Martin Zero
| Martin Hannett | |
|---|---|
Martin Hannett. Photo by Kevin Cummins
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| Background information | |
| Also known as | Zero, Martin "Zero" Hannett |
| Born |
31 May 1948 Manchester, England |
| Died | 18 April 1991 (aged 42) Manchester, England |
| Genres | Post-punk, rock |
| Occupation(s) | musician, record producer |
| Instruments | Bass guitar, guitar, keyboards |
| Years active | 1976–91 |
| Labels | Rabid, Factory, Virgin |
James Martin Hannett (31 May 1948 – 18 April 1991), initially credited as Martin Zero, was an English record producer and an original partner/director at Tony Wilson's Factory Records. Hannett produced albums by a range of artists, including Joy Division, the Durutti Column, Magazine, John Cooper Clarke, New Order, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, and Happy Mondays. His distinctive production style utilized unorthodox sound recording and technology, and has been described as sparse, spatial, and cavernous.
Born in Manchester, Hannett was raised in a working class, Catholic family in Miles Platting, Manchester; he attended Corpus Christi school and Xaverian College in Rusholme. In 1967, he went to the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST), where he earned a degree in chemistry but chose not to pursue the profession.
Hannett's uncle was a bass player and gave his nephew a bass guitar when he was 14. Hannett played bass with Spider Mike King and as member in a band called Paradox, in 1973, alongside Paul Young, later of Sad Café and Mike + The Mechanics.
His production work began with the animation film soundtrack All Kinds of Heroes, written by Steve Hopkins (with whom Hannett later worked again). By this time, he also began to mix live sound at pub gigs. Other early production works included Greasy Bear material, Belt & Braces Road Show Band's eponymous album in 1975 and five songs from Pete Farrow's repertoire recorded at Pennine Studios, Oldham, later included on Farrow's compilation album Who Says There's No Beach in Stockport. He attracted more musical attention in 1977, when, as Martin Zero, he produced the first independent punk record,Buzzcocks' Spiral Scratch EP. Under the same moniker he produced early records by punk poet John Cooper Clarke, whose Salford monotone was complemented by drum machines, simple synthesiser motifs and Hannett's bass playing. Jilted John's first single (Jilted John) was Hannett's first hit single.
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