The Deeply Vale Box

... and we're back!

Sorry for the lack of news recently following all the excitement of Chronicle XL (which is still available if you haven't snagged a copy).

However, we are able to announce that there will be three tracks by The Durutti Column on the forthcoming 6CD Deeply Vale Box. This features music recorded at the 1978 Deeply Vale Festival and is due for release around October 2014 via Ozit Morpheus. The box set includes a 272 page A4 art paper book with text from Vini Reilly about playing the Festival.

The three tracks (from very early period Durutti) are I Like It I Hate It, Boxes and Halitosis (for Margaret Thatcher).

Pricing and ordering info to follow...

Review - Vini Reilly live @ Chorlton Arts

On Wednesday 21 May, Vini Reilly was interviewed on stage by author and DJ Dave Haslam and then made a return to live performance as part of the Chorlton Arts Festival.

For a full review it's over to our Northern Correspondent, Mr Bryan Burford (with many thanks!):

The evening began with a brief intro from Dave Haslam, and then straight into an interview with Vini. Slightly shocking to see Vini obviously frail and having to be helped onto the stage, but although his speech is obviously still affected his humour and character are still there. He spoke of having to change the way he plays since the strokes - he can't finger-pick so has to just strum, and can't feel the frets like he could. He spoke also of the frustration of having tunes in his head, and not being able to get them out as easily.

He talked about the making of Return Of, and how it was Martin Hannett's album - the first he knew of what it sounded like was when Tony and Lindsey Wilson gave him a white label signed by them. He talked about first playing with Bruce, on Alan Erasmus's suggestion, and how the connection was immediate, how Bruce knows what Vini's doing before Vini does (the improvisation and 'I don't know what will happen' was a theme of the night). He said something similar about John Metcalfe.

He then introduced Old House Playground giving them a build-up no-one could really deliver on, but they did seem to have something. Three-piece of drum, guitar and double-bass, with a striking vocal sound. They played two tunes, and then Vini took the stage again.

He played three tunes - first Love & Maths with John Metcalfe. It took a minute or so for them to synchronise, but it became a really nice version. Second was a tune with the OHP vocalist Tryfon contributing vocals from poems written by a young women whose name I didn't catch (who was also present), with Bruce sneaking onto the stage after a little while. Vini did appear genuinely surprised when he noticed (that tune is on YouTube). It was wonderful to see that chemistry at work again.

The third tune was preambled by Vini talking about his guitar teacher, Miriam (Mimi, presumably of the LC track), the only one of her family to survive the holocaust and a "second mother" to Vini. He talked about her telling him (I think) of the responsibility of an artists, of people who have a gift, and of looking at the stars and telling him that the light was from long-dead places, and something about Zeno’s paradox - all blowing the 12 year old Vini's mind. He then took out a copy of Maus he'd received anonymously in the post, a synchronicity with his already thinking about Mimi, and began to introduce the tune with a warning that it would take it out of him and he would be helped from the stage afterwards. He said something about the need to balance terrible evil by seeing the goodness in the world, and began.

From the start he seemed traumatised, pausing between each of the first few chords, but starting something that was in the end extremely powerful, very beautiful, and entirely Vini. Tryfon contributed some more vocals that I thought were very effective - reminded me a little of vocals on Sex & Death, and also (oddly) of Liz Fraser in This Mortal Coil mode. Vini finished in tears, to another standing ovation, and the audience left I think probably slightly stunned, as well as moved (if that’s not a contradiction).

It was very raw, and difficult in places, but compared to Bridgewater Hall in 2011, where Vini's desolation about Poppy was uncomfortable to see, there was something more positive here. From what Vini was saying about Mimi, and all that she'd meant to him and taught him, I got the impression that he was reflecting on his place, and his identity, as an artist, and that despite the setbacks of illness, he still has a gift, and a responsibility, and a desire, to make music, and get those tunes out somewhere.

Vini Reilly @ Chorlton Arts sold out

Vini Reilly's onstage interview with Dave Haslam together with a special live performance at the Chorlton Arts Festival [->] on 21 May 2014 has now sold out. The performance takes place at Wilbraham St Ninian's Church in Chorlton and will be Vini's first performance proper since April 2011.

