Martin Hannett

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Martin Hannett was a producer from Manchester who helped shape the sound of British post-punk. He was born in 1948, studied chemistry and played bass guitar in local bands. In 1977, under the name Martin Zero, he produced the EP Spiral Scratch by Buzzcocks, one of the first punk records to appear outside the major record companies. He then worked with the poet John Cooper Clarke and became one of the founders and directors of Factory Records, Tony Wilson's label.

Music and breakthrough

At Factory he produced everything Joy Division recorded in the studio, including the albums Unknown Pleasures (1979) and Closer (1980) and the single Love Will Tear Us Apart (1980), which only became a hit after the death of the singer Ian Curtis. Hannett treated the studio as an instrument, like the German producer Conny Plank. He worked with echoes, delays, filters and loops, and mixed the drums with synthesizer sounds. As a result the drums on Unknown Pleasures sound dry and almost mechanical, with a lot of empty space around them. He also worked with New Order, The Durutti Column, A Certain Ratio, Magazine, U2 and later Happy Mondays.

Influence

After leaving Factory his career fell into decline through alcohol and heroin. He died in 1991 in Manchester of heart failure, aged 42. His gravestone says that he created The Manchester Sound. In the films 24 Hour Party People (2002) and Control (2007) he appears as a character.

Listening

In School of Rock

The chapters, maps and magazine stories of School of Rock are currently available in Dutch only.

• Mixtape 4: When Rock Was Still Pop^NL Reader
• Magazine: Unknown Pleasures^NL Magazine

Mentioned in other articles

• Unknown Pleasures AlbumProducer Martin Hannett used unusual techniques: digital delays, tape echo, the sound of breaking glass and a lift with a rotating loudspeaker.