Robert Leo Gretton (15 January 1953 – 15 May 1999) was the manager of

Joy Division Joy Division were an English rock band formed in Salford in 1976. The group consisted of vocalist Ian Curtis, guitarist/keyboardist Bernard Sumner, bassist Peter Hook and drummer Stephen Morris. Sumner and Hook formed the band after at ...

and New Order. He was partner in and co-director of Factory Records 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 Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture ...

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 in a phone box and insisted he be the band’s manager. Tony Wilson of newly formed Factory Records 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, Stockholm Monsters, Minny Pops, The Names, Quando Quango, The Wake, 52nd Street and

Happy Mondays Happy Mondays are an English rock band formed in Salford in 1980. The original line-up was Shaun Ryder (vocals), his brother Paul Ryder ( bass), Gary Whelan (drums), Paul Davis (keyboard), and Mark Day (guitar). Mark "Bez" Berry later joined ...

. Gretton was proprietor of the Rob's Records 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 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

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 G ...

'', 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'', which dramatized the rise and fall of Factory Records, and by Toby Kebbell in the 2007 film '' Control'', 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