Vini Reilly Town Hall interview for CALM

This is a recording via Soundcloud of Vini Reilly in conversation with Dave Haslam at Manchester Town Hall on Sunday, March 3rd 2013, an event for CALM, a charity that reaches out to suicidal young men.

Over to Dave: "This is an honest, and - especially from about 15/20 minutes in - a harrowing account of Vini's own problems with depression. He was determined to tell his story, uninterrupted, and discussed and agreed some of the content with Dave Haslam prior to taking the stage (and the interview is uploaded here with Vini's permission). The finale to the night was a performance of a song (one never recorded or released - see previous post); his first public performance for nearly two years. But as Vini says "it's not about me".

"Please be aware this is not an easy listen; anyone who wants to know more, or has concerns about issues of suicide and depression please check out www.thecalmzone.net where there's help available and also an opportunity to donate to help them with their work."

Suicide in E Major

Vini and Bruce at Manchester Town Hall. Photo by Elspeth Mary Moore

3 March 2013 saw the return of Vini Reilly to the Manchester stage. The Close Up interview with Dave Haslam was an emotional occasion during which Vini talked about his life and his recent health problems.

This is the song Vini performed on solo guitar that evening - 'Suicide in E Major'.



Download [MP3, 6MB]

The Durutti Column Presents Chronicle Live

The Durutti Column played a two-set gig at the prestigious Bridgewater Hall on Saturday. With a prompt start promised (nearly) everyone filed into the auditorium for the first set by the designated 7.30pm start time. However, it was some 25 minutes later before the band appeared quietly on stage and without a word being spoken launched into a selection of new material from the Chronicle album.

The core Durutti unit of Vini Reilly (guitar, cuatro, Rhodes, piano), Bruce Mitchell (drums, percussion) and Keir Stewart (guitar, marimbas) were occasionally augmented by Laurie Laptop (electronics) and Poppy Morgan (piano).

A slideshow of photographs taken by Vini Reilly (16 of which are featured in the hot-of-the-press and express-couriered-from-Northampton pre-sale version of Chronicle which was on sale at the gig) played on a giant screen behind the band. These featured band members old and new, friends and family and key figures from Vini's personal history such as Anthony H Wilson, Alan Erasmus and Morrissey).

As Vini first explained in the recent 6Music interview with Collins and Maconie, whilst Chronicle had begun as a career-spanning autobiographical project, it had mutated into a "break-up album" when his girlfriend Poppy had left him. The resultant songs are clearly very personal and this combined with the fact that Vini's left hand is still not 100% following his recent health problems, gave rise to an emotionally-charged atmosphere which was clear for all to see and hear.

The exact setlist of what was played in this section will be confirmed soon (all too new for my ears) but notably in the mid-section, Poppy came out for two new piano/guitar duets Vini and then he played a couple of very melancholy songs solo on cuatro.

The atmosphere lightened slightly for the first set closer, Tomorrow which started with Vini solo on electric guitar but finished loud with Bruce on drums and Keir on marimbas.

The second half was more "up" and featured a selection of regular and not-so-regular favourites. Highlights included Salford, Keir's Opus and a reworked Without Mercy with Keir and Vini on guitars. There was no room for usual staples like Jacqueline, The Missing Boy and The Beggar but in the circumstances they were not required.

The house lights came on briefly before Vini and Poppy returned for one more duet and then Vini closed with a solo guitar special tinged with Peter Green's magnificent Albatross.

Clearly this was a "difficult" gig but the performance in the face of adversity was up there with the very best.

Second setlist

Sketch for Summer
Otis
Sealine
Salford
Keir's Opus
Without Mercy
Mother
--
Poppy & Vin tune
Guitar solo

Check out the full photo gallery (on Facebook but accessible to all).

The Durutti Column Presents Chronicle

The long-awaited biographical album Chronicle will be debuted live at next week's shows in York and Manchester.

The album itself contains fourteen tracks and comes with a booklet of Vini Reilly's photographs. The sleeve design is by Trevor Johnson and Haider Mundi who have designed other recent releases including A Paean To Wilson.

The album will initially be sold exclusively at the Bridgewater Hall as a special pre-release CD available with a ticket at the show - more details to follow soon.

