The Durutti Column

The Durutti Column
The Durutti Column performing at Teatro de Gil Vicente, Coimbra, Portugal in 1995
Background information
Origin	Greater Manchester, England
Genres	Post-punk, dream pop, post-rock, art rock
Years active	1978–present
Labels	Factory, Artful, Kookydisc
Associated acts	Simply Red
Members	Vini Reilly Bruce Mitchell Keir Stewart Poppy Morgan
Past members	Dave Rowbotham Chris Joyce Phil Rainford Tony Bowers Colin Sharp Tim Kellett Peter Hook Martin Jackson John Metcalfe

The Durutti Column are an English post-punk band formed in 1978 in Manchester, England. The band is a project of guitarist and occasional pianist Vini Reilly who is often accompanied by Bruce Mitchell on drums and Keir Stewart on bass, keyboards and harmonica. They were among the first acts signed to Factory Records by label founder Tony Wilson.

In 1978 Tony Wilson and Alan Erasmus, later partners in Factory Records, assembled a band around the remnants of local punk rock band Fast Breeder: drummer Chris Joyce and guitarist Dave Rowbotham. The name was derived from a misspelling of the Durruti Column, an anarchist military unit in the Spanish Civil War, named after Buenaventura Durruti. The name was also taken from a four-page comic strip entitled "Le Retour de la Colonne Durruti" ("The Return Of The Durruti Column") by André Bertrand, which was handed out amidst student protests in October 1966 at Strasbourg University.

On 25 January, Vini Reilly, former guitarist for local punk rock band Ed Banger and The Nosebleeds, joined, followed some weeks later by co-member vocalist Phil Rainford and, by the end of February, bassist Tony Bowers arrived from Alberto Y Lost Trios Paranoias. The line-up was short-lived as Rainford was sacked in July, and replaced by actor Colin Sharp, who also became one of the songwriters. Rainford went on to produce for Nico and Suns of Arqa.