Shadowplayers: The Rise and Fall of Factory Records – James Nice

-

Can there possibly be another record label that has written about as much as Factory? Over the past few years a number of books have been published, all offering their own slant. Anthony Wilson himself made an attempt at the time the film 24 Hour Party People was released, a rushed affair, lacking depth and at times leaving the reader to distinguish fact from fancy fiction. However Shadowplayers – The Rise and Fall of Factory Records is by far and away the most comprehensive account. This book by James Nice, whilst daunting at just under 500 pages of dense text, is a superbly researched and exhaustive look at what went right, and what went spectacularly wrong.

As with many stories concerning post-punk, it all starts in June 1976, at the Lesser Free Trade Hall in Manchester. Despite being a landmark performance by the Sex Pistols, it was not that well attended, though most major players of the future Manchester music scene were there including Anthony Wilson, Peter Hook, Bernard Sumner, Morrissey, Mark E Smith, Steve Diggle, photographer Kevin Cummins and Paul Morley. Wilson, already a minor celebrity in the region, used his influence to garner the Sex Pistols more exposure, and this love of music lead to the creation of Factory, both as a club night and a label, along with Alan Erasmus, designer Peter Saville, manager of Joy Division Rob Gretton and producer Martin Hannett.

These five, and their at times fiery and volatile relationships, form the backbone of this story. The most striking observation is how close to chaos and collapse the label found itself throughout its short life. Through the 1980’s and early 1990’s, Factory Records seemed to the outside world slick masters of their destiny, in control behind a cool façade of art and intrigue. In truth, it seems that there was no great mystery at all, as they lurched from one financial disaster to another. Video wing Ikon FCL barely produced any work of note despite thousands of pounds of investment, and bands found themselves continually frustrated by late delivery of artwork and a lack of promotion. By and large, production duties were undertaken inhouse, Sumner and Hook producing fellow artists out of financial necessity – often their own, as their profits were haemorrhaged back into other projects. Yet, these musicians remained loyal to the label throughout, saying much of the extraordinary magentism and charisma of Wilson and his fellow board members.

The main undoing was FAC51. Who can say what position Factory could still be in today if not for the Hacienda club, a pit into which thousands upon thousands of pounds were liberally squandered. Money never stayed for long in the bank account at Factory – as soon as they had success, any profits would be thrown at the next often ill thought-out project, meticulously pinpointed here in sometimes jaw-dropping detail.

Throughout though, the music shines. You may expect this to be the story of Joy Division, New Order and Happy Mondays, but nothing could be further from the truth. The main strength of this book is how it does not allow any one artist to dominate, which means as much print is given to Section 25, A Certain Ratio, and The Durutti Column. These smaller bands, by association with Factory Records, have better biographies here than most bigger league artists, and their stories are equally as fascinating as the tales of stupidity and ignorance that follow Happy Mondays. The various New Order side projects also receive attention, with the stories behind Revenge, Electronic and The Other Two.

As with any good music book, it sent me scuttling to my record collection, from the utterly wonderful ‘Looking From A Hilltop’ Megamix by Section 25, and the dazzling ‘Won’t Stop Loving You’ by A Certain Ratio, both produced with considerable skill by Sumner. This book is not for the faint hearted; it is a long read, stuffed at times to overload with detail on the minutia of running a label. However, anyone remotely interested in the Manchester music scene will find this an indispensible book, almost a reference manual for an important part in British culture in the 1980’s.