Factory Records - “Top 10” Comps taking in: Cian Ó Cíobháin’s An Taobh Tuathail Factory special, New Order, Joy Division, Section 25, Happy Mondays, A Certain Radio, Anthony H. Wilson, Ian Curtis, Martin Hannett and a whole lot more.

A few weeks ago, as I was writing this post, DJ and broadcaster Cian Ó Cíobháin asked a simple question on Instagram:

“What are your favourite Factory records? Especially ones that many may not be familiar with?”

Cian was planning a Factory Records’ special to celebrate the 26th anniversary of his radio show, An Taobh Tuathail and was looking for suggestions.

*An Taobh Tuathail* - Leagan speisialta Factory

Cian’s Leagan speisialta Factory/Factory Records’ special can be heard here.

Without hesitation I replied to Cian: “Marcel King’s ‘Reach For Love’”. This glorious 1985 track is definitely one of my favourite Factory records if not my all time favourite Factory tune, but its upbeat production is probably at odds with the post-punk sounds that some people think about when they hear the name Factory Records, the sound of Joy Division, Section 25 and A Certain Ratio.

I can’t fault Cian’s choices - it’s a brilliant playlist. I think I’d have stumped for Section 25’s ‘Looking From a Hilltop (Megamix)’ over ‘Bad News Week’ but that’s the beauty of subjective choices, you’re never going to fit everyone’s favourite in, and as Cian himself mentions in his outro, he was never going to fit in all the tracks he would have liked to play in a two-hour show.

“Obscure Manchester independent label Factory have announced their autumn worksheet, a programme of releases including singles by Joy Division, A Certain Ratio, John Dowie, Section 25 and Blurt,” started a news story in the NME on 18 October 1980.

It’s crazy now, looking back from a distance of 45 years, to think that five months after the passing of Joy Division’s Ian Curtis that the Manchester label could be described as “obscure”.

A year before the release of ‘Reach For Love’, Chris Bohn wrote in the NME on 18 February 1984, that Tony Wilson’s, “dream is to establish Factory as an experiment in art and as an alternative marketing strategy.”

“Basically, this translates as presenting the consumer with the best package his money can buy. An elaborate artwork theoretically mirrors the quality of the record within. It would not be advertised nor would it be promoted, apart from the most basic of industry servicing. Its quality should be enough to generate interest, so the argument goes, which would then spread word of mouth.”

Here then is a “Top 10” list of my favourite Factory Records’ compilations, ten great packages that as Cohn puts it, “mirror the quality of the record within”. Only two of these comps were actually released by Factory Records during the lifetime of the label. The others are related compilations and retrospective releases from licensed copyright holders of the Factory back catalogue.

Special mention has to made to James Nice. Author, and record-label owner, Nice once worked for Factory Benelux and now administers much of the former Factory catalogue via his labels: LTM Recordings, Factory Benelux and Les Disques du Crépuscule. Nice has either compiled or written the sleevenotes to many of the releases on my list.

There have been loads of books about Factory Records, Tony Wilson, New Order, Joy Division, Happy Mondays and Manchester music, but Nice’s Shadowplayers: The Rise and Fall of Factory Records (Aurum Publishing, 2010) is the true essential read.

10. *The Factory Tape*

Various Artists
(Cassette, Select Magazine, 1991)
FAC 305c

The Factory Tape was a cover-mounted cassette that came free with Select magazine in April 1991. I’ve always loved that Wilson gave a free tape a designated Factory catalogue number - FAC305c.

It was one of several record label sampler cassettes that came free with Select in 1991, others included: The Island Tape, The Parlophone Tape and Select Magazine Rather Generously Presents: Columbia. The magazine also gave away a Creation sampler - Select Magazine / Creation Tape (Rare Creation) - in 1992 and another Island sampler - Island Select - in 1993

To the best of my knowledge - and I’m no expert on the finer details of New Order and Factory’s discographies - this is the only place that you’ll find this particular edit of the Stephen Hague remix of New Order’s Bizarre Love Triangle other than the Married to the Mob soundtrack.

A longer 12” version of this Stephen Hague remix was released on 2024’s Brotherhood Definitive Edition Boxset.

