Durutti Column, The - Sex and Death

Limited edition of 1500 2xLP (LP1 blue vinyl, LP2 silver vinyl) in gatefold jacket. 2xCD edition is also available.

2xLP: Five bonus tracks are previously unreleased, having been retrieved from a long-lost DAT tape located in Tony Wilson’s personal archive. All tracks on the album have been newly re-mastered in 2020 by Peter Beckmann and Technology Works.

2xCD: Of the 10 bonus tracks on Disc 2, 6 are previously unreleased, having been retrieved from a long-lost DAT tape located in Tony Wilson’s personal archive. The other 4 are album outtakes previously only available as an online download. All tracks have been newly re-mastered in 2020 by Peter Beckmann and Technology Works.

Factory Benelux presents an expanded double vinyl edition of Sex and Death, the 11th studio album by lauded Factory Records ensemble The Durutti Column. Originally released in 1994 on CD only, the album has now been re-mastered with 5 bonus tracks and appears on vinyl for the very first time in a coloured vinyl edition limited to 1500 copies.

The writing and recording of Sex and Death closed an uncertain period for Vini Reilly and the group following the collapse of Factory Records in 1992. Factory founder Tony Wilson remained in post as manager of the band, but Sex and Death would be their last album with producer Stephen Street, famed for his work with Morrissey, The Smiths and Blur.

Writer and master guitarist Vini Reilly remained philosophical. “People say the Durutti Column is this or that. I don’t care, so long as we make good music. There’s screaming feedback on some tracks, heavy metal guitar, Spanish picking. It’s not just this ethereal trip. Don’t listen to the form, never listen to the form. Listen to the content.”

Stand-out tracks include Anthony (dedicated to Wilson), The Rest of My Life, and Believe In Me. Guest musicians include viola player John Metcalfe, vocalist Ruth-Ann Boyle (later to form hitmakers Olive with Tim Kellett), programmer Martin Jackson (Magazine, Swing Out Sister) and bassist Peter Hook, then on furlough from New Order post-Republic.

2xLP: 

LP1: 

A1. Anthony
A2. The Rest of My Life
A3. For Colette
A4. The Next Time
B1. Beautiful Lies
B2. My Irascible Friend
B3. Believe In Me
B4. Fermina

LP2:

C1. Where I Should Be
C2. Fado
C3. Madre Mio
C4. Blue Period
C5. War Torn
D1. Picking Guitar for the Shrimp
D2. The Celestial Bar
D3. Jumble Drums, Growling Bass and the Whammy Bar
D4. For Cameron de la Isla

2xCD:

Disc 1: 

1. Anthony
2. The Rest of My Life
3. For Colette
4. The Next Time
5. Beautiful Lies
6. My Irascible Friend
7. Believe In Me
8. Fermina
9.Where I Should Be
10. Fado
11. Madre Mio
12. Blue Period

Disc 2:

1. Believe In Me (Mix 1)
2. You Mess Me Up
3. My Only Love (aka Duet)
4. Believe In Me (Mix 2)
5. Picking Guitar for the Shrimp
6. Get Me to the Beat On Time
7. Jumble Drums, Growling Bass and the Whammy Bar
8. For Cameron de la Isla
9. War Torn
10. The Celestial Bar