James Martin Hannett (31 May 1948 – 18 April 1991), initially credited as Martin Zero, was an English record producer, musician and an original partner/director at Tony Wilson's

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 ...

. Hannett produced music by artists including

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 atte ...

the Durutti Column The Durutti Column are an English post-punk band formed in 1978 in Manchester, England.Strong, Martin C. (1999) "The Great Alternative & Indie Discography", Canongate, The band is a project of guitarist and occasional pianist Vini Reilly wh ...

Magazine A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combinatio ...

John Cooper Clarke John Cooper Clarke (born 25 January 1949) is an English performance poet, who first became famous as a " punk poet" in the late 1970s. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, he released several albums. Around this time, he performed on stage with se ...

, New Order,

Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD) are an English electronic band formed in Wirral, Merseyside, in 1978. The group consists of co-founders Andy McCluskey (vocals, bass guitar) and Paul Humphreys (keyboards, vocals), along with Martin C ...

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 joine ...

. His distinctive production style embraced atmospheric sounds and

electronics The field of electronics is a branch of physics and electrical engineering that deals with the emission, behaviour and effects of electrons using electronic devices. Electronics uses active devices to control electron flow by amplification ...

Early life

Born 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 ...

, England, Hannett was raised in a working class, Catholic family in

Miles Platting Miles Platting is an inner city part of Manchester, England, northeast of Manchester city centre along the Rochdale Canal and A62 road, bounded by Monsall to the north, Collyhurst to the west, Newton Heath to the east, and Bradford, Holt To ...

, Manchester; he attended Corpus Christi school and Xaverian College in

Rusholme Rusholme () is an area of Manchester, England, two miles south of the city centre. The population of the ward at the 2011 census was 13,643. Rusholme is bounded by Chorlton-on-Medlock to the north, Victoria Park and Longsight to the east, F ...

. In 1967, he went to the

University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology The University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST) was a university based in the centre of the city of Manchester in England. It specialised in technical and scientific subjects and was a major centre for research. On 1 Oct ...

(UMIST), where he earned a degree in chemistry but chose not to pursue the profession.

Career

Hannett's uncle was a bass player and gave his nephew a bass guitar when he was 14. Hannett played bass with Spider Mike King and as member in a band called Paradox, in 1973, alongside

Paul Young Paul Antony Young (born 17 January 1956) is an English musician, singer and songwriter. Formerly the frontman of the short-lived bands Kat Kool & the Kool Cats, Streetband and Q-Tips, he became a teen idol with his solo success in the 1980s. ...

, later of

Sad Café Sad Café are an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1976, who achieved their peak of popularity in the late 1970s and early 1980s. They are best known for the UK top 40 singles "Every Day Hurts", "Strange Little Girl", " My Oh My" and "I ...

and

Mike + The Mechanics Mike and the Mechanics (stylised as Mike + The Mechanics) is an English rock supergroup formed in Dover in 1985 by Mike Rutherford, initially as a side project during a hiatus period for his earlier group Genesis. The band is known for hit si ...

. Hannett's production work began with the animation film soundtrack ''All Kinds of Heroes'', written by Steve Hopkins (with whom Hannett later worked again). By this time, he also began to mix live sound at pub gigs. Other early production works included Greasy Bear material, Belt & Braces Road Show Band's eponymous album in 1975 and five songs from Pete Farrow's repertoire recorded at Pennine Studios,

Oldham Oldham is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, amid the Pennines and between the rivers Irk and Medlock, southeast of Rochdale and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, w ...

, later included on Farrow's compilation album ''Who Says There's No Beach in Stockport''. He attracted more musical attention in 1977, when, as Martin Zero, he produced the first independent punk record,

Buzzcocks Buzzcocks are an English punk rock band formed in Bolton, England in 1976 by singer-songwriter-guitarist Pete Shelley and singer-songwriter Howard Devoto. They are regarded as a seminal influence on the Manchester music scene, the indepen ...