Tracklisting

01 Fanfare
02 Synergetic
03 Wild Beast Tamed
04 Ananda
05 Accord
06 Time To Lift
07 Anguish of the Text Message
08 What Is It Worth
09 Someone Got Away
10 Jeeves and Wooster
11 Friends
12 Emptyness
13 No More Close To Me
14 Resolution

Music & Photography
Vini Reilly / Design TJ & HM

Live at Bridgewater Hall & Duchess of York

It's now only one month to go until The Durutti Column's homecoming gig at The Bridgewater Hall in Manchester on Saturday 30 April 2011. Tickets are still available from the venue priced from £18.00 to 29.00.

Plus, a new gig has just been announced at the Duchess of York in York on 26 April. Tickets are 12 pounds in advance (14 on the door) and are on sale now.

The new album Biography will be showcased at both dates.

Live @ Bridgewater Hall, MCR 30 April 2011

The Durutti Column mark a return to live activity with a special one-off show at the Bridgewater Hall in Manchester on Saturday 30 April 2011. The as-yet-untitled new album (which will come with a selection of Vini Reilly photos) will be given its World Premiere at the gig and you can also expect to hear a selection of old favourites.

The first 200 bookers of top price (£29.00) tickets through the Box Office will be entitled to a free copy of The Durutti Column's new album which will be released to coincide with the gig. Please note this offer is not available for online bookings. Please call +44 (0)161 907 9000 for information on this offer.

Paul Morley: The Tony Wilson Interviews

On Wednesday 20 October 2010, Vini Reilly was one of Paul Morley's guests at the Purcell Room in London's South Bank Centre for a special evening of spoken word (and a little bit of music). Morley introduced the event as part of his ongoing research for his forthcoming book about Tony Wilson. He explained how the norm for events of this type was for them to take place after the publication of the book and how he had decided to reverse the sequence.

Three, never before seen in public, clips of Wilson filmed by Paul's sister Carol Morley were shown at intervals through the evening. The clips were originally part of Carol's research to prepare for a film about a Chinese Joy Division tribute band (sadly the film never got made). In the clips, Wilson spoke about himself, Manchester, football and the bands he worked with, but the real star was his Weimaraner dog, William, that barked menacingly throughout one segment and then proved very difficult to get into the back his car. Wilson said that he regretted not going to Barbados to see everything fall apart whilst Happy Mondays were recording their final album on the island, especially when they tried to get the sofa out of Eddie Grant's studio to sell for crack.

First of the evening's on-stage guests was Mike Garry who began by performing his epic poem in honour of Tony Wilson, St Anthony and closed with God Is A Manc.

The second guest was Richard Boon, Buzzcocks' manager and New Hormones label boss. Boon got in a great pre-emptive strike to "confound him, before he confounded me".

The final guest was Vini Reilly. He spoke with Paul Morley about his deep friendship with Tony Wilson and how The Durutti Column came into being. Morley then suggested that the Durutti Column were Wilson's "boy band". Vini somewhat amused by the proposition, reluctantly agreed.

On Wilson's influence on his music: "In a way there's a similarity between him and my guitar teacher who was this wonderful Jewish lady who taught me for many years and would always begin the lesson by saying, 'Well, what have you written?' And I was seven or eight years of age. The fact that she would listen to what I had written for me was a kind of tacit approval of my music. She would never comment about it. Tony believed in the music and he approved of what I wanted to do. Every so often he would buy me a sequencer or a keyboard or a drum machine but he really just left me to it."

The topic of conversation then turned towards the expensive custom Strat gleaming at the other end of the stage. Vini recounted the story of how he came to acquire it through Tony Wilson's most generous patronage(to the tune of £8K). That was the cue for Vini to play some tunes, without accompaniment. He began with Spasmic Fairy which featured an extended intro for which he sat down and followed with Tomorrow.

Vini had asked Paul Morley to preface the performance with consideration for his recent health issues (but that didn't seem to be necessary). After the two tunes Vini Reilly disappeared through a secret door hidden behind the stage curtains.

With many thanks to Sunil.

