Product Description

Factory Records' reputation and fortune were founded on two bands - Joy Division and New Order - and one single-minded and stubborn personality: its media friendly company director Anthony H. Wilson. At the height of its success in the late 1980s, the company reigned over the Manchester rave scene. ran its own club, the Hacienda, and had a string of hit records around the world. By 1992 the back catalogue had been sold off, New Order and Happy Mondays were in disarray, and the Hacienda was shut down by the police. Since then the story of Factory Records has become the stuff of myth and legend. A major new British film, Twenty-Four Hour Party People, revisits the heyday of the Hacienda, and stars Steve Coogan as Anthony H. Wilson alongside many of the artists and personalities who were around at the time. From Joy Division to New Order, acclaimed on its original publication in 1996, tells the real story of Factory's spectacular history. Drawing on exclusive interviews with the major players, Mick Middles provides a timely and fascinating look at the unique personalities and messy reality behind one of the UK's most influential and (at one time) commercially successful independent record companies.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #162453 in Books
• Published on: 2002-03-07
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 320 pages

Review
'A fascinating account... This contradictory melting pot of arch freakishness and local machismo is richly detailed' Q 'Informed and informative... a smart, well researched view of the Manchester music scene' Maxim

Customer Reviews

in depth view of Manchesters coolest label
Call him a genius call him an evil genius whatever your view of Tony Wilson Genius should figure. This book with its recently added Tony friendly subtitle is an obvious cash in to the highly anticipated 24 hour party people movie but it guides you through the birth of Joy Division the untimely death of Ian Curtis and the majesty of new order. The text is a little out of date, a few pages of whats happened since the book first surfaced would be nice (at the very least the fact that New Order manager Rob Gretton is sadly no longer with us) but its a book that will fill in a few gaps for the fan and de-film-ise the shortcuts taken to bring 24 hour party people to the screens.

Flawed
This book was a dissapointment for me, it is as thorough a book on Factory as you will find but left me somewhat critical of Mick Middles more than anything. His style of writing agitated me no end with useless romantic imagery, repetition and rhetoric: Middles wants you to know all about how close he was to New Order, Wilson et al, I don't. A facsinating read, I just felt it could have been a hundred pages shorter and just as informative. let's hope he revises it soon.