Book description
In 1978, a 'Factory for Sale' sign gave Alan Erasmus and Tony
Wilson a name for their fledgling Manchester club night. Though they
couldn't have known it at the time this was the launch of one of the
most significant musical and cultural legacies of the late twentieth
century. The club's electrifying live scene soon translated to vinyl,
and Factory Records went on to become the most innovative and
celebrated record labels of the next thrity years.
Always breaking new ground, Factory introduced the listening
public to bands such as Joy Division, whose Unknown Pleasures was the
label's first album release, New Order, Durutti Column and Happy
Mondays. Propelled onwards by the inspirational cultural entrepreneur,
Tony Wilson, Factory always sought new ways to energise popular
consciousness, such as the infamous Hacienda nightclub, which enjoyed
a chequered 15-year history after opening in 1982. Factory's
reputation as a cultural hub was also bolstered by its fierce
commitment to its own visual identity, achieved through the iconic
sleeve designs and compaigning artwork of Peter Savelle.
However, the lofty reputation of Factory's musical and artistic
ventures were only sporadically converted into commercial success, and
when London Records pulled out of a takeoever bid in 1992 because of
the absence of contracts, the fate of Factory Communications Ltd was
sealed. But the label's downfall has done nothing to quell interest in
the Factory legend, as films such as 24-Hour Party People and Control
attest. Yet despite the perennial interest, the definitive and
authentic story of Factory Records has never been told -- until now.
Shadowplayers is the most complete, authoritative and thoroughly
researched account of how a group of provincial anarchists and
entrepreneurs saw off bankers, journalists and gun-toting gangsters to
create the most influential record label of modern times. Based on
both archive and contemporary sources, the book tells the full story
of Factory's inventive, idiosyncratic and tragic personalities, and
ultimately, the acclaimed and much-loved music it produced.
James Nice is an author, journalist and record-label owner. He once
worked for Factory Benelux, and now administers much of the former
Factory catalogue.
