Shadowplayers: The Rise and Fall of Factory Records by James Nice

James Nice has written a fascinating history book about Factory Records. the research and detail on the subject is unrivalled. i consider myself to be fairly well versed in the happenings of Factory and many of the satellites that orbited it, and yet this book proves i was very wrong to ever think that. the attention to detail is meticulous and those who only think of the label in terms of Joy Division, New Order and Happy Mondays will be blown away. this is a definitive account and a must have for fans

it was published last year in hardback as a lovely, big, pink brick of a thing and is now available as a big, blue, paperback brick from Aurum Press Limited (ISBN 1845136349)

additionally, Cerysmatic Factory is an excellent website that’s full of Factory related info

lastly, it’s not great quality, but here’s Joy Division (on Granada Reports and with an introduction from Tony Wilson) performing Shadowplay, the song this book was named after