Message #161516

[Therion]

Factory Records

Taking the Industrial Revolution as its model, Factory Records played upon Manchester's traditions, invoking at once apparently incongruous images of the industrial north and the glamorous pop art world of Andy Warhol. While labelmates A Certain Ratio and The Durutti Column each forged their own sound, it was Factory's Joy Division who somehow managed to grimly define what exactly it was to be a Mancunian as the 70s drew to an end. At the same time, and out of the same post punk energy, emerged Mark E. Smith's groundbreaking group The Fall, who would become one of the most inventive, original and prolific groups of the next three decades. New Order rose from the ashes of Joy Division combining rock, pop, and dance music to earn much critical acclaim while selling millions of records. The group that would ultimately become the definitive Manchester group of the 80s was The Smiths, led by Morrissey and Marr. With songs like 'Rusholme Ruffians' and 'Suffer Little Children', Morrissey sang explicitly about Manchester, creating songs that are as iconic of Manchester as the paintings of L.S.Lowry.