Rating: - Tony Wilson RIP
Factory records was one of the more important post-punk labels. It provided us with JoyDivision, New Order, Happy Mondays and quite a few more (ACR, The Durutti Column). This book retraces parts of this history in a very special and very incomplete but also very entertainning way. Indeed, it was written by the founder Tony Wilson himself, who was quite a figure in Manchester. The bok will retrace the initial inspiration by punk which led to the foundation of the record label, the opening of the famous Hacienda club and finally to bancrupcy.It does make a quite sensational read even if it does not allways make complete sense but you do get a sense of the athmosphere and enthusiasm of Tony Wilson for the music scene he helped create. The movie is not bad as a companion to it but you should really try and listen to the wonderful Palatine box set while you read: indeed, JoyDivision/new Order were only a very small part of why his record label was such a success back then. Tony Wilson regretfully passed away a few days ago but he has left a wonderful legacy that still lives on.