' '' Spiral Scratch'' EP. Under the same moniker he produced early records by punk poet

, whose

Salford Salford () is a city and the largest settlement in the City of Salford metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. In 2011, Salford had a population of 103,886. It is also the second and only other city in the metropolitan county afte ...

monotone was complemented by drum machines, simple synthesiser motifs and Hannett's bass playing. Jilted John's first single (titled "Jilted John") was Hannett's first hit single. Hannett became closely associated with

; his production incorporated

looping Looping may refer to: Media and entertainment * Loop (music), a repeating section of sound material * Audio induction loop, an aid for the hard of hearing * a film production term for dubbing (filmmaking) * repeating drawings in an animated cartoo ...

technology to treat musical notes with an array of filters, echoes and delays. Hannett had a collection of BBD echo devices which he called his "bluetop echo and delay boxes". The Cargo Recording Studios in

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Bor ...

were used for the recording of ''Digital'', ''Glass'', ''

Atmosphere An atmosphere () is a layer of gas or layers of gases that envelop a planet, and is held in place by the gravity of the planetary body. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A ...

'', ''Dead Souls'' and ''Ice Age''. Hannett's unorthodox production methods resulted in drum sounds mixed with synthesisers that were complex and highly distinctive. According to Hannett: "There was a lot of space in oy Division'ssound. They were a gift to a producer, because they didn't have a clue. They didn't argue. ''A Factory Sample'' was the first thing I did with them. I think I'd had the new AMS delay line for about two weeks. It was called 'Digital'. It was heaven sent." Hannett produced U2's first international single, "

11 O'Clock Tick Tock "11 O'Clock Tick Tock" is a song by Irish rock band U2. It was released as a single on 16 May 1980, and was produced by Martin Hannett. It followed their debut EP ''Three'' and the single " Another Day." It was the group's first release for Islan ...

", which was released in May 1980. He was set to produce their debut album, ''

Boy A boy is a young male human. The term is commonly used for a child or an adolescent. When a male human reaches adulthood, he is described as a man. Definition, etymology, and use According to the ''Merriam-Webster Dictionary'', a boy is ...

'', but after the suicide of Joy Division singer Ian Curtis, Hannett was too distraught to work and backed out. A rift developed with Factory and he sued them in 1982 over various financial matters. The dispute was eventually settled out of court; the lawsuit is listed as part of the

Factory Records catalogue A factory, manufacturing plant or a production plant is an industrial facility, often a complex consisting of several buildings filled with machinery, where workers manufacture items or operate machines which process each item into another. Th ...

as FAC61. When Hannett returned to produce the Happy Mondays he worked as a freelance producer and was not reinstated as a Factory director.

Personal life and death

Susanne O'Hara was Hannett's girlfriend from 1972 until 1984. They lived together from 1975 in Chorlton and

Didsbury Didsbury is a suburban area of Manchester, England, on the north bank of the River Mersey, south of Manchester city centre. The population at the 2011 census was 26,788. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Lancashire, there are ...

, in Manchester. O'Hara worked with Hannett at Music Force, a musicians' cooperative in Manchester, until it closed when Hannett's production career began to develop, around 1979. After Factory, Hannett's career declined due to his heavy use of alcohol and drugs, especially heroin; his weight eventually reached 26 stone (165 kilograms, 364 pounds). Hannett died on 18 April 1991 at the age of 42 in Manchester, as a result of

heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome, a group of signs and symptoms caused by an impairment of the heart's blood pumping function. Symptoms typically include shortness of breath, excessive fatigue, ...

. He was survived by his wife Wendy, son James and stepdaughter Tania. His headstone at

Southern Cemetery, Manchester Southern Cemetery is a large municipal cemetery in Chorlton-cum-Hardy, Manchester, England, south of the city centre. It opened in 1879 and is owned and administered by Manchester City Council. It is the largest municipal cemetery in the United ...

pays him tribute as the creator of "The Manchester Sound".

Legacy

A film documentary about Hannett's life was released on DVD on the 23rd anniversary of his death on 10 April 2014. A book was released the same day, ''Martin Hannett – Pleasures of the Unknown'' by Chris Hewitt. Another book by Hewitt, ''Martin Hannett, His Equipment and Strawberry Studios'', was published on 26 January 2016 to coincide with the 50th anniversary of Strawberry Recording Studios. Several weeks after his death, Factory Records released "Martin: The Work of Martin Hannett" (FACT325) as a tribute. Hannett was portrayed by

Andy Serkis Andrew Clement Serkis (born 20 April 1964) is an English actor, director, and producer. He is best known for his performance capture roles comprising motion capture acting, animation, and voice work for computer-generated characters such as Go ...