Valuable passages

Vini Reilly recently suffered a minor stroke but after four days in hospital and then discharging himself he is well on the road to recovery. He's slightly unsteady on his feet and has lost some feeling in his left hand but is in good spirits, has been regularly playing his Juan Montero Spanish guitar and is steadily rebuilding his strength. So much so in fact that he is booked in for a recording session with Keir Stewart on Tuesday to begin recording the new Durutti Column album.

All the very best Vini and here's wishing you a speedy return to full fitness.

And it turns out that it won't be too long before he will be playing live...

Paul Morley: The Tony Wilson Interviews takes place at the Purcell Room in London's South Bank Centre on Wednesday 20 October 2010. Paul will be talking to Vini live on stage and Poppy Morgan will be joining Vini to play live music.

Tickets are available now priced ten pounds (plus booking fee) from southbankcentre.co.uk.

Bruce at 70 plus Live @ The ARC

Back in May, The Durutti Column went to The ARC in Stockton-on-Tees for a gig. Bruce Mitchell takes up the story:

"It was a good and interesting gig - First Vin went on strike before the load-in (he wanted to go home instead). Keir brought the wrong computer. So we could only perform 4 songs from that A Paean To Wilson. I tell you, when things go wrong it seems to inspire Reilly to superb heights - and we had a marimba intro to Otis and a very rare and great reading of Friends in Belgium. You probably know that this number really requires a separate guitar to a special tuning. Whilst me and Keir were banging about on the drums for Requiem, he was re-tuning off-stage to deliver the tune for the first time in about ten years. The Belgium Friends is probably my favourite of all time."

Meanwhile, the picture on the right is of Bruce on the recent occasion of his 70th birthday. A special surprise do was thrown for Bruce (and Tosh Ryan) at Manchester Town Hall on 6 June. A certain Vini Reilly even organised the sound check for a special performance by the band!

Live @ The ARC plus new releases

A quick reminder that on Saturday 15 May, the band plays the ARC in Stockton-on-Tees.

Meanwhile, whilst the next new album proper hasn't yet been announced, recently Sketch for Summer appeared on a special 10" single released on Record Store Day and will soon appear on the next in the ongoing series of Auteur Labels albums released by LTM - the track Catos Con Guantes is featured on Factory Records 1987 which is released in July. Full details in the Discography.

Live at the ARC Stockton Arts Centre 15 May

After a short break, The Durutti Column are back playing live with a one-off gig at the ARC Stockton Arts Centre in Stockton on Tees. The band will be performing A Paean To Wilson and a selection of other material.

Tickets are available now priced £15.00 via arconline.co.uk.

ARC
Dovecot Street
Stockton on Tees
TS18 1LL

Tel: 01642 525199

Leicester Square Theatre photo gallery

Many thanks to photographer Stephen Wright for kindly letting use his excellent photos of The Durutti Column live at the Leicester Square Theatre on Sunday 31 January 2010.

The Review Show and other stories

It was a busy weekend for The Durutti Column as it began with Vini and Poppy playing live on The Review Show direct from the BBC's studio in Glasgow. Closing out a show on the theme of personal loss, they played a beautiful Duet With Piano from A Paean To Wilson.

The performance is on the BBC iPlayer until the end of the week and also on YouTube for those locked out of iPlayer delights by geographical restrictions.

Two days later in London Vin and Poppy hooked up with the rest of the band to play a sold-out concert at the Leicester Square Theatre in the heart of London's West End. The core of the performance was yet another reworked version of Paean but this time we were also treated to The Beggar, Sketch For Summer and Jacqueline as an interlude in the middle of the show.

With thanks to Bryn for photography.

A Paean To Wilson Buy It Now with Paypal

A Paean To Wilson live at the Lowry; soundcheck

The new album by The Durutti Column 'A Paean To Wilson' is officially released 24 January 2010 and is available now for 15.00 GBP (including Worldwide P+P) via the Kooky Buy it Now button.

The album is also be on sale via iTunes [UK] and the next opportunity to buy it in person will be at the Leicester Square Theatre in London this Sunday 31 January 2010. Tickets are still available via Ticketline and by calling the Box Office on 0844 847 2475.

