The Distractions played a small but significant part in the remarkable Factory Records story. The cataloguing system the label used highlights the role the band played in the nascent Factory Records. Like
FAC 1 and
FAC 3 before it,
FAC 4 was a poster designed by Peter
Saville, advertising gigs at the Russell Club in
Hulme, south of Manchester city centre.
FAC 4, which later appeared in
Face magazine, advertises some notable groups - Human League, Magazine, Undertones - in addition to The Distractions. Note the repeated misspelling of the club name and the incorrect address on all the posters! (Moss Side is another mile south of
Hulme).
... ..................FAC 1, FAC 4 and FAC 3. (c) Cerysmatic, Cerysmatic & Cerysmatic.
. The Russell Club was previously known as the
PSV Club, and was situated in a rather run-down part of town, including the infamous
Hulme Crescents. Thankfully these days
Hulme has been regenerated into a pleasant enough area, although Moss Side still awaits its turn.
............ ..................PSV / Russell Club, Royce Road, Hulme, (c) exhulme & atomicsoup.
Following the release of
FAC 5 (A Certain Ratio's
All Night Party),
FAC 6 (
OMD's Electricity) and
FAC 11 (X-O-
Dus's English Black Boys), The Distractions'
Time Goes By So Slow was Factory's fourth (and, in the humble
opinion of many, Factory's greatest) 7-inch single,
FAC 12. A bizarre but instantly memorable image of an ear-ringed female adorns both sides (the back a negative of the front) on Peter
Saville's sleeve. History has it that the original A-side was going to be
Pillow Fight, but at the last minute
Time Goes By So Slow was rightly made the A-side. This change may have lead to the unfortunate labelling mix-up which has, until now, always credited The Distractions' most famous song to
Perrin/
Finney when, of course, it was penned by Adrian Wright. Posters and magazine adverts promoting
FAC 12 were also produced, such as the one from
City Fun shown below.
......................................FAC 12 and advert from City Fun. (c) Manchester District Music Archive..
Another Factory poster featuring The Distractions is
FAC 15,
Zoo Meets Factory Half-way, that poorly attended festival with such a fantastic line-up.
.......................................................FAC 15.One of the strangest FAC catalogue numbers (and that's saying something - perhaps the weirdest of all FAC numbers is FAC 8, Linder's "Menstrual Egg Timer") is FAC 20. This is described as an unmade film which was to feature most of the 1980 Factory roster, but mainly A Certain Ratio and The Distractions attempting various forms of terrorism around Manchester, kidnapping Ian Curtis and blowing up Joy Division [1]. Why oh why wasn't this made!?
Not strictly a
FAC number, but referred to as
FAC 10 + 4, posters advertising
FAC 12 were based around the iconic artwork of FAC 10, Joy Division's
Unknown Pleasures, and arguably Factory's finest LP.
...................... .........................................FAC 10 + 4. (c) Cerysmatic...
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