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 was based on Tony Wilson's career as the co-founder of Factory Records and

The Haçienda The Haçienda was a nightclub and music venue in Manchester, North West England, which became famous during the Manchester years of the 1980s and early 1990s. It was run by the record label Factory Records. The club opened in 1982, eventually ...

nightclub. In the DVD commentary, Wilson notes a review that described Hannett as Serkis' "strangest role" and points out that Serkis is best known for his portrayal of

Gollum Gollum is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. He was introduced in the 1937 fantasy novel '' The Hobbit'', and became important in its sequel, '' The Lord of the Rings''. Gollum was a Stoor Hobbit of the R ...

Peter Jackson Sir Peter Robert Jackson (born 31 October 1961) is a New Zealand film director, screenwriter and producer. He is best known as the director, writer and producer of the ''Lord of the Rings'' trilogy (2001–2003) and the ''Hobbit'' trilogy ( ...

's ''

The Lord of the Rings ''The Lord of the Rings'' is an epic high-fantasy novel by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, intended to be Earth at some time in the distant past, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's bo ...

'' trilogy. Wilson concludes that the reviewer's implication is correct, that indeed, Hannett was far stranger than the ''Lord of the Rings'' character. Hannett was portrayed by Ben Naylor in

Anton Corbijn Anton Johannes Gerrit Corbijn van Willenswaard (; born 20 May 1955) is a Dutch photographer, film director and music video director. He is the creative director behind the visual output of Depeche Mode and U2,Pitman, Joanna"The silent partner"' ...

's 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 ...

'' (2007).

Selected discography

Albums produced

* Belt & Braces Road Show Band – ''Belt & Braces Road Show Band'' LP 1975 private pressing – rare- tracks issued on Hannett Maverick Producer compilation CD * Pete Farrow, ''Who Says There's No Beach in Stockport?'' recorded 1977 issued 2001 on CD by Ozit Morpheus and on Maverick Producer Hannett compilation CD *

– ''

Disguise in Love ''Disguise in Love'' is the second studio album by John Cooper Clarke, first released in 1978. (It followed '' Ou est la maison de fromage?''). Most of the tracks are spoken over musical accompaniment provided by Clarke's band The Invisible Girl ...

'' 1978 * Jilted John – ''True Love Stories'' 1978 *

The Durutti Column The Durutti Column are an English post-punk band formed in 1978 in Manchester, England.Strong, Martin C. (1999) "The Great Alternative & Indie Discography", Canongate, The band is a project of guitarist and occasional pianist Vini Reilly wh ...

– ''

The Return of the Durutti Column ''The Return of the Durutti Column'' is the debut studio album by English band The Durutti Column. It was released in January 1980, through record label Factory. Background The initial two thousand copies also included a flexi-disc single w ...

'' 1979 *

– ''

Unknown Pleasures ''Unknown Pleasures'' is the debut studio album by English rock band Joy Division, released on 15 June 1979 by Factory Records. The album was recorded and mixed over three successive weekends at Stockport's Strawberry Studios in April 1979, wi ...

'' 1979 *

Pauline Murray and the Invisible Girls The Invisible Girls were a British rock band, formed in Salford, Greater Manchester in 1978, to provide a musical backdrop to the recorded output of Salford punk poet John Cooper Clarke. The band's nucleus was Joy Division and New Order produ ...

– ''

'' 1979 *

Basement 5 Basement 5 were a reggae punk fusion band from London founded in 1978. Their first vocalist was Winston Fergus, then Don Letts. One of their early performances was a support for Public Image Ltd.'s London debut at the Rainbow on Christmas Day 19 ...

– ''

1965–1980 ''1965–1980'' is the sole studio album by Basement 5, released in 1980 by record label Antilles. It was produced by Martin Hannett. Original drummer Tony Thompson left the band on the first day of the album sessions. Session musician Charley ...

