Factory Records

Factory Records was a Manchester-based British independent record label established in 1978 by television presenter and music promoter Tony Wilson, artist manager Alan Erasmus, musician manager Rob Gretton and producer Martin Hannett. It grew out of the Factory club nights held at the Russell Club in Manchester and became one of the most influential independent labels of the post-punk period. Its catalogue included Joy Division, New Order, A Certain Ratio, the Durutti Column, Happy Mondays and Northside, alongside shorter associations with Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark and James. The label’s importance rested on more than its artist roster. Factory developed an unusually integrated creative identity through the work of producer Martin Hannett, designer Peter Saville, architect Ben Kelly and other collaborators. Hannett’s spacious, highly processed studio sound shaped early Factory recordings, while Saville’s austere and conceptually rigorous sleeves gave the label a recognizable visual language. Factory treated records, posters, clubs, films, shops and other related activities as parts of a single cultural project rather than as separate commercial products. A central extension of that project was The Haçienda, a Manchester nightclub opened in 1982 by Factory and New Order. Although the venue became culturally important and later played a major role in the development of acid house and the Madchester scene, it was financially burdensome for much of its existence. Factory’s business model was also weakened by informal contractual practices. In a notable example, New Order retained ownership of its back catalogue, limiting the label’s ability to use one of its most valuable assets as security or leverage. Factory’s releases were assigned FAC or FACT catalogue numbers. The system covered albums and singles but also posters, clubs, shops, broadcasts, films, legal actions and other objects, turning cataloguing into part of the label’s mythology. The practice reflected Wilson’s expansive view of cultural production, but it did not protect the company from escalating recording and venue costs. The label lost money on New Order’s 1983 single “Blue Monday” because of its elaborate sleeve, while The Haçienda, Happy Mondays’ recording projects and New Order’s 1993 album Republic contributed to severe financial pressure. Factory Communications Ltd entered bankruptcy in November 1992. The Haçienda continued until its closure in 1997, and the building was subsequently demolished. Later projects, including Factory Too, Factory Once and a 2012 company formed by Peter Saville and James Nice, extended or revisited aspects of the Factory catalogue, but they did not restore the original label as an operating business. Factory’s legacy has been preserved through reissues, books, exhibitions, film and continuing interest in its design, music and Manchester setting.

The Factory name was first used for a club night at Manchester’s Russell Club on 26 May 1978. Tony Wilson and Alan Erasmus developed the nights with promoter Alan Wise, presenting local and touring post-punk acts including Joy Division, the Durutti Column and Cabaret Voltaire. Peter Saville designed promotional material, establishing a visual identity before the record label itself was formally developed. The first Factory release was A Factory Sample, issued in late 1978 and early 1979 depending on the release chronology used. The EP brought together music by the Durutti Column, Joy Division and Cabaret Voltaire alongside comedian John Dowie. Factory then released material by A Certain Ratio and Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, although OMD soon moved to Virgin Records. Joy Division’s Unknown Pleasures, released in June 1979, became the label’s first major album landmark. Joy Division’s singer Ian Curtis died in May 1980 shortly before the group’s planned American tour. The surviving members continued as New Order, which became Factory’s most commercially important act. The label also developed international distribution arrangements through Factory Benelux and Factory US. In 1981, Wilson, Erasmus and Gretton established Factory Communications Ltd, while producer Martin Hannett departed after disputes concerning unpaid royalties; his legal claim was settled out of court in 1984. Saville ceased to be a formal partner amid payment problems but continued designing for Factory-associated artists. Factory and New Order opened The Haçienda in May 1982 in a converted Manchester industrial building. The venue’s Ben Kelly-designed interior became an emblem of the label’s approach, but its low entry and bar prices made it a persistent financial liability. As ecstasy and acid house culture became increasingly central to Manchester nightlife, the club’s cultural influence expanded even as its alcohol revenues weakened. Factory also operated related ventures such as Dry Bar and the shop The Area. New Order’s “Blue Monday” became an international hit in 1983, but its elaborate die-cut sleeve cost so much to manufacture that the label lost money on each copy. Happy Mondays joined the label’s important artist group and released their first album in 1985. Together, New Order and Happy Mondays helped finance less commercially secure projects, while Factory and The Haçienda became associated with the fusion of post-punk, dance music and the emerging Madchester scene. Factory expanded into classical music in 1989 through Factory Classical, issuing recordings involving composers and performers such as Steve Martland, Graham Fitkin, Rolf Hind and the Duke String Quartet. The label opened its FAC 251 headquarters on Charles Street in 1990. The following year brought the deaths of producer Martin Hannett and musician Dave Rowbotham, both closely connected with the label’s history. By 1992, the costs of Happy Mondays’ troubled Yes Please! sessions and New Order’s Republic had pushed the company into serious financial trouble. An attempted takeover by London Records failed in part because New Order, rather than Factory, owned the group’s back catalogue as a consequence of the label’s early practice of avoiding conventional contracts. Factory Communications Ltd declared bankruptcy in November 1992, and several former Factory acts moved to London Records. The original label’s influence continued through successor and reissue ventures. Wilson worked with London Records on Factory Too from 1994, while Factory Once handled reissues. Wilson later founded the short-lived F4 Records. In 2002, the film 24 Hour Party People brought a fictionalized version of Factory’s history to a wider audience. After Wilson’s death in 2007, Peter Hook helped reopen the former headquarters as FAC 251 in 2010. In 2012, Peter Saville and James Nice established a new Factory Records Ltd. with Alan Erasmus and Oliver Wilson, initially issuing a Section 25 reissue. Warner Music Group’s 2019 anniversary program further promoted the catalogue through exhibitions and selected vinyl releases.

