Shadowplayers: The Rise and Fall of Factory Records
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Review
'Definitive and comprehensive, this is the actual story of Factory Records' --Peter Saville
'Shadowplayers offers a meticulously researched year-by-year account of the label's beginnings, its triumphs and eventual dissolution. Nice brings an encyclopaedic zeal to his recollections' - --Independent
'Such a rare thing - really interesting and immensely readable. I learned a lot' --Peter Hook
'A monument, a life's work and a practical instruction for all jobbing music biographers' --Record Collector
'This book is surely the definitive study of the chaotic, praxis-driven enterprise that was Factory Communications'
--Stephen Morris
'Shadowplayers is complete and thoroughly researched but still loaded with ridiculous yarns' --The Times
'Few people can rival his knowledge of the label's history ... James Nice is uniquely placed to write the definitive chronicle of Factory Records' --Simon Reynolds
'An extraordinary story, well told' --Word
'A triumph!' --Linder Sterling
'This remarkably comprehensive overview goes deep to illuminate the storied Manc label ... a very good way to immerse in Factory's strange and inspirational story'
--Q Magazine
'Shadowplayers offers a meticulously researched year-by-year account of the label's beginnings, its triumphs and eventual dissolution. Nice brings an encyclopaedic zeal to his recollections' - --Independent
'Such a rare thing - really interesting and immensely readable. I learned a lot' --Peter Hook
'A monument, a life's work and a practical instruction for all jobbing music biographers' --Record Collector
'This book is surely the definitive study of the chaotic, praxis-driven enterprise that was Factory Communications'
--Stephen Morris
'Shadowplayers is complete and thoroughly researched but still loaded with ridiculous yarns' --The Times
'Few people can rival his knowledge of the label's history ... James Nice is uniquely placed to write the definitive chronicle of Factory Records' --Simon Reynolds
'An extraordinary story, well told' --Word
'A triumph!' --Linder Sterling
'This remarkably comprehensive overview goes deep to illuminate the storied Manc label ... a very good way to immerse in Factory's strange and inspirational story'
--Q Magazine
Product Description
In 1978, a ‘Factory for Sale’ sign gave Alan Erasmus and Tony Wilson a name for their fledgling Manchester club night. Though they couldn’t have known it at the time, this was the launch of one of the most significant musical and cultural legacies of the late twentieth century. The club’s electrifying live scene soon translated to vinyl, and Factory Records went on to become the most innovative and celebrated record label of the next thirty years. Always breaking new musical ground, Factory introduced the listening public to bands such as Joy Division, whose Unknown Pleasures was the label’s first album release, New Order, Durutti Column and Happy Mondays. Propelled onwards by the inspirational cultural entrepreneur, Tony Wilson, Factory always sought new ways to energise the popular consciousness, such as the infamous Hacienda nightclub, which enjoyed a chequered 15-year history after opening in 1982. Factory’s reputation as a cultural hub was also bolstered by its fierce commitment to its own visual identity, achieved through the iconic sleeve designs and campaigning artwork of Peter Saville. However, the lofty reputation of Factory’s musical and artistic ventures were only sporadically converted into commercial success, and when London Records pulled out of a takeover bid in 1992 because of the absence of contracts, the fate of Factory Communications Ltd was sealed. But the label’s downfall has done nothing to quell interest in the Factory legend, as films such as 24-Hour Party People and Control attest. Yet despite this perennial interest, the definitive, authentic story of Factory Records has never been told – until now. Shadowplayers is the most complete, authoritative and thoroughly researched account of how a group of provincial anarchists and entrepreneurs saw off bankers, journalists and gun-toting gangsters to create the most influential record label of modern times. Based on both archive and contemporary sources, the book tells the full story of Factory’s heroic struggles, its complex web of inventive, idiosyncratic and tragic personalities, and ultimately, the acclaimed and much-loved music it produced.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
The definitive book on "the most culturally sophisticated label in the history of recorded sound". James Nice delivers the actual story of Factory; facts not myths. With a chapter for every year and two chapters for 1980 - bands, stories and connections previously overlooked are all featured. So often reduced to Joy Division, New Order, Happy Mondays and The Hacienda the story here is expanded so that The Wake warrant numerous entries in the index and The Durutti Column story is woven throughout the text and links to Belgian label Les Disques du Crepuscule are explored.Based on numerous author interviews the story from 1976 -1992 is comprehensively covered with no artist considered too small to have their part in the unfolding story portrayed.
