud non-stop for the next hour – you’ll see what we mean.
With their fourth record Romance set to release on 23 August, we think it’s fair to say this new record – the first with new producer James Ford (Blur, Arctic Monkeys) – is off to a much more experimental start than their heavily acclaimed 2019 debut, Dogrel.
Set to take the stage in Aviva Studios’ Warehouse space on Friday, 29 November, Fontaines’ Manchester date is part of a new run of shows announced as part of their full European which kicks off in June.
Heading back from the continent in August and starting off the UK leg in Wolverhampton on 20 November, it’ll be a fast and furious nine-show run culminating with a homecoming concert in Dublin.
Tickets for all headline dates go on general sale at 10am next Friday, 26 April and for first access to presale, fans can pre-order the album by 3pm on 23 April.
Masked Manchester rapper Meekz bursts back with surprise gig in Piccadilly Gardens with JD
Charlie Watkinson
Local rap sensation Meekz is back, if you hadn’t noticed – he burst back onto the scene last week with a surprise gig with JD in Piccadilly Gardens.
The masked Manchester rapper is celebrating the release of his latest single Mini Me’s – and a handful of Mini Meekz posters appeared around town, pasted there by artist collective Pattern Up (then swiftly removed) last week.
Meekz continues to impress with his latest release, a track that’s quickly gaining popularity.
True to form, Meekz delivers not only sonically but visually, teaming up once again with KC Locke to create a stunning music video.
Their collaboration underscores the significance of music videos, reaffirming their lasting impact in the industry.
The video pays homage to their previous work, particularly ‘Like Me’, while also pushing boundaries with a post-apocalyptic CGI rendition of Manchester, reminiscent of scenes from GTA and Marvel movies.
This innovative approach demonstrates the remarkable synergy between Meekz and KC Locke, marking a new pinnacle in their collaborative efforts.
Following the premiere, Meekz treated fans to a memorable performance in Piccadilly Gardens, organised with JD, where he made a grand entrance by gifting miniature Air Max 95’s to his fans before taking the stage atop a large storage container.
Mini Meekz posters briefly popped up around Manchester last week. Credit: Supplied, patternup.pu
I had the opportunity to speak with Meekz after the premiere, where he shared insights into his upcoming tape, ‘Tru’, slated for release on 24 May.
Additionally, he hinted at exclusive news related to GTA/GTA 6, leaving fans eagerly anticipating his future endeavours.
It’s clear that Meekz continues to innovate and redefine the game with each new project, and we’re excited to see what he has in store next.
KC Locke said: “In the time that the mainstream media is writing articles about the decline of the music video industry, swords and eagles are here to make a stand and show not only are music videos here to stay but they are more important than ever.
“This is a testament to community, bound by a shared vision, we rise and rise again, together, for the culture.”