(Photograph by Tom Oldham) John Metcalfe, a British composer, arranger, and violist based in the UK, who is a member of the Duke Quartet and previously associated with the renowned English post-punk band The Durutti Column, has unveiled details about his forthcoming album, “Tree.”

The album is set to be released on September 22nd in vinyl, CD, and digital formats through Real World Records.

You can already listen to the initial track titled “Xylem,” which derives its name from the vascular tissue found in plants – the element that, as John elucidates, “bestows strength upon a tree.”

Listen to “Xylem” below.

The concept for the album emerged from John Metcalfe’s aspiration to compose on a grand scale. He explains, “The compositions I was crafting were immense, aiming to be even larger. Consequently, I knew they had to be inspired by something significant. That’s when I recollected one of the most profound experiences of my life.” He is referring to his encounter with Tāne Mahuta during his adulthood, which happens to be the largest known living kauri tree globally. Situated within an ancient subtropical rainforest on the North Island of Aoreatoa/New Zealand, John had spent his early childhood in that region, as his British father had “emigrated there as a ten-pound Pom.”

After relocating to England during his childhood, John returned to New Zealand with his wife at the age of 26. He reminisces, “…we thought it would be a typical tourist attraction, with the intention of witnessing the trees, which was fantastic – but we were not prepared for the profound impact it would have.” Both he and his wife were moved to tears upon encountering Tãne Mahuta, and John still finds himself amazed by his own reaction. He adds, “…as an atheist, it was the closest I have ever come to a spiritual moment… There was something extraordinary about the ambiance within the forest, the immense size of the tree, and the notion that it had stood there for an extensive period. It was the sense of protection it offered and the feeling of connection we experienced with that sense of security.”

This record isn’t a political statement, but it’s clear to him that as science progresses, and as climate breakdown progresses, people are trying to find deeper ways to understand and cherish nature. “It’s about the music that people are trying to create to connect with things that are huge and beautiful and inexplicable around them.” 

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

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Factory Records was a Manchester-based British independent record label founded in 1978 by Tony Wilson and Alan Erasmus. The label featured several important acts on its roster, including Joy Division, New Order, A Certain Ratio, the Durutti Column, Happy Mondays, Northside, and (briefly) Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark and James. Factory also ran The Haçienda nightclub, in partnership with New Order.

By 1992, the label’s two most successful bands caused the label serious financial trouble. The Happy Mondays were recording their troubled fourth album “Yes Please!” in Barbados and overspent their initial £150,000 budget with £230,000 reaching £380,000 in total. New Order from their side spent £430,000 on recording their comeback album “Republic”. London Records were interested in taking over Factory but the deal fell through when it emerged that, due to Factory’s early practice of eschewing contracts (New Order never had a formal contract with Factory), New Order rather than the label owned New Order’s back catalogue.

Factory Communications Ltd, the company formed in 1981, declared bankruptcy in November 1992. In 1994, Wilson attempted to revive Factory Records, in collaboration with London Records, as “Factory Too”. The first release was by Factory stalwarts the Durutti Column; the other main acts on the label were Hopper and Space Monkeys, and the label gave a UK release to the first album by Stephin Merritt’s side project the 6ths, Wasps’ Nests. A further release ensued: a compilation EP featuring previously unsigned Manchester acts East West Coast, the Orch, Italian Love Party, and K-Track. This collection of 8 tracks (2 per band) was simply entitled A Factory Sample Too (FACD2.02). The label was active until the late 1990s, latterly independent of London Records, as was “Factory Once”, which organised reissues of Factory material. Wilson founded a short-lived fourth incarnation, F4 Records, in the early 2000s.

Broken arms and drugs

Happy Mondays’ “Yes Please!” recordings are a story in itself. This was the fourth studio album by the Happy Mondays and Factory Records reckoned that following the succes of the non-album single “Judge Fudge”, the band deserved a budget of £150,000 for their next album, and as you read above, they didn’t spent £150,000, but £380,000 on their album.

After settling on producers Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth, both members of Talking Heads and Tom Tom Club, Happy Mondays decamped to Blue Wave Studio in Saint Philip, Barbados in February 1992 where the sessions were plagued by a variety of issues. Frontman Shaun Ryder for instance developed a crack habit. A public relations representative from the band’s label Factory Records even had to issue a statement on Ryder’s behalf, denouncing his drug use. Dancer Bez from his side broke his arm three (!!) times. With little finished material and a lack of lyrics the band returned to the United Kingdom where Ryder was admitted into a detox centre. Recording continued for two weeks in May 1992 at Comfort’s Place Studio in Lingfield, Surrey, where Ryder did his vocals.

The album “Yes Please!” received mixed reviews from music critics. It did sell 50,000 copies by the end of the year but that wasn’t enough by far to keep Factory Records afloat. The band disbanded in 1993, and have reformed several times in subsequent decades.

Here’s some MTV coverage on the band’s “Yes Please!” from a time when the channel still was worth checking out.

And New Order?

They signed with London Records, the label that was initially going to save Factory Records. Apart from New Order also Morris and Gilbert separately signed with the label for their side project The Other Two, whose debut album was originally intended for release on Factory. “Republic”, released around the world in 1993, spawned the singles “Regret”, “Ruined in a Day”, “World”, and “Spooky”.

Tony Wilson made little money from Factory Records or the Haçienda

In the end Factory Records owner Tony Wilson made little money from Factory Records or the Haçienda, despite the enormous popularity and cultural significance of both endeavours. Both Factory Records and the Haçienda came to an abrupt end in the late 1990s.

Wilson died of a heart attack in Manchester’s Christie Hospital on 10 August 2007 aged 57 following kidney cancer for which he was unable to pay the treatment. A number of Wilson’s music industry friends, including former Happy Mondays manager Nathan McGough, their current manager Elliot Rashman and TV stars Richard Madeley and Judy Finnegan, formed a fund to help pay for Wilson’s medical treatment.

Here’s a very rare interview with Wilson, one year before the label would fold followed by a splendid BBC documentary on Factory Records.

About New Order

New Order formed in Manchester, England, in 1980, founded by Bernard Sumner (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Peter Hook (bass) and Stephen Morris (drums), all former members of Joy Division, following the death of Joy Division vocalist Ian Curtis on 18 May 1980. Keyboardist Gillian Gilbert joined shortly after. Joy Division had released two studio albums on Factory Records, “Unknown Pleasures” (1979) and “Closer” (1980); New Order continued on the same label, releasing “Movement” (1981), “Power, Corruption & Lies” (1983), “Low-Life” (1985), “Brotherhood” (1986) and “Technique” (1989). The 1983 single “Blue Monday” became the best-selling twelve-inch single of all time.

Factory Communications Ltd declared bankruptcy in November 1992 with debts exceeding two million pounds, driven substantially by two of its flagship acts overspending on recordings: Happy Mondays’ budget for “Yes Please!” rose to around 380,000 pounds recording in Barbados, while New Order spent roughly 430,000 pounds on its comeback album, “Republic,” ultimately released in May 1993 via London Records rather than Factory. A proposed takeover by London Records fell through when it emerged that, because Factory had operated without formal contracts, New Order owned its own back catalogue, leaving the label nothing to acquire. In 2025, New Order issued expanded archival reissues of its four Factory-era albums via Warner Music.

Eldrina Mich

As Eldrina Mich I work as a go-between and a devil’s advocate when it comes to Side-Line. If our own staff needs to be interviewed then ask the questions no one else dares to ask.

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