The book may become darker and darker as the end approaches but you still leave it inspired by Factory's love of beauty and 'art over commerce' and wondering why people demand so little these days from their bands and labels.James Nice is never afraid to be objective and critical and consequently the love and admiration that the author obviously feels for the subject carries a lot of weight. When something is praised you know it is deserved.
Shadowplayers is the much needed literary equivalent to Matthew Robertson's Factory Records: The Complete Graphic Album and should be read by anyone with an interest in the musical landscape of the late seventies, eighties and early nineties and anyone intrigued by those who choose to take the path less travelled.
The book may become darker and darker as the end approaches but you still leave it inspired by Factory's love of beauty and 'art over commerce' and wondering why people demand so little these days from their bands and labels.James Nice is never afraid to be objective and critical and consequently the love and admiration that the author obviously feels for the subject carries a lot of weight. When something is praised you know it is deserved.
Shadowplayers is the much needed literary equivalent to Matthew Robertson's Factory Records: The Complete Graphic Album and should be read by anyone with an interest in the musical landscape of the late seventies, eighties and early nineties and anyone intrigued by those who choose to take the path less travelled.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Finally someone has written a real history of Factory Records that doesn't fall into the trap of unquestioningly re-hashing the myths. James Nice has produced a history of the Manchester label that gives a more substantial version of events than those previously published. Nice includes the part played by the 'lesser' lights among the Factory artists - Section 25, Stockholm Monsters, etc. - and isn't afraid to be critical of the decisions made by the company.
As a thorough and relatively academic work, 'Shadowplayers' offers a nice counterpoint to the entertaining, but one-dimensional version of events in 'Twenty Four Hour Party People' etc.
As a thorough and relatively academic work, 'Shadowplayers' offers a nice counterpoint to the entertaining, but one-dimensional version of events in 'Twenty Four Hour Party People' etc.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
This is a fantastic book. It's a chunky brick of a thing, encased in a shocking pink cover with tastefully embossed silver bits, but what matters is the content. And oh, what content.
The book tells the story of Factory Records from 1976 - when the Sex Pistols first played in Manchester and Tony Wilson and friends founded the Factory Club in Hulme - right through to its dissolution in 1992. It's a fascinating story, impeccably researched and wonderfully written, which concentrates on the facts rather than the anecdotes. The story is, in some ways, horrifying: a record company run with good intentions but no written contracts, and business decisions often made on personal prejudices (such as Wilson's insistence that Dry Bar should be opened in Manchester's then run-down Northern Quarter rather than close to the university on account of the fact that he disliked students) and gut feelings as opposed to market research.
The focus throughout is Factory rather than one particular aspect, so readers hoping for the detailed story of Joy Division, New Order or the Hacienda may be disappointed, but their stories are told excellently elsewhere. I recently read - and thoroughly enjoyed - Peter Hook's book about the Hacienda, and in some ways I see that book and this as companion volumes. In this book you'll find all Factory bands are covered almost equally, with plenty on the likes of Section 25 and The Durruti Column as well as New Order and Joy Division themselves, but as this book concentrates on the record company and its numerous spin-off projects they're almost characters rather than the story itself.
Towards the end when Factory begins to collapse the story darkens, and the end is always looming on the horizon. There's a feeling of inevitability, as Wilson's doggedness to continue with projects to their bitter end sees his company fall into oblivion, spending spiralling out of control, bands relied upon to shore up business ventures at the expense of their own salaries, and the mis-management is shockingly revealed. In some respects it reads almost like a thriller.
If any criticisms are to be made I'd have liked a few more pictures maybe - sometimes record covers are described as being beautiful or terrible, and a picture would have been good, but then again the internet is always at hand - and the few which are included are all in black and white, but they're sufficient. Also, I'd have liked maybe a catalogue of the FAC numbers, as several things are referred to initially by their name and number, then later just by their number, but this is just a niggle.
