Factory Records: Communications 1978-1992

Factory Records: Communications 1978-1992

The digital download version of the new Factory Records box set Factory Records: Communications 1978-1992 is now available via Amazon.co.uk (and possibly other online retailers).

Whereas the 4CD version to be released on 12 January 2009 contains four tracks by The Durutti Column, it seems that the digital version contains five, the extra track being Otis.

Newcastle date added to UK Tour

A date at the Cluny in Newcastle has been added to The Durutti Column's 2009 UK winter tour. More dates are still to be confirmed. The full latest details (including pricing info for Brighton, Bristol and Windsor) are as follows:

January

Sat 31 - The Met, Bury [10.00 GBP adv, 12.00 GBP door]

February

Mon 16 - Baby Blue, Liverpool [12.00 GBP adv / 15.00 GBP door - Buy online]
Thu 19 - The Cluny, Newcastle [10.00 GBP adv, Buy online via from seetickets.com (+ booking fee / handling charge)]
Sat 21 - Brudenell Social Club, Leeds [10.00 GBP adv]
Wed 25 - Komedia, Brighton [12.00 GBP adv]
Thu 26 - Thekla, Bristol [12.00 GBP adv, Tickets available from seetickets.com (+ booking fee / handling charge)]
Fri 27 - Firestation Arts Centre, Windsor [10.00 GBP adv, 9.00 GBP conc / 8.00 GBP member]

First Four

The Durutti Column Remasters fresh from inch" to Kooky Central

As reported on the Kooky Records site, a 6CD box set of the first four Factory Records albums (The Return of The Durutti Column, LC, Another Setting, Without Mercy) will be released next year.

Following the recent acquisition of the original master tapes, the albums have been remastered by Keir Stewart at his inch" studio and will be presented in their original form without the inclusion of extra tracks.

There will be two bonus discs containing previously unreleased tracks. The precise content of the bonus discs is still being finalised but they will include studio demos from LC, 4-track demos from The Return of... and live tracks from the period 1979-1981.

More details to come.

2009 UK Tour Update

2009 UK winter tour update with prices

January

Sat 31 - The Met, Bury [10.00 GBP adv, 12.00 GBP door]

February

Mon 16 - Baby Blue, Liverpool [12.00 GBP adv / 15.00 GBP door - Buy online]
Sat 21 - Brudenell Social Club, Leeds [10.00 GBP adv]
Wed 25 - Komedia, Brighton
Thu 26 - Thekla, Bristol
Fri 27 - Firestation Arts Centre, Windsor

Le Retour

Scream City 4

Calling all French-speaking fans of The Durutti Column!

From PopNews.com:

"Dans son quatrième numéro, le fanzine Scream City revenait sur la référence n°2 du catalogue du label Factory Records, le mythique double-vinyle sorti en décembre 1978 et comportant deux titres de Joy Division, de The Durutti Column, trois de John Dowie et deux de Cabaret Voltaire. A cette occasion, Phil Cleaver, l'homme derrière le label Kooky Records, qui sort les nouveaux disques de The Durutti Column, eut le privilège de s'entretenir avec Vini Reilly à ce propos. Toujours un peu vexé du double lapin que nous avait infligé le Mancunien en 2005 lors de son dernier passage à Paris, nous avons demandé à John Cooper, rédacteur en chef du fanzine Scream City (et également auteur du blog consacré à Factory, Cerysmatic Factory) la permission de publier cette interview... Dont voici ici la traduction..."

Roughly translated this means that Phil "Kooky" Cleaver's interview with Vini Reilly from Scream City 4 (the FAC-2 Special featuring Joy Division, Cabaret Voltaire, John Dowie and The Durutti Column) has been translated into French and reproduced on PopNews.com after they were "stood up" by Vini last time he was in Paris in 2005.

Salut Guillaume! Many thanks for making this happen.

Scream City 4 was first published on 23 April 2008 via eBay priced GBP 2.00 + p&p (PayPal only) and is still available.

The Haçienda Rehearsal Footage

The Durutti Column in rehearsal at FAC 51 The Haçienda [Bruce Mitchell and Vini Reilly]

On 16 August 1987 a full rehearsal by The Durutti Column was filmed on video at FAC 51 The Haçienda in Manchester. The 68-minute video was not released commercially but is attributed to the French label 'Structure Moderne'. Unofficial copies exist.

The Durutti Column on this occasion comprised Vini Reilly on guitars & keyboards, a sprightly Bruce Mitchell on drums & percussion and John Metcalfe on violin, xylophone and drums. With all kit set up on the dancefloor of the Haçienda rather than the stage, the video makes for interesting watching as the band run through a selection of mainly Guitar and Other Machines-era material (Arpeggiator, What Is It To Me, Jongleur Grey, When The World, Miss Haymes, Jacqueline).

