Factory Records

Factory Records was a Manchester-based record label, managed by Tony Wilson, which featured several prominent musical acts, such as Joy Division, New Order, The Durutti Column, The Happy Mondays, and (briefly) Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark and James. Like the label 4AD, Factory Records used a creative team (most notably record producer Martin Hannett and graphic designer Peter Saville) which gave the label, and the artists recording for it, a particular sound and image.

The 2002 film 24 Hour Party People (see 2002 in film), is an allegedly fact-based satire about Factory Records' people and bands, and the infamous, often unsubstantiated anecdotes and stories surrounding them.

"The Hacienda" was a world-famous nightclub that was started as a Factory Records venture. It became a cultural hub in Manchester as the center of the emerging techno and acid house genres in the late eighties and early nineties. It closed in 1997, and has since been knocked down to make way for city centre apartments.

See also: List of record labels