Martin Hannett in front of the mixing desk: the solo music of the Joy Division producer
The pages of music history will remember James Martin Hannett as one of the greatest record producers of the post-punk period. Through his tireless work producing the likes of A Certain Ratio, Buzzcocks and, of course, Joy Division, helped to define the signature post-punk sound that bands have been attempting to recreate ever since. However, a lesser-known aspect of Hannett’s life was his own short-lived career as a recording artist himself.
It is fitting that Hannett had a brief flirt with musicianship, as the gift of a bass guitar set a 14-year-old Hannett on his path to musical greatness. During his teenage years, the future Factory Records producer played in a variety of bands, predominantly Paradox, which he formed in 1973 with Paul Young (not that one). It was not until the advent of punk rock in 1976, however, that Hannett became more involved with the world of grassroots music.
The vast majority of Hannett’s material revolved around a collaboration between himself and Steve Hopkins. His first effort with Hopkins came with ‘All Sorts of Heroes’ in 1976, a funky bass-driven track created for the outlandish stop-motion sci-fi film of the same name. On the song, you can hear just how skilled a bassist Hannett was, with the disco-inspired bassline providing the backbone of the entire piece. Recently re-released by Finders Keepers Records, it, in many ways, predicts the producer’s later work with the likes of ESG and A Certain Ratio: electronically influenced, funk-ridden post-punk grooviness.
These collaborations with Hopkins increased in 1978 when he formed The Invisible Girls with Hannett. The post-punk group was created largely to provide musical backing to the Bard of Salford, Dr John Cooper Clarke. Hannett had previously worked with the poet, producing Clarke’s debut single Innocents the year prior. In addition to providing backing to Cooper Clarke, who had taken to performing in punk venues like Manchester’s Electric Circus performing alongside the likes of Joy Division and The Fall, The Invisible Girls also worked with artists such as Pete Shelley of Buzzcocks and even Nico, who spent a few years living in Manchester with Clarke.
Aside from recording albums with John Cooper Clarke, The Invisible Girls recorded sporadically with the likes of Pauline Murray of the Durham punk group Penetration. Although often billed merely as a ‘backing band’, The Invisible Girls were a truly unique and gifted group, with Hannett’s proficiency on bass guitar constantly shining through.
Alongside his work with The Invisible Girls, Hannett occasionally recorded solo material, such as the 1980’s avant-garde track ‘First Aspect Of The Same Thing’. Although, for the most part, the song has been lost to the obscurity of time, it remains a reminder that Hannett’s gifts were not limited to production work. ‘First Aspect Of The Same Thing’ was written and produced by Hannett and given away for free with initial copies of The Durutti Column’s debut album, The Return of the Durutti Column, a Factory Records release that originally came with a cover made of sandpaper, to destroy the neighbouring records it was shelved with.
Although the demand for Britain’s great music producer prevented Hannett from fully exploring his own musical talents, the material remains a timely reminder of the man’s inherent gift and absolute love for the world of music. The avant-garde and experimental nature of much of his work, such as ‘First Aspect Of The Same Thing’, also goes some way to explaining why Hannett was able to so effectively carve out the sound of groups like Joy Division and Durutti Column.
Noted for his avant-garde, often confusing, approach to production, he is perhaps best encapsulated with a quote from fellow bassist Joy Division’s Peter Hook: “In the studio, we’d sit on the left, he’d sit on the right, and if we said anything like ‘I think the guitars are a bit quiet, Martin, he’d scream, ‘Oh my god! Why don’t you just fuck off!’”