• 2019

  Fortieth-anniversary reissues and exhibition

  [1]Factory Recordsen.wikipedia.org

  Warner Music Group promoted Factory’s legacy through a commemorative website, exhibition and vinyl releases.

• 1997

  The Haçienda closes

  [1]Factory Recordsen.wikipedia.org

  The nightclub ended its operations and the building was later demolished.

• 1992

  Factory Communications Ltd enters bankruptcy

  [1]Factory Recordsen.wikipedia.org

  Escalating project and recording costs led to the original company’s collapse.

• 1989

  Factory Classical launches

  [1]Factory Recordsen.wikipedia.org

  The label expanded into contemporary and classical recordings.

• 1983

  Blue Monday becomes an international hit

  [1]Factory Recordsen.wikipedia.org

  New Order’s single achieved major international success, although its packaging caused a loss on each copy sold.

• 1982

  The Haçienda opens

  [1]Factory Recordsen.wikipedia.org

  Factory and New Order opened the FAC 51 nightclub in a converted Manchester industrial building.

• 1980

  New Order emerges from Joy Division

  [1]Factory Recordsen.wikipedia.org

  Following Ian Curtis’s death, the remaining members continued under the name New Order.

• 1979

  Unknown Pleasures is released

  [1]Factory Recordsen.wikipedia.org

  Joy Division’s debut album became an enduring landmark of Factory’s catalogue and post-punk music.

• 1978

  Factory club nights begin

  [1]Factory Recordsen.wikipedia.org

  The first Factory night was held at Manchester’s Russell Club on 26 May, providing the cultural setting from which the label emerged.

• 1978

  Factory Records is established

  [1]Factory Recordsen.wikipedia.org

  Tony Wilson, Alan Erasmus, Rob Gretton and Martin Hannett formed the label after the success of the club nights.

An artist-led, design-conscious Manchester independent label combining post-punk music, experimental production, distinctive graphic identity and urban nightlife culture.

• Compilation EP · 1978

  A Factory Sample

  The label’s foundational sampler introduced the Factory environment through recordings associated with the Durutti Column, Joy Division, Cabaret Voltaire and John Dowie. It established the practice of presenting a community of artists and helped define the label’s early post-punk identity.

• Studio album · 1979

  Unknown Pleasures

  Joy Division’s 1979 debut album was produced by Martin Hannett and became one of Factory’s defining releases. Its stark sound and Peter Saville’s geometric cover design exemplified the label’s close integration of music, production and visual presentation.

• Nightclub · 1982

  The Haçienda

  The FAC 51 nightclub was operated by Factory and New Order from 1982. Designed by Ben Kelly, it became a major venue for post-punk, house and acid house and was central to the later Madchester mythology, despite sustained financial losses.

• Single · 1983

  Blue Monday

  New Order’s 1983 single combined electronic rhythm programming with the group’s post-punk approach. It became an international success, but the elaborate sleeve was expensive enough for Factory to lose money on each sale.

• Classical music imprint · 1989

  Factory Classical

  Launched in 1989, Factory Classical issued recordings of contemporary and historical classical repertoire involving composers and performers including Steve Martland, Graham Fitkin, Rolf Hind and the Duke String Quartet.

• 1981

  Martin Hannett royalty dispute

  Producer Martin Hannett left Factory amid a dispute over unpaid royalties and later sued the label. The case was settled out of court in 1984.

  Source

Read more

• 2019Factory Records 40th anniversary

  United Kingdom · international

  Warner Music Group commemorated Factory’s fortieth anniversary with a dedicated website, an exhibition and selected vinyl editions, including Joy Division’s Unknown Pleasures and the Communications 1978–1992 box set.

  Outcome. The campaign renewed public attention to Factory’s catalogue and design legacy.

  Source

• 1992

  Enter bankruptcyOther

  Background

  High recording costs, the financial burden of The Haçienda, and expensive projects by Happy Mondays and New Order placed the company under severe pressure.

  Action taken

  Factory Communications Ltd declared bankruptcy in November 1992.

  Aftermath

  Former Factory acts, including New Order, moved to other labels and the original operating company ceased trading.

  Source

• 1989

  Expand into classical musicStrategy

  Background

  Factory broadened its activities beyond post-punk and popular music.

  Action taken

  The company launched Factory Classical and issued recordings by contemporary composers and classical performers.

  Aftermath

  The imprint continued releasing material until the original company’s 1992 bankruptcy.

  Source

• 1982

  Open The Haçienda nightclubStrategy

  Background

  Factory and New Order sought to extend their cultural project beyond recorded music and create a major Manchester venue.

  Action taken

  They converted a former industrial building into The Haçienda, assigned catalogue number FAC 51.

  Aftermath

  The club became highly influential in British dance culture but remained financially difficult and closed in 1997.

  Source

1. 1Factory Recordsen.wikipedia.org
2. 224 Hour Party Peopleen.wikipedia.org