Since 1978 The Durutti Column, Reilly’s vehicle for his atmospheric reveries, have been setting out their own space in the musical landscape, releasing a dazzling number of albums, EPs and compilations.
Advertisements Early line-ups In 1978 and, later to become partners in, built a band around the remnants of local band Fast Breeder: drummer and guitarist; calling the then incomplete group as The Durutti Column. On 25 January, former guitarist for local band, joined the band, being followed on vocals, some weeks later. Finally, at the end of February, formerly of, joined on bass.
The line-up was completed, but only for short time, as Rainford was sacked in July, being replaced by, who also became one of the songwriters of the band. Rainford later went to produce for and Suns Of Arqa. The band played at the Factory club (organised by their managers), and recorded two pieces for the first Factory Records release, the compilation (a double 7' also featuring, and ). Just prior to recording a debut album, the group broke up after a dispute about Wilson and Erasmus's choice of producer,. Reilly was the only member who remained, while Rowbotham, Bowers and Joyce went on to form, the latter two becoming members of some years later, and Sharp apparently quit music, dedicating himself to acting. The Durutti Column effectively became Reilly's solo project from then on; drummer Bruce Mitchell and other musicians have occasionally contributed to recordings and live performances, and Mitchell and Wilson managed the group throughout their career on Factory and for many years afterwards.
The band's name is derived from a misspelling of the name, who led a column of anarchists during the (the ). A 1967 poster included the phrase 'The Return of the Durutti Column', which eventually became the title of the group's first album. 1979-1990: Factory Records The first album, The Return of the Durutti Column (1980), was a collaboration between Reilly and producer. Initial copies featured a sleeve made of (assembled by various Factory associates, including — according to Wilson — ). This, like the title of the record, was inspired by a Situationist joke, a book — 's — with a sandpaper cover to destroy other books on the shelf. The music was unlike anything else being recorded by post-punk acts at the time; although Reilly identified himself as a ' artist, the record contained nine gentle guitar instrumentals (later releases occasionally feature Reilly's soft and hesitant vocals). The music included elements from,.
Hannett's production included the addition of electronic rhythm and other effects, including birdsong on 'Sketch for Summer'. The album was accompanied by a flexidisc with two tracks by Hannett alone. LC (1981) LC (', Italian for 'continuous struggle') was released in 1981. It was recorded without Hannett, but introduced percussionist Bruce Mitchell, Reilly's most frequent musical partner and occasional manager. The EP Deux Triangles, released in 1982, contained three piano instrumentals with minimal backing and no guitars. Another Setting (1983) was also just Reilly and Mitchell, but in 1984 the band was expanded with the addition of on, Maunagh Fleming on and, Blaine Reininger (of ) on and, Mervyn Fletcher on, on and on.
The album Without Mercy, arranged by, was intended as an instrumental evocation of the poem La Belle Dame sans Merci. Kellett and Metcalfe remained as members of the band (Metcalfe playing viola); they appear alongside Reilly and Mitchell on Circuses and Bread (released by Factory Benelux in 1985) and Domo Arigato, a live album that was recorded in and was the first pop album to be released in the UK solely on the relatively new format. Kellett left to join, but has a guest appearance on The Guitar and Other Machines (1987), the first UK album to be released on the unsuccessful format (as well as the more usual, and CD). The Guitar and Other Machines has a far more direct sound than earlier records, with guest vocals from Stanton Miranda and Reilly's then partner, Pol, and the use of a and in addition to Mitchell's drumming.
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The album was produced by, who also produced 's solo album, (1988), on which Reilly played guitar. Vini Reilly (1989), also produced by Reilly and Street, features extensive use of, with looped samples of vocalists (including, and ) used as the basis for several tracks. Initial copies came with a 7' or CD single, 'I Know Very Well How I Got My Note Wrong', credited to 'Vincent Gerard and Steven Patrick', in which a take of the Morrissey B-side 'I Know Very Well How I Got My Name' dissolves into laughter after Reilly hits a wrong note. On Obey the Time (1990) Mitchell played on only one track, the album being otherwise a solo recording by Reilly, heavily influenced.
An accompanying single, 'The Together Mix', featured two reworkings of album tracks by Jonathon Donaghy and Suddi Raval (Donaghy was killed in a car crash in before the single was released). This was to be the last Durutti Column record released by Factory, in early 1991. 1990 onwards: after Factory For the first few years after the demise of Factory, the only Durutti Column album releases were Lips That Would Kiss (a 1991 collection of early singles, compilation contributions and unreleased material on the separate label Factory Benelux), and Dry (1991) and Red Shoes (1992), Italian collections of alternate versions and unreleased outtakes.
