The Durutti Column - LC

The Durutti Column

LC

1981

Post Punk Art Rock

England

Tracklist:


        5:14    Sketch For Dawn 1
        3:29    Portrait For Frazier
        2:16    Jacqueline
        2:30    Messidor
        4:34    Sketch For Dawn 2
        6:47    Never Known
        5:03    The Act Committed
        1:57    Detail For Paul
        6:36    The Missing Boy
        2:49    The Sweet Cheat Gone
        4:35    For Mimi                              
        5:24    Belgian Friends                        
        4:41    Self Portrait                          
        4:26    One Christmas For Your Thoughts
        3:39    Danny
        3:01    Enigma


     The Durutti Column are an English post-punk band formed in 1978 in Manchester, England. The band is an ongoing project of guitarist (and occasional pianist) Vini Reilly who is often accompanied by drummer Bruce Mitchell. Other current members are Keir Stewart (on bass, keyboards and harmonica) and Reilly's girlfriend Poppy Morgan (on piano). Chris Ott summed up Vini Reilly in 2003: "Friend to Ian Curtis and New Order, a borderline New Age celebrity within European muso circles and the creative force behind much of Morrissey's Viva Hate, Vini Reilly has unleashed untold volumes of music over the last twenty-five years. Delving into modern classical composition with 1984's Without Mercy, his low-key reputation as an independent auteur was cemented with 1988's Vini Reilly, a masterpiece recorded in just twenty days' time after finishing Viva Hate with Morrissey and Stephen Street."

     In 1978 Tony Wilson and Alan Erasmus, later partners in Factory Records, assembled a band around the remnants of local punk rock band Fast Breeder: drummer Chris Joyce and guitarist Dave Rowbotham. They called the then incomplete group The Durutti Column, derived from a misspelling of the name Buenaventura Durruti, who led a column of anarchists during the Spanish Civil War. On January 25, Vini Reilly, former guitarist for local punk rock band Ed Banger and The Nosebleeds, joined, followed some weeks later by co-member vocalist Phil Rainford and, by the end of February, bassist Tony Bowers arrived from Alberto Y Lost Trios Paranoias. The line-up was short-lived as Rainford was sacked in July, and replaced by vocalist Colin Sharp, who also became one of the songwriters. Rainford went on to produce for Nico and Suns of Arqa.
     The Durutti Column played at the Factory club (organised by their managers), and cut 2 numbers for the first Factory Records release A Factory Sample, a double 7" compilation also featuring Joy Division, John Dowie and Cabaret Voltaire. On the eve of recording a debut album, the band broke up after a dispute about Wilson and Erasmus's choice of producer, Martin Hannett. Rowbotham, Bowers and Joyce went on to form The Mothmen (the latter two becoming members of Simply Red some years later), Sharp went on to form The Roaring 80s, SF Jive, and Glow, and also dedicated himself to acting; only Reilly remained.
With everyone's departure, The Durutti Column defaulted to Reilly's solo project. Other musicians contributed to recordings and live performances as occasioned. Former Alberto Y Lost Trios Paranoias drummer Bruce Mitchell doubled as co-manager with Wilson throughout their career on Factory and for many years afterwards.
     LC ("Lotta Continua", Italian for "continuous struggle"), released in 1981, was recorded without Hannett, and introduced percussionist Bruce Mitchell, Reilly's most frequent musical partner and occasional manager. It was recorded on a four-track cassette deck at home (while it was slightly padded in the studio, the tape hiss is intact); among the first crisp, professionally released recordings made cheaply at home.

- "LC" is an abbreviation for the Italian anarchist slogan
  "La Lotta Continua" meaning "the struggle continues".
- "Messidor" is the tenth month of the French Revolutionary calendar
   and the title of Alain Tanner's 1979 film
- "The Missing Boy" refers to Ian Curtis
- "The Sweet Cheat Gone" is the published English title for the
  "Albertine disparue" volume of Marcel Proust's
  "À la recherche du temps perdu" ["In Search Of Lost Time"]


     Members
Vini Reilly
Bruce Mitchell
Keir Stewart
Poppy Morgan

     Past members
Dave Rowbotham
Chris Joyce
Phil Rainford
Tony Bowers
Colin Sharp
Tim Kellett
Peter Hook
Martin Jackson
John Metcalfe