'' and ''In Dub'' 1980 *

– ''

Snap, Crackle & Bop ''Snap, Crackle & Bop'' is the fourth album by John Cooper Clarke, originally released in 1980. As with ''Disguise in Love'', the album featured The Invisible Girls as the backing band and was produced by Martin Hannett. Original first pressing ...

'' 1980 *

– '' Closer'' 1980 *

– '' The Correct Use of Soap'' 1980 *

The Psychedelic Furs The Psychedelic Furs are a post-punk band founded in London in February 1977. Led by lead vocalist Richard Butler and his brother Tim Butler on bass guitar, the Psychedelic Furs are one of the many acts spawned from the British post-punk scen ...

– ''

'' 1980 (songs "Susan's Strange" and "Soap Commercial") * Various Artists - A Factory Quartet 1980 - Three tracks by

and six by The Royal Family and the Poor. The double album on

also featured a side each from

Kevin Hewick Kevin Hewick (born 4 February 1957) is an English singer-songwriter who was an early member of the Factory Records roster. Today he is known for his recordings on Sorted, Pink Box and his own Botheration label, and his work with Venetian collec ...

and

Blurt Blurt is an English post-punk band, founded in 1979 in Stroud, Gloucestershire. Background Blurt was founded in 1979 in Stroud, Gloucestershire by poet, saxophonist and puppeteer Ted Milton along with Milton's brother Jake, formerly of ...

A Certain Ratio A Certain Ratio (abbreviated as ACR) are an English post-punk band formed in 1977 in Flixton, Greater Manchester by Peter Terrell (guitar, electronics) and Simon Topping (vocals, trumpet), with additional members Jez Kerr (bass, vocals), Martin ...

– '' To Each...'' 1981 *

– ''

Still A still is an apparatus used to distill liquid mixtures by heating to selectively boil and then cooling to condense the vapor. A still uses the same concepts as a basic distillation apparatus, but on a much larger scale. Stills have been use ...

'' 1981 *

– ''

Magic, Murder and the Weather ''Magic, Murder and the Weather'' is the fourth studio album by English post-punk band Magazine, and their final album until the band's reformation in 2009. It was released in June 1981 by record label Virgin. One single, "About the Weather", ...

'' (1981) – mixed * New Order – '' Movement'' 1981 * Section 25 – ''

Always Now ''Always Now'' is the debut studio album by Section 25. It was released in September 1981 through iconic Manchester record label Factory with the catalogue number FACT 45. The album was produced by Martin Hannett, best known for producing both ...

'' (1981) *

– '' Zip Style Method'' (1982) * The Names – ''

Swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, or other liquid, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Locomotion is achieved through coordinated movement of the limbs and the body to achieve hydrodynamic thrust that r ...

'' (1982) * Orchestre Rouge – ''Yellow Laughter'' 1982 * Armande Altaï – ''Nocturne Flamboyant'' (1983) *

Blue in Heaven Blue in Heaven were an Irish rock quartet from Churchtown, Dublin, Ireland, active from 1982 to 1989 and led by singer Shane O'Neill. They reformed in 1990 as The Blue Angels. O'Neill later went on to form Supernaut with Dave Long from Into Parad ...

– ''All the Gods Men'' (1985) *

The Stone Roses The Stone Roses were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1983. One of the pioneering groups of the Madchester movement in the late 1980s and early 1990s, the band's classic and most prominent lineup consisted of vocalist Ian Brown, ...

– ''The Martin Hannett album'' (1985) (Finally released as ''

Garage Flower ''Garage Flower'' is an album by English rock band The Stone Roses. The album was recorded in mid-1985 and was produced by Martin Hannett, collecting the band's early songs. The album wasn't released at the time because the band were unhappy w ...

'', coupled with the single "So Young" in 1996) * Walk the Walk – ''Walk the Walk'' (1987) *

– '' Bummed'' (1988) *

The High The High are an English rock group from Manchester, whose sound combines alternative rock with a 1960s pop/ psychedelic guitar sound. History The band was formed in 1989 by former Turning Blue singer John Matthews, along with former Buzzc ...