Former member was killed by an axe murderer in 1991. He was later memorialized by the in the song 'Cowboy Dave.' In 1993 Tony Wilson attempted to revive Factory Records, and Sex and Death was the first release on (a subdivision of ). The album was once again produced by Stephen Street, with Mitchell and Metcalfe, and it included, on the track 'The Next Time', of. Time Was Gigantic. When We Were Kids, which followed in 1998, was produced by Keir Stewart, who also played on the album and has frequently worked with Reilly since. Fidelity was released between these albums in 1996 by and was produced by Laurie Laptop.
The eight albums recorded for Factory ( The Return of the Durutti Column, LC, Another Setting, Without Mercy, Domo Arigato, The Guitar and Other Machines, Vini Reilly and Obey the Time) were re-released with additional material by Factory Too/London, under the banner Factory Once, between 1996 and 1998. Factory Too effectively ended in 1998, and subsequent Durutti Column albums have been on independent labels Artful Records ( Rebellion 2001, Someone Else's Party 2003, Keep Breathing 2006, Idiot Savants 2007) or Kookydisc ( Tempus Fugit 2004, Sunlight to Blue. Blue to Blackness 2008). Kookydisc has also released two further volumes of The Sporadic Recordings (along with a slightly edited re-release of the first volume from 1989), remastered versions of two very scarce LPs from the early 1980s ( Live At The Venue 2004 and Amigos Em Portugal 2005), and two subscription-club discs of rare and unreleased material.
A download-only release, Heaven Sent (It Was Called Digital, It Was Heaven Sent), first appeared in 2005 via Wilson's project F4, which was marketed as the fourth version of Factory Records. In September 2009, Colin Sharp, who, after being lead vocalist of the band, dedicated to acting, teaching and writing (being the author of record producer Martin Hannett's biography Who Killed Martin Hannett?: The Story of Factory Records’ Musical Magician) died after a brain haemorrhage. Audience The film shows playing to an empty (58:30 on the DVD). On the, however, makes it clear that this is a 'bit unfair' because Vini had a 'real audience': 'you can take him to Portugal and you get two thousand people, you can take him to Paris and you get eight hundred people, and in Manchester you get five or six hundred'. Discography Chart placings shown are from the.
Secondary Recordings. Short Stories for Pauline (FBN36) - Despite being given a catalogue number, this album was not released. The tracks are now shared between the 'Lips That Would Kiss' compilation and the LTM reissue of Circuses and Bread. The Sporadic Recordings (TTTTTTTTT CD, 1989 - demos and unreleased material - credited to Vini Reilly, not DC). Dry (Materiali Sonori, 1991 - collection of previously unreleased mid and late 80's material). Red Shoes (Materiali Sonori, 1992 - collection of previously unreleased mid 80's material and Greetings Three EP).
Return of the Sporadic Recordings (Kooky, 2002 - double CD - reissue of above 1989 Sporadic title with new disc of previously unreleased material). Sporadic Three (Kooky, 2007 - another CD release of rare and previously unreleased material).
Live Recordings. Live At The Venue (VU, 1983 - recorded in the UK, 1983 - original vinyl ltd.
To 4000 copies - reissued on CD in 2004). Domo Arigato (live) (Factory FACT 144, 1985 - recorded in Japan 4/85 - the first pop compact-disc only release).
One Night In New York (US ROIR - cassette only release in 1987, CD issued in 1993 - CD reissue in 1999 re-titled 'A Night In New York' with bonus track but mistakes in track listing). Live in Bruxelles 13 August 1981 (LTM CD 2008, including radio interview with Vini Reilly). Compilations.
Valuable Passages (Factory FACT 164 UK/Relativity US, 1986 - double LP, single CD). The First Four Albums (Factory, 1988 - 4 CD set of Return Of, LC, Another Setting and Without Mercy/Say What You Mean.
For most people the punk period of the late Seventies in Britain was an exciting – but short – time. As Mark E Smith of the Fall put it bluntly in his memoir-cum-rant Renegade: The Lives and Tales of Mark E Smith in 2008: “I've never aligned myself to the whole punk thing. To me, punk is and was a quick statement. That's why most of the main players couldn't handle the fall-out of it all. “They were like a bunch of shell-shocked army majors stuck in time, endlessly repeating their once-successful war cries. “Nothing wrong with that, I suppose, but I wanted something with a bit more longevity.