Up until now, it was always thought that the video was filmed by Claude Bessy who was Factory's in-house "video dude". The (FAC 2.26) The Durutti Column - Vini Reilly site run by Rob Stanzel states it was "allegedly filmed by Claude Bessy" and I followed this through on Cerysmatic Factory (which also has video stills). However, Rob and I were recently contacted by two Parisians called Pascal and Sylvie who informed that it was they and not Bessy who made the film.

It is therefore only right that Pascal and Sylvie, aged respectively 48 and 51, and fans of the Factory Records label since its earliest days, tell the true story of The Haçienda Rehearsal Footage:

"In August 1987, Pascal & I travelled by car thru the UK with three friends. We went to London, Manchester, Liverpool, Blackpool and Glasgow. All of us were fans of the Factory label, so while in Manchester, we obviously made what we used to call "The Magical Factory Tour". Both Pascal & I had Sony V8 cameras, so we filmed a lot of places such as the old Factory club in Hulme, the 86 Palatine Road house & Marie-Louise Gardens in Didsbury, etc, etc, etc... and of course the Hacienda.

"Back then, our friends' project was to create an independent video label, called Structure Moderne. They had the idea, the project, but no cameras. Pascal & I had. So, with them or only for us, we filmed a lot of bands, both in UK and France. About a year and a half after this trip, we've lost contact with these guys, for various reasons too long to explain here, but in Aug 87, thanks to the various local contacts our then friends had managed to get, we got special authorisation to film, amongst many other things, the empty Hacienda in full daylight, and The Durutti Column, who happened to be rehearsing there on that day.

"I, Sylvie, had already met Vini Reilly twice before: in Paris at the Bains-Douches Club where I had interviewed him for a local fanzine, and briefly in London, after a DC concert at the Venue. I don't exactly remember how the whole discussion went on that afternoon at FAC51, but the band was OK for us filming their rehearsal. So, I shot their whole performance from the upstairs balcony, and Pascal from downstairs, walking all around them. Thus, in our archives, we have 2 x 68 min of rushes footage, which has never been edited since. Of course, the overall quality of this recording is not very good, especially the sound (80's analog cameras with built-in microphones...) but it's obviously a gem for any DC fan.

"Recently, we have started to transfer all our old 1980s V8 archives onto DVDs, and also created a YouTube channel so as to share them. Yes, these are good memories!"

It remains to be seen whether there will yet be a more official release for the video. Watch this space for further developments. Meanwhile, many thanks to Pascal and Sylvie for getting in touch and sharing those good memories.

A Tour for Winter

The first few dates of a 2009 UK winter tour by The Durutti Column have just been confirmed as follows:

January

Sat 31 - The Met, Bury [10.00 GBP adv, 12.00 GBP door]

February

Mon 16 - Baby Blue, Liverpool
Sat 21 - Brudenell Social Club, Leeds [10.00 GBP adv]
Wed 25 - Komedia, Brighton
Thu 26 - Thekla, Bristol
Fri 27 - Firestation Arts Centre, Windsor

Full details including ticket prices and timings to follow.

The band is looking to add more dates around the rest of the UK including Manchester and Scotland. The band is looking to add more dates around the rest of the UK including Manchester and Scotland. Interested promoters and/or venue managers should contact Damian @ Brave Music Agency.

The Return of the Master Tapes

A collection of over 50 (yes, fifty) master tapes of original recordings by The Durutti Column (plus a whole load of other tapes by other Factory bands) has been unearthed recently by Oli Wilson during his ongoing work to clear out his dad's loft (the "AHW Loft" to be more precise).

Watch this space for more news as it develops.

Anthony H. Wilson - Broadcaster and Cultural Catalyst

Bruce Mitchell, Peter Hook and Elliot Rashman with the stone commemorating Anthony H. Wilson

Tony Wilson has been made an Honorary Freeman of the City of Manchester. As reported in October 2007 by the Manchester Evening News, Manchester City Council decided to bestow the honour in acknowledgement of Tony Wilson's great achievements and his enduring legacy.

It is the first time that such an honour has been made posthumously. The Chief Executive of Manchester City Council has exercised his delegated powers and arranged for the inscription of Tony Wilson's name on the wall of the Council Ante Chamber, along with those who are celebrated as Honorary Freemen of the City, as a unique permanent public memorial to him. This was unveiled today in the presence of members of the Council, Tony's son Oli and daughter Izzy, Peter Saville, Peter Hook and Bruce Mitchell of The Durutti Column.

As a Manchester United fan, Tony would no doubt have approved with the location of his stone for he just to the right of Sir Alex Ferguson, CBE who became a Freeman of the City after United won the European Cup in 1999.