– ''Somewhere Soon'' (1990) * Joy Division – '' Martin Hannett's Personal Mixes'' (2007) * Joy Division – ''In the Studio with Martin Hannett'' (2008) * Johnny and the Cold Demons – ''Walk the Walk'' (2014)

Singles and EPs produced

, '' Spiral Scratch'' 1976 as Martin Zero *

Slaughter and the Dogs Slaughter and the Dogs are an English punk rock band formed in 1975 in Wythenshawe, Manchester. Their original line-up consisted of singer Wayne Barrett McGrath, rhythm guitar Mick Rossi, drummer Brian "Mad Muffet" Grantham, lead guitarist M ...

, "Cranked Up Really High" 1977 as Martin Zero * Jilted John, "Jilted John" 1978 *

, "

Transmission Transmission may refer to: Medicine, science and technology * Power transmission ** Electric power transmission ** Propulsion transmission, technology allowing controlled application of power *** Automatic transmission *** Manual transmission ** ...

" 1979 *

, "Almost" 1979 as Martin Zero *

, "Flight" 1979/1980 * A Certain Ratio, ''Do the Du'' EP 1980 *

, "Haystack" 1980 *

, "

Love Will Tear Us Apart "Love Will Tear Us Apart" is a song by English rock band Joy Division, released in June 1980 as a non-album single. Its lyrics were inspired by lead singer Ian Curtis's marital problems and struggles with epilepsy. The single was released the m ...

" 1980 * Buzzcocks, ''Are Everything'', ''Strange Thing'' 1980 * U2, "

" 1980 *

, "Mr X" 1980 * Pauline Murray and the Invisible Girls, " Searching for Heaven" 1981 *

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'', ...

, " Live on a Hot August Night" 1981 * ESG, '' ESG'' 1981 * Kissing the Pink, "Don't Hide in the Shadows" 1981 * New Order, "Ceremony" 1981 * New Order, "Everything's Gone Green" 1981 * New Order, "Procession" 1981 *

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 ...

, "Dolphin's Spurt" 1981 * Tunnelvision, "Watching the Hydroplanes" 1981 *

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 ...

, "Fairy Tales" 1981 * The Names, "Nightshift" 1980 * The Names, "Calcutta" 1981 * The Names, "The Astronaut" 1982 *

, "Across My Heart" (version) 1984 *

, "So Young" / "Tell Me" 1985 * Kit, "Overshadowing Me" 1990 *

Kitchens of Distinction Kitchens of Distinction (sometimes shortened colloquially to KOD) are an English three-person alternative rock band formed in Tooting, South London, in 1986. They released four studio albums and a handful of singles and EPs before disbanding i ...

, "Quick as Rainbows" 1990 *

New Fast Automatic Daffodils New Fast Automatic Daffodils (later shortened to New FADS) were an alternative rock group from Manchester, England, active between 1988 and 1995. History The band was formed in 1988 by former members of the punk rock group Pariah.Strong, Mar ...

, "Get Better" 1991 *

World of Twist World of Twist were an English indie pop band, formed in Sheffield in 1985. History The original line-up of the band consisted of James Fry (vocals), Andrew Hobson (bass guitar), Gordon King (guitar), Tony Ogden (drums), Rory Conolly (saxopho ...

, "She's a Rainbow" 1991 * Wasted Youth, "Rebecca's Room" 1981 * Chris Sievey, “Camouflage” 1983

Compilations

* ''Martin: The Work of Martin Hannett'' (Factory Records, 1991) * ''And Here is the Young Man'' (Debutante, 1998) * ''Zero: A Martin Hannett Story 1977–1991 (Big Beat, 2006) * ''Martin Hannett- Maverick Producer, Genius and Musician'' 2-CD set ( Ozit Morpheus Records Sept 2011)

References

External links

Martin Hannett biography at LTM

Interview with Jon Savage (last archived version)

* Martin Hannett explaining his production of Pauline Murray and the Invisible Girls' "The Visitor" song.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hannett, Martin 1948 births 1991 deaths Alumni of the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology Buzzcocks English record producers English male guitarists Male bass guitarists English new wave musicians People from Miles Platting Factory Records artists Factory Records 20th-century English musicians 20th-century English bass guitarists 20th-century British male musicians Burials at Southern Cemetery, Manchester The Invisible Girls members