Who Killed Martin Hannett?: The Story of Factory Records' Musical Magician [Paperback]

Its a pity this excellent memoir has been saddled with a rather misleading title, tho' I suspect its the doing of the publisher rather than the author. The story doesn't need "sexing up" with a bogus Kurt Cobain type mystery. The answer to the title of the book is very simple. Martin Hannett didn't look after himself, alienated anyone who might have helped him, & drank & drugged himself way past the point where he could handle it. The chapter which tries to recreate a version of his death is one of the few times the book doesn't ring true, with its over-symbolic cascade of Factory memorabilia falling on to the expiring Martin Hannett.

Colin Sharp (CS) was a close friend of Martin Hannett (MH) & this is the perspective the book is written from, not musical historian or Paul Morley-type theorizing. Sure, its easy to quibble abt how exactly conversations - let alone thoughts - can be recalled/recreated many years later. The main thing, tho', is that Colin Sharp was right there when these events went down & altho' some parts work better than others, the whole story feels very authentic, with well-drawn characters & perceptive evocation of detail. Scenes of MH living the high life or desperate winter drug searches are equally well told.

MH's reputation is based mostly on his earlier productions. When you listen to the Buzzcocks' "Boredom" - as I am right now - you feel like forgiving MH anything. Or listen to the development between the thrashy noise of early Warsaw/Joy Division & the extraordinary sounds on "Closer" & "Unknown Pleasures".

His relationship with Joy Division illustrates MH's glory days & the beginnings of his decline. When he was on top of things, he could live up to his view of himself as a kind of punk Phil Spector - but this could easily tip over into abrasive arrogance. MH's description of Joy Division as "1 genius & 3 Manchester United supporters" had me laughing out loud, but its hardly the stuff of ongoing creative relationships. Indeed, Peter Hook & Bernard Sumner are morose & grudging in what recognition they are prepared to give MH, feeling that he was increasingly (& deliberately) more difficult to work with as Factory's sales & reputation grew. You can be a crazed genius as long as the hits are coming in, but its a hard act to sustain.

Just as New Order lament to this day to anyone who'll listen abt how all their hard work & hard cash were swallowed up by the bottomless pit of the Hacienda, so MH became disillusioned with the path Factory took. having been 1 of the founders of the label with Tony Wilson, Alan Erasmus & Peter Saville, MH felt (not unreasonably) that there should be ongoing investments in studios & recording equipment (MH might have been out of it most of the time, but never lost his obsession for cutting edge audio hardware), and never bought into Tony Wilson's grand vision. This led to further personal & professional isolation, & ultimately MH's freefall years.

Increasingly the drugs that had been MH's inspiration (mainly smack & speed) became an ever-increasing handicap, demanding a gramme of coke before he'd even consider starting a session. He was drinking way too much too. Originally drugs had freed & inspired him to explore the limits of sound, imagination & equipment. The success of these efforts seemed to validate him. But its a subtle & dangerous line to cross- great work has been done while wrecked, but when MH (or anyone else) starts to go on from that point to believing that he can't work unless he's out of it, or even more out of it ... it does indeed lead to "A Lonely Place".
Colin Sharp starts out sharing MH's habits & enthusiasms, but where MH felt it was too late to stop (& probably didn't want to, anyway), he quietly lets his own story unfold in the background. There's an excellent chapter on his audition/recording with Durutti Column, where you can practically taste the sulphate backdrop. CS survives a nightmare drugbuddy 1st marriage, moves from music to acting, and survives to recount a well-told & perceptive story.

Like 1 of the other reviewers, I'm not too sure abt CS' claims for MH's ongoing influence & significance. Sure, everyone wants to name-drop Joy Division now(the Killers?!) & "Control" will add to the process - and of course, MH did specialize in the loud/quiet, fast/slow dynamics so beloved of the grunge scene. Equally, he was unable to adapt to the seismic shifts of the music scene in the late 80's, & ended up in nightmarish dead-ends like trying to produce the Only Ones or Nico. But listening to the material of his that MH himself liked best, such as John Cooper Clarke/Invisible Girls, its more evocative of a very particular time, place & space - and I think thats the best way to remember him: the man who made the Factory sound.

Being a fan of all things factory, I was most excited to find out that finally, someone had written a book about the legend that was Martin Hannett.

It's a shame however, that the task was undertaken by Colin Sharp.

Through out `Who Killed Martin Hannett', Sharp's tone is uncertain, clichéd and occasionally factually incorrect. Overall, its' tone is one of a man at the bar saying `Martin Hannett, I was there you know'

And true, Sharp was there. Right on the end of the pioneering producers comments as lead singer with an early incarnation of Durutti Column and right on the end of a ten pound note chasing heroin with him. A friendship evolved, as recounted by this book. But unfortunately, there's too much concentration on personal opiate adventures that it occasionally feels like you're reading trainspotting.

A shame, because Sharp's mixture of factual recounting and storytelling is an interesting one. The problem lies in that there are already too many stories about Martin Hannett and this book does little to clarify if any of them are true or not. Aside from personal recollections, there is too much `We can probably imagine' and `it probably went like this' after a chapter or two for me to take any of the book's regaling with any degree of belief.

There are a few quotes here and there from people who professionally crossed Martin Hannett's path over the years, but not enough to explain what made Hannett the groundbreaking producer he was. Some more in depth interviews with the bands, the studio personnel and record company execs would have helped this book immensely; if this has been carried out, it's been red penned for the final copy. Additionally, I'm uncertain of some of the arguments such as `Nirvana...Stone Temple Pilots...all of whom acknowledge a debt to the Martin Hannett produced sound of Joy Division', leaving me asking myself `why' as there's nothing so far or forthcoming to suggest this.

I emerge feeling I know a little more, but mainly, know little more about Martin Hannett, in addition to what's already been written about him in the various books on factory, Joy Division and post punk. As Tony Wilson's quote on the back cover says, `The book on the magician is well overdue'. Unfortunately, it still is.

I read` Who killed Martin Hannet` by Colin Sharp in one sitting. It is indeed a hip snorting yarn. I am not one to pore over the music press. If I want to read a good book it will be by the likes of John Le Carre or Dostoevsky. It has to be entertaining and it has to make me feel good. After all there is no shortage of books in the world. So why read a depressing or boring book?

Sharps book is highly personal, even more so than the famous gonzo journalism of Hunter Thompson. It reads with the same fierce pace as the best fiction. The depiction of drug abuse in Manchester contrasts Thompson's in Las Vegas. It does not contain, for instance, macho lists of drugs. Frankly who gives a toss whether Thompson's heroes are gobbling `ether` or `datura` or not. Sharp presents the unpleasantness of drug abuse, the searching for residual functioning veins etc but in a strangely homely and pleasant atmosphere of tea and muffin-you might say `love`. This atmosphere of heroin and teacakes has a sinister edge and a real ring of truth.

His prose sparkles with aphorisms and a spare use of memorable and witty metaphors. The funeral attendees as `death watch beetles'. I like that. How many of these half human half insects are there in the world? A lot I think! I particularly like Sharp's chapter endings which always entice you into the next chapter. My favorite parts of the book are those were he allows himself most freedom with facts, as in the imaginary meeting between Hannet and the author's girlfriend. You do not need any interest in the Mr Hannet to enjoy this book. This book is definitely a lot of fun in its own right, and I look forward to the next.
Paul Miskin 17 01 2008