9. *Of Factory New York*

Various Artists
(2xLP, Factory Benelux, 2014)

Of Factory New York is a benefit album from 2014 released to raise funds for the late Michael Shamberg.

Shamberg ran the New York office of Factory Records in the 80s and produced a number of music videos for New Order including ‘True Faith’ which was awarded “Best Music Video” at the Brit Awards 1988.

Shamberg had been diagnosed with a progressive neurological disease during the early 2000s.

Of Factory New York features classic tracks released by Factory US between 1980 and 1989 as well as Factory artists from New York City (Ike Yard, Thick Pigeon, Konk, Anna Domino and Arthur baker). The cover is based on a New Order poster for a gig at the Paradise Garage on 07 July 1983. The sleevenotes are by James Nice.

On his Factory Benelux website Nice writes: “Following Michael’s passing Factory Benelux are now donating all revenues to the Christie Hospital in Manchester, who treated Tony Wilson during his final illness and whose sterling work in the field of cancer research continues today.”

8. *Auteur Labels: Factory Records 1984*

Various Artists
(CD, LTM, 2009)

“The compilation series Auteur Labels profiles independent record labels with a unique and enduring sound, vision and design sensibility, and concerned more with art than commerce” - LTM Recordings

Auteur Labels: Factory Records 1984 is, “a collection of classic tracks recorded for or released on Manchester label Factory Records in 1984,” writes James Nice the compiler of this compilation for his LTM recordings label.

Auteur Labels is a great series of releases, some of the other albums include:

Auteur Labels: New Hormones 1977-1982 (LTM, 2008) - tracks from the label founded by Richard Boon and Howard Devoto and Pete Shelley, including: Buzzcocks, Ludus and Dislocation Dance.

Auteur Labels: Factory Benelux 1980-1985 (LTM, 2008) - “Factory Benelux was the result of an informal arrangement made in April 1980 between Factory Records and Les Disques du Crépuscule in Brussels, by which the latter would release 'spare' recordings made by Factory artists, and provide the Manchester label with an entrée into Continental Europe” - Factory Benelux.

Auteur Labels: Factory Records 1987 (LTM, 2010) - tracks released on Factory in 1987.

Auteur Labels Object Music 1978-1981 (LTM, 2008) - tracks from the Manchester independent label founded by Steve Solamar, including The Passage.

Auteur Labels: Les Disques Du Crépuscule 1980-1985 (LTM, 2010) - tracks from the independent Belgian music label founded in Brussels in 1980 by Michel Duval and Annik Honoré, including Paul Haig, Josef K, The Pale Fountains and Michael Nyman.

Auteur Labels: Robs Records (LTM, 2010) - tracks released on Rob Gretton’s Robs Records between 1991 and 1999, including Sub Sub, Beat Club and Mr. Scruff.

7. Factory Records: Communications 1978-92
Various Artists
(2x10”, Rhino Records, RSD 2009 & RSD 2013)

In a recent post (Record Store Day: A Top 10) I listed ten of my my favourite Record Store Day releases. These two 10” singles would have come in at number 11.

The silver 10” was released for Record Store Day 2010 in the UK only, it was limited to 750 copies. Its gold companion piece was released for Record Store Day 2013, it got a worldwide release and was limited to 3,000 copies.

My gold 10” came a cropper when Skip our cat used it as a scratching post. Sadly Skip is no longer with us - the two events are not related, I hasten to add!

The two 10” singles compile eight tracks from the Factory Communications 1978-92 Boxset (No. 2 on this list below).

Silver 10”:

Joy Division - ‘Transmission’
New Order - ‘Ceremony (Original Version)’
The Durutti Column - ‘Sketch For Summer’
Happy Mondays - ‘Hallelujah (Club Mix)’

Gold 10”:

Joy Division - ‘She’s Lost Control (12” Version)’
New Order - ‘1963 (12” Version)’
The Durutti Column - ‘Otis’
Happy Mondays - ‘Loose Fit (12” Version)’

6. *Zero (A Martin Hannett Story 1977-1991)*

Various Artists
(CD, Big Beat Records, 2006)

In August 1991, four months after Martin Hannett’s passing, Factory released Martin, The Work of Record Producer Martin Hannett (FACT 325) a various artists compilation.

