The show gathers together iconic artefacts and private memorabilia that plots the story of the first four years of Factory, from 1978-1982, alongside its first 50 numbered releases. It’s a lot to take in, from iconic items like Ian Curtis’ Vox Phantom guitar to the atmospheric Gig Room – and that means it’s easy to miss the smaller things. So here’s a quick round up of a few pieces to look out for on your first (or maybe return) visit.
Fac-2, A Factory Sample, set out the label’s visual and audio ambitions. Like everything, it began with Wilson putting his hand in his own pocket to pay for it, then came fantastic music from the likes of Joy Division and The Durutti Column, an unconventional pair of 7-inch singles to make it an EP, and Peter Saville’s utterly impractical monochrome sleeve – printed on silver-dyed rice paper and protected only by thin plastic bag. A real stall setter.
A prolific scribbler, Gretton was a man bursting with ideas, questions and plans – as his packed notebooks of unfiltered thoughts attest. He even sketched out gig posters; don’t miss the pad with his Joy Division poster plans in it.
The perfect summary of Wilson’s ambitious nature and brilliant ear, Fac-15 documents a show we’d all beg for a seat in a time machine to go back to: top Factory names, plus Echo & The Bunnymen, OMD, The Teardrop Explodes… just so many. Also clock the travel advice at the bottom, “Use your wits or use the bus”, in which Wilson’s can-do personality lives on loudly.
As much as Wilson, Saville, Erasmus and Gretton get the headline press, Factory relied on an amazing mixed team – and at its heart were five equally incredible women. Learn about Lindsay Reade, Lesley Gilbert, Gillian Gilbert, Ann Quigley, and the artist Linder in this section of the show.
The digital drum that gave She’s Lost Control its distinctive sound (what Morris himself describes as “the bit that sounds like a flock of pigeons”), this is actually his replacement drum after making She’s Lost Control killed his first Synare.
Science and Industry Museum, Liverpool Road Manchester M3 4FP
www.scienceandindustrymuseum.org.uk
- Words:
- Sarah Walters
- Published on:
- Tue 14 Sep 2021
Famously a hard ear to please, Ian Curtis penned a very critical letter about the production on Unknown Pleasures – one masterminded by notorious producer and self-declared genius Martin Hannett, and now regarded as one of the most iconic pieces of production in rock history.