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sarahabein.bsky.social · @sarahabein.bsky.social@bridge.neodb.net

Rated I Thought I Heard You Speak: Women at Factory Records 9/10

<div>Though the book starts out with a somewhat Feminism 101-style justification for its own existence, I'm willing to forgive that because I know it has to be there. Music bros will always want to wheedle away at a woman who dares to assert authority. After that, the book becomes a compelling oral history of a unique time in Manchester music and art history.<br><br>You've perhaps heard the legends about the bands involved (Joy Division/New Order, Happy Mondays), the go-big-or-go-home spending habits (1200 person club capacity in a weird building! expensive office furniture!), and seen or read other histories documenting the post-punk and Madchester years. That prior knowledge is helpful here, but this book isn't meant to be a definitive biography. Instead, this group of voices — musicians, managers, club staff, designers, artists, etc. — aim to fill in the gaps. Bands, music journalism, and music-as-business in that era, as we know, were (and still are!) male-dominated affairs, and even though Factory was better than most of its time, it still had its shortcomings. Not to mention, how Factory has been spoken about since did not always provide a full picture of how the women kept the show running while the men would often prioritize being "personalities."<br><br>Still, this isn't an act of revenge. For the most part, the women speak warmly about the others they worked with, and they all seem to give a pretty fair accounting of what it was like to live through Factory's various stages of existence. They speak honestly about the challenges, but not all of those challenges were gender-related. There are, of course, several funny stories. Factory Records, The Haçienda, and everything else that these women helped create was something really special. It gave us a lot of great art, and I'm glad that some of the story was recorded here.</div>

#book

Published 2026-08-18 20:37 UTC · bridged from Atmosphere