Zero (Hannett’s nickname) was released 15 years later by Ace Records’ sub-label Big Beat as part of their “Producer Series” which sought to spotlight, “the studio output of visionaries who lived to bring the sounds in their heads to the grooves of a record.”

Thought not a Factory release, Zero is a much better representation of Hannett’s work. The front cover shows Hannett’s hand-drawn notes on the recording of Closer.

“Each of these auteurs relentlessly pursued his aural ideals, always with an eye on that ever-elusive next hit,” is how Big Beat describe the recording careers of Brian Wilson, Jack Nitzsche, Kim Fowley and Gary Paxton.

“Each one of these CDs offers a fascinating jaunt into the oeuvre of a titan of pop music.” The series also includes titles focusing on the productions of Phil Spector, John Cale, Todd Rundgren, Martin Rushent and many others.

Zero comes with a 24-page booklet with sleevenotes by James Nice detailing Martin Hannett’s history and in depth information about the tracks and artists appearing on this release. A long essay by James Nice, an amended version of his Zero sleevenotes, can be read here.

My only criticism of Zero is that it doesn’t include a Blue in Heaven track from their Hannett-produced debut album, All the God’s Men. A small quibble about a fantastic compilation.

Blue in Heaven’s Shane O’Neill joined me on To Here Knows When - Great Irish Albums Revisited and talked at length about working with Hannett in Strawberry Studios, the episode can be heard below.

Paul McDermott · THKW EP04 - All the God’s Men & Explicit Material by Blue in Heaven

5. *New Order presents Be Music*

Various Artists
(3xCD, Factory Benelux, 2017)

“A collection of tracks produced & remixed by members of New Order between 1982-2015 including classic releases on Factory Records,” New Order Presents Be Music is a 3xCD Boxset compiled by James Nice, who also wrote the 48-page booklet of detailed sleevenotes.

It showcases the production work of the four members of New Order and A Certain Ratio’s Donald ‘Dojo’ Johnson.

Highlights include two stunning Bernard Sumner and Johnson productions: Paul Haig’s ‘The Only Truth’ released on Les Disques du Crépuscule in 1984 and Marcel King’s ‘Reach For Love’ released on Factory Benelux in 1985. Two masterpieces.

Johnson, one of the real unsung heroes of the Factory Records’ story, recently chatted to Paul and Steve Hanley for an episode of their Oh! Brother podcast. As well as discussing all things ACR, Johnson also talked about producing Marcel King. Johnson’s older brother Barry had played with King in Sweet Sensation in the 70s. Sweet Sensation’s classic ‘Sad Sweet Dreamer’ was UK No. 1 in 1974. King died of a brain hemorrhage in 1995 at age 38.

Listen to Donald Johnson on Oh! Brother below…

4. FAC. DANCE & FAC. DANCE 02: Factory Records 12” Mixes & Rarities 1980-1987
Various Artists
(4xCD, Strut Records, 2011 & 2012)

“This is not the whole story of Factory Records. This is the story of how Factory Records shook off post-punk sobriety and found its dancing feet,” writes Bill Brewster in his sleevenotes to FAC. DANCE: Factory Records 12” Mixes & Rarities 1980-1987, a compilation he compiled for Strut records in 2011.

“Despite a reputation for austere post-punk modernity and raincoated miserablilism, the label’s first decade delivered up a raft of landmark dance records by A Certain Ratio, ESG, 52nd Street, Quando Quango, Section 25 and New Order,” writes James Nice in his sleevenotes for FAC. DANCE 02: Factory Records 12” Mixes & Rarities 1980-1987, the follow-up compilation he compiled for Strut in 2012. Nice continues: “Most challenged the stiff indie orthodoxy of the time, yet sound classic today.”

Spotify playlists for FAC. DANCE and FAC. DANCE 02 are below.

3. *Palatine - The Factory Story / 1979-1990*

Various Artists
(4xCD Boxset, Factory Communications/Rough Trade/London Records, 1991)
Fact 400

Palatine was the first attempt at a Boxset overview of Factory, it was named after the road where the first Factory Records’ office was located - 86 Palatine Road in West Didsbury, Manchester.