“When you're dealing in slogans like the Clash and the Pistols it's hard to keep that shit fresh.” True enough in some ways – the Clash certainly managed to extend the contract of punk for a while however – but the most exciting music came in the post-punk era after the doors had been broken down, the DIY ethos took hold and non-musicians or those with little musical training but a lot of ideas wrestled control back from isolated, private-plane rock stars as well as prog-rock bombast and pretension. And of course musicians with very different visions came through.
Suddenly the Eighties in Britain was awash with innovative bands – whether you liked what they did or not – such as A Certain Ratio, the Associates, the Slits. And the Durutti Column. The Durutti Column – taken from a misspelling of the name of the militant Spanish anarchist Buenaventura Durruti who was active in the years before the Spanish Civil War – was the project of guitarist Vini Reilly out of Manchester and were the first signing by Tony Wilson for his fledgling Factory Records.
In some form or other Reilly is still going today and the Durutti Column discography is expansive. As with Tom Verlaine of Television, Reilly has a distinctive style and he owes nothing at all to the sound of angry punk. In fact his fluid, elusive, melodic guitar instrumentals – often elegant, owing more to minimalism and folk than maximal punk and pop – were as light as a spider's web, as fresh as air. Even when he dug in deeper his audience was probably closer to prog listeners than his phlegmatic peers. As Simon Reynolds observed in Rip It Up And Start Again, “The military allusion of the group's name bestowed on them by Factory boss Wilson could hardly have been more incongruous for Reilly's fragile music – intricate skeins of guitar fed through an echoplex and always played with the fingertips, delicate and prismatic, like Jack Frost on a window pane. “Far from being a soldier, Reilly had gone AWOL from normal life. He suffered from anorexia nervosa and his music sounded as translucent as you'd expect from someone with almost no flesh.
“On the second Durutti Column album, 1981's LC, Reilly recorded a tribute to Ian Curtis but the song Missing Boy could just as easily have been about himself.” In many ways, Reilly was a product of the post-punk era but owed nothing to any of it. He was a council estate kid but was a musical prodigy, he knew classical music but was schooled in melodic pop music. Smith again: “Karl Burns was the Fall drummer in a group with Vini Reilly out of Durutti Column – it was like Vini's secret life. He never used to play clubs but on the sly he and his band would play all the hits from the Who and the Stones and the Beatles in pubs.” Although it is that second Durutti Column album LC which garners most attention – Brian Eno on record saying it is his favourite album, which gives you a reference point – the story began with the delightful debut The Return of the Durutti Column in 1980, the album which came in a cover made of sandpaper designed to destroy any album shoved alongside it on a shelf.
Because it was reflective, extraordinarily layered guitar music it would probably appeal more to people who listened to the likes of than fans of 's Nobody's Heroes released the same month. It comes as no surprise to learn that Reilly played folk clubs around Manchester in the years before punk. It was a measure of how rapidly post-punk artists came through that also in the first few months of 1980 were debut albums by Orchestral Manoeuvers in the Dark, and. None of whom had anything in common with each other let alone Durutti Column. Perhaps the only album around that time which had some kind of kinship with Reilly's vision was Robert Fripp's improvised guitar textures and loops on God Save the Queen/Under Heavy Manner. But even that is a stretch. The Return of the Durutti Column exists in its own space as an album of quietly hypnotic guitar pieces with supportive drums and bass (by Toby Toman and Pete Crooks).
It was produced by Martin Hannett and the original album had just nine tracks (all instrumentals) but an expanded version later added two more (both synth experiments by Hannett which are somewhat jarring in the context). Spotify pushes the listing out even further to a total of 15 pieces with Lips That Wouldn't Kiss (apparently about 's Ian Curtis who committed suicide four months after the album's initial release), and Sleep will Come (“peace will come and with it sleep”) with distant vocals by Jeremy Kerr of labelmates A Certain Ratio. Reilly, no stranger to depression himself and close to Curtis, later said that barbiturates – which Curtis was taking – changed personalities: “You lose sense of reality.
That's what happened and he got further and further out, and so far out he couldn't come back”. The seminal LC of late the following year – which includes that other tribute to Curtis on The Missing Boy – is very much Reilly's vision: he plays all the instruments (aside from percussion by Bruce Mitchell who has been with him ever since) and also sang in a few places.
