The Return of The Return of the Durutti Column

Vini Reilly of The Durutti Column's never been a showboat, either in his musical style or in the promotion of his craft. Remaining loyal to Factory long after Bernard and the gang had jumped ship, and even returning to the fold for Tony Wilson's brief revival of the brand as Factory Too, Reilly seems to have always taken the path of least resistance, even if it's cost him sales-wise. Durutti Column releases seem to have been directed by a sense of willful obtuseness: low circulation, reissues quickly going out of print. Debut album (cheekily titled "The Return of the Durutti Column") came in a sandpaper sleeve, forcing the buyer to keep it separate from their collection lest other covers get scratched. Obviously a label like Factory attracted those motivated by a desire for unlimited expression, not exposure, but if I'd written the lion's share of an album as well known and loved as "Viva Hate" I'd be reminding people of that constantly while promoting my own material, not to mention putting the smooth on girls in the disco by pointing out that they're dancing to my guitar playing whenever "Suedehead" gets spun.

If I may wax a tad romantic, for me the Durutti Column's music has always been inextricably connected with images of Reilly's face, which has become a favourite subject of Natalie Curtis' photography (yes, that Natalie Curtis). Always gaunt, always topped by an unmanageable mop, Reilly seems the sort who wants nothing more than to be left in peace and to make his music. And his music itself is so free, so expressive, so content to simply explore whatever pastoral soundscapes it comes across (cheap comparison: The Durutti Column sounds like what would've happened if Erik Satie had been born in 1950s Manchester and had picked up a guitar and echo pedal) that it seems a shame that so few have had the chance to hear it, when it's so inviting, unassuming and rewarding.

All of this has been a preamble to reporting that, prompted by the rediscovery of a cache of old master tapes, a box set consisting of the first four Durutti Column albums with two bonus discs to boot will be seeing the light of day sometime this year. This is fantastic news for die-hard Factory heads like yours truly, as well as young'uns just beginning to look beyond the Joy Division/New Order monolith and discover what was so special about that time, that label, that city.

The Durutti Column, "Sketch For Summer"