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The Durutti Column

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The Durutti Column is the ongoing band project of guitarist (and occasional pianist) Vini Reilly (born in Didsbury, Greater Manchester, August 1953), often accompanied by drummer Bruce Mitchell.

Contents

Early history

In 1978 Tony Wilson and Alan Erasmus, later to become partners in Factory Records, built a band around the remnants of Fast Breeder: drummer Chris Joyce and guitarist Dave Rowbotham. Within days they added Reilly, guitarist for Manchester punk band Ed Banger and The Nosebleeds, as well as vocalist Phil Rainford, keyboardist Stephen Hopkins and bassist Tony Bowers.

The band played at the Factory club (organised by their managers), and recorded two pieces for the first Factory Records release, the compilation A Factory Sample (a double 7" also featuring Joy Division, John Dowie and Cabaret Voltaire). Just prior to recording a debut album, the group broke up after a dispute about Wilson and Erasmus's choice of producer, Martin Hannett. Most of the other members apart from Reilly went on to form The Mothmen, and Joyce and Bowers later became members of Simply Red.

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 Buenaventura Durruti, who led a column of anarchists during the Spanish Civil War (The Durruti Column). A 1967 Situationist International 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 Martin Hannett. Initial copies featured a sleeve made of sandpaper (assembled by various Factory associates, including Joy Division [link]). This, like the name of the record, was inspired by a situationist joke, a book 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 "new wave" artist [link], the record contained nine gentle guitar instrumentals (later releases would occasionally feature Reilly's soft and hesitant vocals). The music included elements from jazz, folk, classical music and rock. Hannett's production included the addition of electronic rhythm and other effects, including birdsong sounds on "Sketch for Summer". The album was accompanied by a flexidisc with two tracks by Hannett alone.

1981's LC ("La Lotta Continua", Italian for "the struggle continues") was recorded without Hannett, but introduced percussionist Bruce Mitchell, Reilly's most frequent musical partner and occasional manager. Another Setting (1983) was also just Reilly and Mitchell, but in 1984 the band was expanded with the addition of Richard Henry on trombone, Maunagh Fleming on cor anglais and oboe, Blaine Reininger on violin and viola, Mervyn Fletcher on saxophone, Caroline Lavelle on cello and Tim Kellett on trumpet. The album Without Mercy was arranged by John Metcalfe, and was an instrumental evocation of the poem [[La Belle Dame sans Merci: A Ballad|La Belle Dame sans Merci]] by John Keats.

Kellett and Metcalfe remained as members of the band (Metcalfe playing viola), and appear alongside Reilly and Mitchell on 1985's Circuses and Bread (released on Factory Benelux), and Domo Arigato, a live album recorded in Tokyo. This was the first pop album to be released in the UK solely on the relatively new compact disc format.

Kellett left to join Simply Red, but has a guest appearance on The Guitar and Other Machines (1987), the first UK album to be released on the unsuccessful Digital Audio Tape format (as well as the more usual LP, audio cassette 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 sequencer and drum machine in addition to Mitchell's drumming. The album was produced by Stephen Street, who also produced Morrissey's 1989 solo album, Viva Hate. Reilly's distinctive guitar was a major feature of Morrissey's album and the accompanying singles.

Vini Reilly (1989), also produced by Reilly and Street, features extensive use of sampling, with looped samples of vocalists (including Otis Redding, Tracy Chapman, Annie Lennox and Joan Sutherland) 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 a Morrissey B-side dissolves into laughter after Reilly hits a wrong note.

1990's Obey the Time was a shock to many fans. Mitchell played on only one track, the album being otherwise a solo recording by Reilly, and heavily influenced by contemporary dance music. 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 Ibiza prior to the single's release. It 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, on the separate label Factory Benelux), and Dry (1991) and Red Shoes (1992), Italian collections of alternate versions and unreleased outtakes.

Tragically, former member Dave Rowbotham was killed by an axe murderer in 1991. He was later memorialized by the Happy Mondays in the song "Cowboy Dave."

In 1993, Wilson attempted to revive Factory Records, and Sex and Death was the first release on Factory Too (a subdivision of London Records). The album was once again produced by Steven Street, with Mitchell and Metcalfe and on one track Peter Hook of New Order. Time Was Gigantic... When We Were Kids followed in 1998 and 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 Les Disques du Crepuscule 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 rereleased by Factory Too/London between 1996 and 1998, with additional material added to each release.

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)) or Kookydisc (Tempus Fugit (2004)). Kookydisc has also released an expanded version of The Sporadic Recordings (2002), a 1989 limited-edition collection of miscellaneous recordings, and a remastered Amigos Em Portugal (2005), another limited-edition album recorded and originally released in 1983 by a Portuguese label. A download-only release Heaven Sent (It Was Called Digital, It Was Heaven Sent) first appeared via Wilson's new project F4 in 2005, which is marketed as the fourth version of Factory Records.

Other recordings

In addition to his high-profile work with Morrissey, Vini Reilly has recorded with artists including John Cooper Clarke, Pauline Murray, Anne Clark, The Wake, Richard Jobson, Quando Quango, Craig Davies, Swing Out Sister and Holly Johnson.

Album Discography

External links

 

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