At times his production nods towards Hannett's work with Joy Division, a melodic bass high in the mix. You can understand why might love it, it is the kind of innovative non-pop pop he had explored on albums like Here Come the Warm Jets, Taking Tiger Mountain By Strategy and Another Green World in the early Seventies (check the two part Sketch for Dawn) alongside Reilly's typically dextrous, folk-framed but probing guitar work (the bouncy Jaqueline, just one of many pieces named for a woman).
Reilly brought in subtle synth beats (Never Known) and the whole album is steeped in mystery and dreamlike ambience. Again the 10 track original was expanded by CD reissue (a whopping 31 pieces across two discs which includes pieces from compilation albums and demos) but currently Spotify has a more modest 16 track version.
It is a timeless album because it is not locked in the period of its creation, and in that Reilly really was a man out of time going his own way to critical acclaim but little by way of sales returns. If there is a reason at all for writing about Vini Reilly at this time – he is 64, had minor strokes eight years ago but is working again – it is that on Record Store Day this year Factory Benelux reissued Durutti Column's third album Another Setting as a limited edition (800 copies) double vinyl. One disc is the original album and the second is eight live versions of material from LC and other sources, and closing with a version of the Hoagy Carmichael standard I Get Along Without You Very Well (awful, a tuneless vocal by Lindsay Reade). Spotify has the original album with a slightly different running order and a few other tracks not on the CD or RSD reissues. By this time Reilly – again playing everything, aside from percussionist Mitchell and guests on trumpet and cor anglais – seemed like he was leaving even his own past behind. The opener Prayer is indeed a holy piece like the soundtrack to a melancholy Elizabethan-era drama; the 90 second Response afterwards is Glass/Reich-influenced pop minimalism (as befits the album cover art by Jackie Williams) But in fact the album increasingly trod familiar ground and pieces which should have leapt out (like For a Western which gently alluded to Ennio Morricone) or sounded fresher (the spooky Smile in the Crowd) just came off as flaccid and lifeless. There are still moments of beauty and engagement but Another Setting might just refer to the recording location rather than a different musical compass.
It was recorded in an expensive studio, Strawberry Studios (“Vini will promise anything to get into a studio,” said percussionist Mitchell in 2009, his comment reproduced in the brief liner notes on the vinyl edition) but Reilly and the co-producer Chris Nagel didn't hit it off. In retrospect Reilly was quite dismissive of Nagel and the album: “The combination was not a good one and it really killed the album. None of the reverbs were correct and it didn't sing. The guitar didn't sound good. Nothing sounded good. The entire album sounded very flat and I was incredibly disappointed with it.
Tony Wilson was also.” In '98 Wilson said of it, “Another Setting, while providing some of the DC standards that Vin would be playing a decade later, merely trod the same ground as LC and took nothing forward. If in doubt, repeat yourself. It was time for a change.” That change was a shove towards a contemporary classical style (as hinted at by the elegiacal Prayer) and with players on strings and horns, and he was back at Strawberry without Nagel but with Wilson as a co-producer for the acclaimed and commercially successful Without Mercy. In a cover with a painting by Matisse and taking it's title from Keats' poem La Belle Dame Sans Merci, Without Mercy is a two-part suite and perhaps the most approachable and romantic of the early Durutti Column albums. It possess a surface beauty and although constrained and far from the innovative early albums, its use of gently repeating motifs bring it to a midpoint between ambient and quasi-classical MOR.
It went top 10 on the UK indie charts on release and got some decent notices. Reilly hated it (he once referred to it as Without Merit) and said it was more Wilson's idea than his. But with it he at least staked out even wider territory which from time to time he could return to, and it probably allowed him to pay for the home studio where he could subsequently record at leisure. Although he has been no stranger to bouts of financial hardship, especially after his series of strokes when fans rallied round to raise money so he could pay off debts like his rent. He apparently lost just about everything when Factory Records went belly-up in the early Nineties.
Vini Reilly has been one of the most prolific, sometimes idiosyncratic musicians out of Manchester (check the acid house-influenced Obey the Name of 1990), one who created his own pigeonhole. He played guitar and keyboards on Morrissey's first solo album Viva Hate, has recorded with dozen of British artists, delivered a tribute album to Wilson after his death in 2007 and in an article in the Guardian in 2011 – which cited Red Hot Chili Peppers' John Frusciante calling Reilly a genius - the writer Dave Simpson hailed him under the heading: Hendrix, Page, Townshend. And Vini Reilly. He wrote, “for most people, he remains the greatest guitarist you never heard of”. He probably still is. Start at the start, it's a long and interesting journey to now.