Palatine is a 49-track history of Factory that thematically groups the tracks across four CDs:

Vol.1 / 1979-1982 - Tears In Their Eyes
Vol.2 / 1981-1986 - Life’s A Beach
Vol.3 / 1979-1989 - The Beat Groups
Vol.4 / 1987-1990 - Selling Out

“When the first Factory record launched itself on an unsuspecting public in 1978, it signaled the birth of a revolution in the selling of pop,” wrote Dave Simpson Melody Maker review of Palatine from 07 December 1991 .

“Factory was more than just a a record label: they had the groups, the producer (Hannett) and the manifesto. Factory Records weren’t made but designed. Each release came lovingly packaged in what was less a record sleeve, more an art statement.”

In her NME review of 23 November 1991 Beverley Glick, who wrote under the pen name Betty Page, wrote that, “Palatine is the best and worst of Factory from 1979-1991, the celebrated moments and the embarrassing (and expensive) mistakes juxtaposed to make the division even more obvious.”

“Yes, Factory wasted a lot of money on crap groups that didn’t sell records, They were also responsible for some of the truly transcendent, inspirational sounds of the ‘80s.”

“One day, Cath Carroll records like ‘Moves Like You’ will be hauled out and held up as sadly underrated classics,” writes Glick about one of my favourite Factory singles from one of my favourite Factory LPs - England Made Me. I awarded the track No. 1 in my “Factory Women Top 5” which accompanied my review of Audrey Golden’s I Thought I Heard You Speak: Women at Factory Records for Issue 15 of The Goo.

Glick continues: “Because of Joy Division and New order, everyone wanted to sign to Factory; it had enomous cachet. Because of their incestuous set-up, they ended up signing second division copyists of their own groups. Thus, they truly are the label that celebrates itself… Palatine is a fascinating story with abysmal troughs and outrageous good fortune. Let’s hope it will have a happy continuation, and not a premature ending.”

You can’t really argue with Glick’s assessment.

Sadly, the label declared bankruptcy in November 1992.

2. *Factory Communications 1978-92*

Various Artists
(8xLP Boxset, Warner Music, 2019)

Jon Savage compiled this set and explains in the accompanying booklet that: “This compilation began in an email exchange with Alan Parks, the consultant for Joy Division and New Order’s back catalogue. Warners were thinking of reissuing Palatine, the 1991 Factory archive compilation [No. 3 on this list above], and he asked me what I thought.”

Savage continues: “My response was that it could be done better. So here is Factory Communications 1978-1992.”

Originally released in 2009 as a 4xCD Boxset, this is the 10th anniversary vinyl version. The 4CD version is spread across 8xLPs and comes housed in a cardboard box accompanied by a 40 page booklet.

This is the motherlode of Factory compilations.

It’s a chronological retelling of the label’s history from Joy Division’s ‘Digital’ (taken from the first Factory release, A Factory Sample EP) and ends with Happy Mondays’ ‘Sunshine and Love’ (the last record released on the label in 1992).

The booklet contains an essay by Paul Morley, loads of archive photographs and detailed track by track liner notes by James Nice. The Boxset is dedicated to three of the original five Factory directors:

Martin Hannett (1948-1991)
Rob Gretton (1953-1999)
Anthony H. Wilson (1950-2007)

1. *24 Hour Party People*

Various Artists
(12”, Factory, 2001)
FAC 401

A 12” with just four songs gets my number one slot purely by dint of its uniqueness and rareness.

Limited to 200 copies this promotional 12” was produced by the sales company to publicise Michael Winterbottom’s 24 Hour Party People. It shares the FAC401 catalogue number with the film. Copies of the 12” were given to cast and crew at the end of production.

When Winterbottom’s film was screened at the Cannes Film Festival in 2002 the remaining copies were given to attendees of the after screening party. Unbelievably, in 2002 pre-vinyl revival days, lots of people didn’t take the 12”.

One attendee happily accepted the gift - she knew her husband would have a heart attack if she didn’t!

The 12” single’s four tracks - big hitters from the Factory catalogue - are:

Joy Division - ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart’
New Order - ‘Blue Monday’
Happy Mondays - ‘24 Hour Party People’
Happy Mondays - ‘Hallelujah (Club Mix)’

The gatefold depicts stills from Winterbottom’s film and the sleeve design uses the yellow and black hazard stripe motif from the Haçienda. The die cut inner sleeve continues the stripes across the custom label. A beautiful release.