Robert Leo Gretton (15 January 1953 – 15 May 1999) was the manager of Joy Division and New Order. He was partner in and co-director of

Factory Records 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 Duru ...

and a founding partner of The Haçienda. For ten years until his death in 1999, Gretton ran his own label, Rob’s Records.

Life and career

In 1977, Gretton became a leading figure in the Manchester punk scene with his involvement with Slaughter & The Dogs. He was DJ in Rafters club and manager of The Panik. Gretton's involvement with the Manchester scene began when he contributed £200 to co-finance Slaughter & the Dogs' first single, the punk classic "Cranked Up Really High". In 1978, Gretton saw Joy Division perform at the Stiff Test/Chiswick Challenge battle of the bands in Manchester City centre. The next day, he accosted

Bernard Sumner Bernard Sumner (born 4 January 1956) is an English singer, musician, songwriter, and record producer. He is a founding member of the bands Joy Division, New Order, and Electronic. Sumner was an early force in several areas, including the po ...

in a phone box and insisted he be the band’s manager. Tony Wilson of newly formed

also saw Joy Division, and perhaps Gretton, for the first time that night. He then went on to write to Wilson twice, once asking to appear on Wilson’s regional music show, and again to thank him for mentioning Joy Division on the show. Wilson replied, telling Gretton that “Joy Division (were) the best thing I’ve heard in Manchester for about six months”. After joining Factory Records in 1979, Gretton brought many new bands to the label, including Section 25, X-O-Dus,

Crispy Ambulance Crispy Ambulance are an English post-punk band, formed in Manchester in late-1977 by Keith Darbyshire (bass), Robert Davenport (guitar), Alan Hempsall (vocals), and Gary Madeley (drums).Strong, Martin C. (2003) ''The Great Indie Discography'', ...

Stockholm Monsters Stockholm Monsters were an English post-punk band, formed in Burnage a suburb of the city of Manchester in 1980. They recorded for Factory Records between 1981 and 1987. History The band formed in Manchester in 1980 with a line-up of Tony France ...

Minny Pops Minny Pops is a Dutch, Amsterdam-based new wave/electronic/art punk band, associated with the Ultra post-punk movement in the Netherlands and the Factory Records label in the UK. History The vocalist/songwriter/programmer Wally van Middendo ...

, The Names,

Quando Quango Quando Quango were a British electronic music group, formed by The Haçienda DJ and Factory Records A&R man Mike Pickering, Hillegonda Rietveld and Reinier Rietveld. Their unique sound influenced the underground dance music scenes in New Yor ...

, The Wake, 52nd Street and Happy Mondays. Gretton was proprietor of the

Rob's Records Rob's Records was a British, Manchester-based independent record label founded by Rob Gretton, former manager of Joy Division and New Order, and a co-director of Factory Records. Their first release in 1989 was the single "Security" by the US- ...

label and a co-founder of The Haçienda nightclub in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The ...

. In 1995, he founded Manchester Records. He was a supporter of Manchester City F.C. Rob Gretton grave 19 06 14 881000

Peter Hook Peter Hook (born Woodhead; 13 February 1956) is an English musician, best known as the bassist and co-founder of the rock bands Joy Division and New Order. Hook often used the bass as a lead instrument, playing melodies on the high strings w ...

recalls in his memoirs, '' Unknown Pleasures: Inside Joy Division'' and ''Substance: Inside New Order'' how Gretton would sometimes record backing vocals on New Order tracks and often helped with deliberations over song and album titles with both Joy Division and New Order. He died in May 1999 at the age of 46 as the result of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which ma ...

.Dickinson, Bob.
Rob Gretton
. ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers '' The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the ...

'', 21 May 1999. Retrieved on 8 February 2009.

Portrayal in the media

Gretton was portrayed by Paddy Considine in the 2002 film ''

24 Hour Party People ''24 Hour Party People'' is a 2002 British biographical comedy-drama film about Manchester's popular music community from 1976 to 1992, and specifically about Factory Records. It was written by Frank Cottrell Boyce and directed by Michael Wint ...

'', which dramatized the rise and fall of Factory Records, and by

Toby Kebbell Tobias Alistair Patrick Kebbell''Births, Marriages & Deaths: Toby is married to Arielle Wyatt. They got married in 2020 and they have one child together. Index of England & Wales, 1916–2005.''; at ancestry.com (born 9 July 1982) is an English ...

in the 2007 film ''

Control Control may refer to: Basic meanings Economics and business * Control (management), an element of management * Control, an element of management accounting * Comptroller (or controller), a senior financial officer in an organization * Controlli ...

'', a biopic of Joy Division singer Ian Curtis.

References

External links

Rob Gretton biography at LTM
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gretton, Rob 1953 births 1999 deaths English music managers New Order (band) People educated at St Bede's College, Manchester Factory Records 20th-century British musicians 20th-century English businesspeople Burials at Southern Cemetery, Manchester