Factory Records: ALBUMS

The FAC numbers have, to date, reached the dizzy heights of 451, but there are numerous gaps in between, as Tony struggled to make every important release numerically poignant as well. The patterns started with Vini Reilly's Durutti Column outfit, as Tony describes: We were at FAC10 for [Joy Division album] Unknown Pleasures, then 11 for X-O-Dus, and 12 and then 13, then Vini's album is 14. It was only when we did the next album that we said 'Well what's this going to be? Well that one was 14, well this could be 24'. And the fact that the second album that Vini was on, was a four sides, with four artists. Two albums, four artists, it was like 'Oh look, 24!' Four artists, two vinyl, how appropriate."

So while Vini's work always tried to end on a four, Joy Division singles ended on a three, Happy Monday's singles ended in two, but their albums ended on zero. What may seem to be a nightmare in logistical methodology, was, according to Tony, the opposite: "It was like you were falling into appropriateness all the time".

- extract from The Big Numbers Game (from the now-defunct website for the movie 24 Hour Party People.