Last Sunday's "Movement of the 24th January" gig at the Lowry in Salford was a great success. Stephen Dalton, in The Times, said:

"The late Anthony Wilson, Factory Records founder and notorious Mancunian motormouth, would have turned 60 next month. The virtuoso guitarist Vini Reilly paid understated homage to his old friend, manager and label boss in Salford with a rare live show to launch his latest album, A Paean to Wilson.

A gaunt and sinewy 56-year-old with an unruly orange-tinted mullet hairdo, Reilly could pass for a consumptive cousin of Ronnie Wood. Although portrayed as a fragile and depressive character, he is ironically one of the last original Factory insiders still standing after three decades of untimely deaths and career burn-outs."

Read the full review.

A Paean To Wilson Gig T-Shirts

Tickets are still available for the band's latest gigs at which they will be performing the magnificent work A Paean To Wilson which is released the same day.

The Movement of the 24th January, as it were, takes place at The Lowry in Salford on Sunday 24 January and the following weekend we are back in London at the Leicester Square Theatre on 31 January.

Tickets are still available for both gigs but get in there quick as they are selling fast - see links below.

Brand new "A Paean To Wilson live" t-shirts will be on sale at the gigs courtesy those Kooky Boys. Check out a sample of the imagery to the right - it's based on a painting by Bruce Mitchell's wife Jacqueline and features Tony Wilson and Bruce in silhouette.

Jesca Hoop is now confirmed as support for both gigs.

24 January 2010 - The Lowry, Salford Quays (Box Office: 0870 787 5790) [via Ticketline]

31 January 2010, The Leicester Square Theatre, 6 Leicester Place, London, WC2H 7B (Box Office: 0844 847 2475) [via Ticketline]

[NB the price in London will be £2 more on the door. Both venues sell tickets at their own box offices with no booking fee if paying in person in cash.]

A Paean To Wilson live competition

There was an overwhelming response to the recent competition to win tickets to see The Durutti Column live on Sunday 24 January and at the Leicester Square Theatre the following week on 31 January (with the added bonus of John Cooper Clarke and Frank Sidebottom on Saturday 30 January). Many thanks to everyone who entered. The lucky winners have been notified.

Meanwhile, Jesca Hoop has been confirmed as the support act for The Lowry.

Tickets for both gigs are still available online from Ticketline or by calling their 0161 832 1111 (24hr credit card hotline).

NB the price in London will be £2 more on the door. Both venues sell tickets at their own box offices with no booking fee if paying in person in cash.

24 January 2010 - The Lowry, Salford Quays (Box Office: 0870 787 5790) [via Ticketline]

31 January 2010, The Leicester Square Theatre, 6 Leicester Place, London, WC2H 7B (Box Office: 0844 847 2475) [via Ticketline]

Win tickets to see The Durutti Column live

A very Happy New Year to followers of The Durutti Column worldwide!

We kick off 2010 with a pair of competitions to win tickets for the upcoming Paean To Wilson gigs at The Lowry in Salford on 24 January and the Leicester Square Theatre in London's West End on Sunday 31 January.

As an added bonus in London we are also throwing in a pair of tickets to see John Cooper Clarke and Frank Sidebottom, at the Bloomsbury Theatre, on Saturday 30 January (i.e. the night before Durutti play - NOTE this is not at the Leicester Square Theatre as previously announced here).

Tickets for both gigs are available online from Ticketline or by calling their 0161 832 1111 (24hr credit card hotline)

NB the price in London will be £2 more on the door. both venues sell tickets at their own box offices with no booking fee if paying in person in cash.

24 January 2010 - The Lowry, Salford Quays (Box Office: 0870 787 5790) [via Ticketline on sale Monday 16 November 2009]

31 January 2010, The Leicester Square Theatre, 6 Leicester Place, London, WC2H 7B (Box Office: 0844 847 2475) [via Ticketline on sale Monday 16 November 2009]

All you need to do in order to enter is to send an email to me, John here at thedurutticolumn.com.

Please state in your email whether you wish to be entered into the draw for The Lowry in Salford on 24 January or The Leicester Square Theatre (John Cooper Clarke/Frank Sidebottom on 30 January and The Durutti Column on 31 January). Only one entry per person please. Competition closes at 22:00 GMT on Sunday 17 January 2010. The lucky winners will be chosen at random soon after and announced on Monday 18 January.

Good luck!