Factory Records
| Factory Records | |
|---|---|
FAC 115: Factory Records Stationery (1984)
|
|
| Founded | 1978 |
| Founder | |
| Defunct | 1992 |
| Status | defunct |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Location | Manchester |
Factory Records was a Manchester-based British independent record label, started in 1978 by Tony Wilson and Alan Erasmus, which featured several prominent musical acts on its roster such as Joy Division, New Order, A Certain Ratio, The Durutti Column, Happy Mondays, Northside, and (briefly) Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark and James. Like the label 4AD Records, Factory Records used a creative team (most notably record producer Martin Hannett and graphic designer Peter Saville) which gave the label and the artists recording for it a particular sound and image. The label employed a unique cataloguing system that gave a number not just to its musical releases, but to artwork and other objects, as well.
Factory started in January 1978. At that time there was a punk label in Manchester called Rabid Records, run by Tosh Ryan and Martin Hannett. It had several successful acts, including Slaughter & The Dogs (whose tour manager was Rob Gretton), John Cooper Clarke, and Jilted John. After his seminal TV series So It Goes, Tony Wilson was interested in the way Rabid Records ran, and was convinced that the real money and power were in album sales. With a lot of discussion, Tony Wilson, Rob Gretton and Alan Erasmus set up Factory Records, with Martin Hannett from Rabid. The Factory name was first used for a club in May of that year, which featured local bands including The Durutti Column (managed at the time by Erasmus and Wilson), Cabaret Voltaire from Sheffield, and Joy Division.Peter Saville designed advertising for the club, and in September Factory released an EP of music by acts who had played at the club (The Durutti Column, Joy Division, Cabaret Voltaire, and comedian John Dowie) called A Factory Sample.
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