''Shadowplayers'' is the title of both a 2006 documentary film and a 2010 book by James Nice of

LTM Recordings LTM Recordings (originally les temps modernes) is a British independent record label founded in 1983, and best known for reissues of artists and music from 1978 to the present day, as well as modern classical and avant-garde composition. The la ...

, tracing the detailed history of

Factory Records Factory Records was a Manchester-based British independent record label founded in 1978 by Tony Wilson and Alan Erasmus. The label featured several important acts on its roster, including Joy Division, New Order (band), New Order, A Certain Ra ...

and the Manchester post-punk music scene between 1978 and 1981.

Film

The documentary oral history film ''Shadowplayers'' (full title ''Shadowplayers – Factory Records & Manchester Post Punk 1978-81'') was released on DVD in May 2006. The extended film features interviews with 22 key participants, including company director

Anthony H. Wilson Anthony Howard Wilson (20 February 1950 – 10 August 2007) was a British record label owner, radio and television presenter, nightclub manager and impresario, and a journalist for Granada Television, the BBC and Channel 4. As a co-founder ...

and designer Peter Saville, as well as a host of musicians including

Peter Hook Peter Hook (born 13 February 1956) is an English musician. He was the bassist and co-founder of the post-punk band Joy Division and its successor New Order. He often used the bass as a lead instrument, playing melodies on the high strings wi ...

(

Joy Division Joy Division were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Salford in 1976. The group consisted of vocalist, guitarist and lyricist Ian Curtis, guitarist and keyboardist Bernard Sumner, bassist Peter Hook and drummer Stephen Morris (musici ...

/ New Order), Simon Topping (

A Certain Ratio A Certain Ratio (abbreviated as ACR) are an English post-punk band formed in Greater Manchester in 1977 by Peter Terrell (guitar), Simon Topping (vocals, trumpet), Jez Kerr (bass guitar, vocals), Martin Moscrop (trumpet, guitar) and Donald Johns ...

Vini Reilly Vincent Gerard "Vini" Reilly (born 4 August 1953) is an English musician and leader of the post-punk group the Durutti Column. He was known for his distinctively clean, fluid guitar style, which stood out from his punk-era contemporaries in its ...

(

Durutti Column The Durutti Column are an English post-punk band formed in 1978 in Manchester, England.Strong, Martin C. (1999) "The Great Alternative & Indie Discography", Canongate, The band is the project of guitarist and occasional pianist Vini Reilly, o ...

Larry Larry is a masculine given name in English, derived from Lawrence or Laurence. It can be a shortened form of those names. Larry may refer to the following: People Arts and entertainment * Larry D. Alexander, American artist/writer * Larry Boo ...

and Vin Cassidy ( Section 25) and

Howard Devoto Howard Devoto (born Howard Andrew Trafford, 15 March 1952) is an English singer and songwriter, who began his career as the frontman for punk rock band Buzzcocks, but then left to form Magazine, an early post-punk band. After Magazine, he went ...

(

Buzzcocks Buzzcocks are an English punk rock band that singer-songwriter-guitarist Pete Shelley and singer-songwriter Howard Devoto formed in Manchester in 1976. During their career, the band combined elements of punk rock, power pop, and pop punk. The ...

Magazine A magazine is a periodical literature, periodical publication, print or digital, produced on a regular schedule, that contains any of a variety of subject-oriented textual and visual content (media), content forms. Magazines are generally fin ...

). Other featured artists include members of Cabaret Voltaire,

Crispy Ambulance Crispy Ambulance are an English post-punk band, formed in Manchester in late-1977 by Keith Darbyshire (bass), Robert Davenport (guitar), Alan Hempsall (vocals), and Gary Madeley (drums).Strong, Martin C. (2003) ''The Great Indie Discography'', ...

Biting Tongues Biting Tongues were a post-punk band formed in Manchester, England in 1979, whose members went on to join Simply Red, Yargo, and 808 State. History The band was formed in 1979 by saxophonist Howard Walmsley, initially to record a soundtrack for ...

, Minny Pops, The Names, Swamp Children,

Thick Pigeon Miranda Stanton, best known for her recordings as Stanton Miranda, Miranda Dali and Thick Pigeon, is a 1980s Factory Records artist from New York City. She achieved some notice for her single "Wheels Over Indian Trails" (produced by Stephen Morri ...

, and

Killing Joke Killing Joke were an English rock music, rock band formed in Notting Hill, London, in 1979 by Jaz Coleman (vocals, keyboards), Paul Ferguson (drums), Geordie Walker (guitar) and Youth (musician), Youth (bass). Their first album, ''Killing Joke ...

, as well as contributions from Richard Boon,

Annik Honoré Annik Honoré (12 October 1957 – 3 July 2014) was a Belgian journalist and music promoter best known for her association with Ian Curtis, the former lead singer and lyricist of Joy Division. She co-founded record labels Les Disques du Cré ...

, Lindsay Reade, and Richard Jobson. ''Shadowplayers'' runs for 2 hours and 15 minutes and is divided into 19 chapters, covering subjects such as the Factory Club, sleeve art and graphic design, producer

Martin Hannett James Martin Hannett (31 May 1948 – 18 April 1991) was an English record producer, musician and an original partner/director at Tony Wilson's Factory Records. Hannett produced music by artists including Joy Division, the Durutti Column, A Cert ...

, the riot at Joy Division's concert at The Derby Hall, Bury in April 1980,

Factory Benelux A factory, manufacturing plant or production plant is an industrial facility, often a complex consisting of several buildings filled with machinery, where workers manufacture items or operate machines which process each item into another. They ...

and connections with

Les Disques du Crépuscule Les Disques du Crépuscule is an independent record label An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small and medium-sized ente ...

and the

Plan K A plan is typically any diagram or list of steps with details of timing and resources, used to achieve an objective to do something. It is commonly understood as a temporal set of intended actions through which one expects to achieve a goal. F ...

venue in Brussels, the suicide of

Ian Curtis Ian Kevin Curtis (15 July 1956 – 18 May 1980) was an English singer, songwriter and musician. He was the lead singer, lyricist and occasional guitarist of the band Joy Division, with whom he released the albums ''Unknown Pleasures'' (197 ...

, the beginnings of New Order, and the decline of post-punk culture after 1981. Based exclusively on first-person narrative, ''Shadowplayers'' features soundtrack music by Section 25 and New Order, as well as rare images and graphics, and a cover design based on the first Factory poster (Fac 1) by Peter Saville.

Book

''Shadowplayers'' (subtitled ''The Rise and Fall of Factory Records'') is a related music history book written by Nice and published by Aurum in May 2010. The book tells the story of Factory Records from its early beginnings up until its demise in 1992. The book was launched at the London record shop

Rough Trade East Rough Trade is a retail chain of record shops in the United Kingdom and the United States with headquarters in London. The first Rough Trade shop was opened in 1976 by Geoff Travis in the Ladbroke Grove district of West London. Travis reported ...

by the author and included a short live performance by original Factory Records band

Blurt Blurt is an English post-punk band, founded in 1979 in Stroud, Gloucestershire. Background Blurt was founded in 1979 in Stroud, Gloucestershire by poet, saxophonist and puppeteer Ted Milton along with Milton's brother Jake, formerly of ...

and a speech by designer Peter Saville.

References

External links

LTM website
2006 films British musical documentary films Factory Records 2006 documentary films Documentary films about punk music and musicians {{music-documentary-film-stub