In honor of the much-talked about Joy Division/Mickey Mouse shirt that hit the blogs a few days ago, Factory is this week’s featured label.
Factory Records was founded in 1978 by Tony Wilson and Alan Erasmus. Working for Granada TV in the mid-seventies, Wilson was one of the first to endorse and promote the emerging Punk scene on English television.
The Jam featured on Tony Wilson’s show, So It Goes.
Over the course of nearly three decades, Factory was home to a number of cult artists. Today, the label is most famously remembered for putting out three bands from Manchester: Joy Division, New Order, and The Happy Mondays.
Joy Division “Love Will Tear Us Apart”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AI10KXw2jzo&feature=related
New Order “Bizarre Love Triangle”
Happy Mondays “Step On”
The full Factory story is far too long to tell here (Martin Hannett, Peter Seville, and The Hacienda are stories in themselves), but if you’ve got a little time to kick back, check out this great documentary about the label:
– Submitted by Justin Main, Music Design