The Science and Industry Museum, Manchester: 19th June – 3rd Jan 2022
Use Hearing Protection: The Early Years of Factory Records examined the formation of Factory Records between 1978 and 1982. Presented at the Science and Industry Museum in Manchester, the exhibition brought together music, graphic design, technology, photography and archive material relating to the label’s earliest years.
Alongside Factory’s history, the exhibition considered the Manchester in which the label developed. British Culture Archive contributed a selection of photographs recording everyday life, music and political activity in the city during the late 1970s and early 1980s.The exhibition focuses on Factory’s formative years from 1978 to 1982 and what it was about Manchester at that time that allowed the label to spearhead innovation in the fields of music, technology and design, giving the city an authentic voice and distinctive identity and helping to transform it from a post-industrial powerhouse to a beacon of art and culture.
Photo © The Museum of Science and Industry
The BCA display included photographs by Thomas Blower, Red Saunders and Luis Bustamante, together with material from The People’s Archive.
Thomas Blower’s previously unseen photographs documented the Northern Carnival Against the Nazis, organised by Rock Against Racism and the Anti-Nazi League at Alexandra Park on 15th July 1978. His images record performers, campaigners and members of Manchester’s punk audience gathered for the event.
Red Saunders, a founding member of Rock Against Racism, was represented by photographs made in Moss Side during the same period. These included record shops and young people connected with the area’s music culture.
Luis Bustamante’s photographs recorded Manchester in 1979, including Oxford Road, Hulme and the city centre. Posters visible within the photographs advertised Joy Division and the Manchester reggae group Exodus at the Russell Club, connecting the city’s streets with its developing independent music scene.
Together, the photographs placed Factory Records within a broader account of Manchester during its formative years.
Photo © Thomas Blower / British Culture Archive
The wider exhibition presented the first 50 numbered Factory artefacts, including records, posters, correspondence, equipment and graphic material. It also examined individuals and collaborations that contributed to the label but have received less attention within established accounts of Factory.
Objects on display included Ian Curtis’s Vox Phantom VI guitar, alongside material connected with Joy Division, The Durutti Column and other early Factory releases.
Interactive installations allowed visitors to work with a mixing desk and synthesiser, while the exhibition’s Gig Room presented projected performances by bands associated with the label.
Photo © Manchester Museum of Science and Industry
Photo © Paul Wright / British Culture Archive
Explore the photography and archive material connected with British Culture Archive’s contribution to Use Hearing Protection: The Early Years of Factory Records.
Thomas Blower’s photographs of Ancoats, Hattersley, Moss Side and central Manchester record the city during the 1970s and early 1980s, including the period in which Factory Records emerged.
Photographs of the Rock Against Racism and Anti-Nazi League Northern Carnival in Alexandra Park, Manchester, held in 1978.
Red Saunders’ photographs document the musicians, organisers, campaigns and publications of Rock Against Racism, including its activity in Moss Side and the wider Manchester music scene.
Photographs made around Oxford Road, the university district and Hulme, including posters advertising Joy Division and the Manchester reggae group Exodus at the Russell Club.
Matthew Rich’s photographs document the printing, fly-posting and street promotion surrounding Manchester music during the years immediately following Factory’s formation.