This is a superb biography of a sadly missed record label, and a reminder of how not to run a business. Buy and read this, and if you want to know more about the likes of the Hacienda or the bands you can then read other books.
Excellent.
The book tells the story of Factory Records from 1976 - when the Sex Pistols first played in Manchester and Tony Wilson and friends founded the Factory Club in Hulme - right through to its dissolution in 1992. It's a fascinating story, impeccably researched and wonderfully written, which concentrates on the facts rather than the anecdotes. The story is, in some ways, horrifying: a record company run with good intentions but no written contracts, and business decisions often made on personal prejudices (such as Wilson's insistence that Dry Bar should be opened in Manchester's then run-down Northern Quarter rather than close to the university on account of the fact that he disliked students) and gut feelings as opposed to market research.
The focus throughout is Factory rather than one particular aspect, so readers hoping for the detailed story of Joy Division, New Order or the Hacienda may be disappointed, but their stories are told excellently elsewhere. I recently read - and thoroughly enjoyed - Peter Hook's book about the Hacienda, and in some ways I see that book and this as companion volumes. In this book you'll find all Factory bands are covered almost equally, with plenty on the likes of Section 25 and The Durruti Column as well as New Order and Joy Division themselves, but as this book concentrates on the record company and its numerous spin-off projects they're almost characters rather than the story itself.
Towards the end when Factory begins to collapse the story darkens, and the end is always looming on the horizon. There's a feeling of inevitability, as Wilson's doggedness to continue with projects to their bitter end sees his company fall into oblivion, spending spiralling out of control, bands relied upon to shore up business ventures at the expense of their own salaries, and the mis-management is shockingly revealed. In some respects it reads almost like a thriller.
If any criticisms are to be made I'd have liked a few more pictures maybe - sometimes record covers are described as being beautiful or terrible, and a picture would have been good, but then again the internet is always at hand - and the few which are included are all in black and white, but they're sufficient. Also, I'd have liked maybe a catalogue of the FAC numbers, as several things are referred to initially by their name and number, then later just by their number, but this is just a niggle.
This is a superb biography of a sadly missed record label, and a reminder of how not to run a business. Buy and read this, and if you want to know more about the likes of the Hacienda or the bands you can then read other books.
Excellent.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Brill buy!
My husband hasn't put this down! One of the best chrissie presses he got I think! He is totally engrossed!
Fab read if you remember this era fondly!
Fab read if you remember this era fondly!
Published 4 months ago by Bstr
Too good to be forgotten
An absolutely exhaustive piece of work by someone who never lets sentiment get in the way of digging out the warts and all facts behind the FACs! Read more
Published 16 months ago by Mr. Simon J. Barratt
Factual: 546 pages by Factory Records' unofficial curator
Balanced, well-paced, candid. If you've ever read the liner notes of any LTM Records (the author's own label) releases then you'll know exactly what to expect from this - and you... Read more
Published 20 months ago by Colin Mccartney
Finally a Factory book not solely about JD, NO and HM
There's been many books released on Factory and its many bands. However, none come anywhere close to the quality of this one. Read more
Published 21 months ago by Nigel Bate
Factory - A key period in music
If you were like me in the late '70's early '80's music was key in your personnel life. It was the Thatcher years and times were very tough. Read more
Published 22 months ago by Brian Kendrick
The real deal
No need to harp on about this - it is the book which was waiting to be written (much as I love the last Morley one) and it should be read while listening to the various... Read more
Published 22 months ago by Mr. Neil Horner
Blow up and spill it all out
Extraordinary rigour and thoroughness. He covers everything, and with about equal weight, so that you learn as much about Section 25 and Kevin Hewick as you do about Happy Mondays,... Read more
Published 22 months ago by Roman Totale
The definitive label biography
Comparable in scope to David Cavanagh's Creation Records biog My Magpie Eyes Are On The Prize, Shadowplayers is a major work that is the ideal companion to the DVD of the same... Read more
Published 23 months ago by CA James
Exhaustive but never tiring
I found Shadowplayers the most definitive story of Factory Records told so far. It begins with the death of Tony Wilson in 2007 and goes on to explore the 14 year history of the... Read more
Published 24 months ago by Anna E P
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