Origin | Blackpool, England |
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Genres | Post-punk, alternative dance, electronic, alternative rock |
Years active | 1977–1988, 2001–present |
Labels | Factory, LTM, Factory Benelux |
Website | section25.com |
Members |
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Past members |
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Section 25 are an English post-punk and electronic band, best known for the single 'Looking from a Hilltop', with two different music videos, and their association with Manchester record label Factory Records.
Section 25 - Always Now The classic 1981 postpunk album on Factory Records produced by Martin Hannett Remastered 2xCD edition (34 tracks) with bonus singles, album outtakes, John Peel session and a complete live concert from 1980 Track 1-1 to 1-10 Originally released as the album Always Now in September 1981. Item 4 Section 25 - Always Now New CD Deluxe Ed 4 - Section 25 - Always Now New CD Deluxe Ed. Free postage. Item 5 Section 25 - Always Now CD 5 - Section 25 - Always Now CD AU $28.05. Free postage. Item 6 Always Now by Section 25. 6 - Always Now by Section 25. 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 of Joy Division's studio albums. Joy Division front man Ian Curtis has been credited as co-producing the record, in parts produced before his death in May 1980. Payment Security We take the security of our website and of your transactions extremely seriously. We encrypt all traffic involving personal data with industry-standard SSL certificates and we are also PCI compliant - meaning that we follow all current data security standards and undergo weekly scans monitoring our security status.
History[edit]
Early recordings 1977–1982 (Always Now to Key of Dreams)[edit]
Section 25 formed in Poulton-le-Fylde near Blackpool, Lancashire, in November 1977. Initially the band was a duo, consisting of brothers Larry Cassidy (bass, vocals) and Vincent Cassidy (drums). In June 1978 they made their live debut with Phil Denton on guitar. Denton was replaced in November by Paul Wiggin. June 1979 saw the Cassidy brothers promote a charity gig in aid of International Year of the Child at Blackpool Imperial Hotel, featuring Section 25 and other local bands as well as Joy Division and Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark. As a result, Section 25 were invited to play at the Russell Club in Manchester, and joined Factory Records.
Their debut 7', 'Girls Don't Count', was released in July 1980 on Factory Records, produced by Ian Curtis and Rob Gretton of Joy Division. All Section 25 releases would be released through either Factory Records (until the demise of that label), or sister imprint Factory Benelux. Their debut LP, Always Now, appeared in 1981 and was produced by Martin Hannett at Britannia Row studio. The pochette sleeve was among the most expensive and elaborate in the label's history (designed by Peter Saville) utilising an exclusive 'marble' effect design printed on the inner jacket and a fold-out cover that resembled a match-book similar to the cover used by Cabaret Voltaire for their 2x45 album.
The three-piece group played many gigs in Britain and Northern Europe between 1979 and 1981, both as a headline act and with other Factory Records artists, such as Joy Division, A Certain Ratio, Blurt, The Durutti Column, Crispy Ambulance and New Order. The group also released a self-produced second album, The Key of Dreams. However the original line-up split in September 1981 shortly after Paul Wiggin declined to fly to a concert in Helsinki supporting New Order, swallowing up most of their fee by travelling overland. With a North American tour already planned, his fear of flying made his departure inevitable. Factory label boss Tony Wilson then tried and failed to recruit then-unknown guitarist Johnny Marr as a replacement.[1][2]
Abandoning much of the existing live set, the Cassidy brothers prepared for an upcoming European tour with backing tapes and an extra percussionist John Grice. Following a warm-up date in London, the group visited Belgium, Holland and Germany in January 1982 in tandem with Factory labelmates Crispy Ambulance. The band then undertook their first North American tour, albeit restricted to the East Coast.
1983 – 2006 (From The Hip to Love & Hate)[edit]
Joined by percussionist Lee Shallcross, Section 25 gradually evolved with a more electronic-dance direction, a process which culminated in the album From the Hip and remix single 'Looking From A Hilltop', both released in 1984 and produced by Bernard Sumner of New Order. This second iteration of the band also featured the Cassidy brothers' sister Angela Flowers (vocals, keyboards) and Larry Cassidy's wife Jenny Ross (vocals, keyboards). The five-piece completed a lengthy second tour of North America in January 1985, where the single 'Looking From A Hilltop' achieved a measure of club success.
Later in 1985 the single 'Crazy Wisdom' emerged on Factory Benelux as a 12', but the group again splintered, leaving husband-and-wife team Larry Cassidy and Jenny Ross to complete a fourth album, Love & Hate, finally released by Factory in 1988. Bad News Week was also released as a 12' single, remixed by Bernard Sumner. Section 25 then fell silent for more than a decade, although their entire back catalogue was reissued on CD on LTM as well as an archive DVD, So Far. There have also been several live and rarity CDs released by the same label.
In 2001 the band regrouped and started composing new material. It was originally expected that this would form the basis for a new album, but these plans were derailed when Jenny Ross, after a long fight with cancer, died on 20 November 2004 at age 42. The LTM DVD So Far, an audio-visual history of the band released in January 2005, was dedicated to her memory.
2006 – 2009 (Part-Primitiv to Nature and Degree)[edit]
Now with Ian Butterworth (formerly of fellow Factory act Tunnelvison) on guitar and Roger Wikeley on bass and keyboards, the Cassidy brothers performed their first live show in nearly two decades at their hometown Poulton-Le-Fylde in May 2006 followed by dates in Blackpool, Paris, Brussels, Leicester, London and Athens.
A new studio album by the quartet, Part-Primitiv, was released by LTM in April 2007, together with Communicants, a DVD assembled from live performances in 2006. Larry and Vin Cassidy also featured in the 2006 Factory documentary film Shadowplayers, and a BBC television documentary on the label. The group performed at the Plan K venue in Brussels in December 2007 as part of the Factory Night (Once Again) event, being joined onstage by Peter Hook of New Order for a cover of 'Temptation'. It was then proposed that Hook and Section 25 play further shows together, performing a mixture of Section 25, Joy Division and New Order songs.
Roger Wikeley left Section 25 in 2008 and was replaced by Stephen Stringer. In November this revised line-up played with Peter Hook in Paris, Brussels, Oss in the southern Netherlands and Krefeld in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.[citation needed] Ian Butterworth parted company with the Section 25 at the end of the year. Stephen Stringer moved on to guitar and Section 25's sound engineer and programmer Stuart Hill moved on to bass guitar. Both were no strangers to Larry and Vin, who had helped them record demos in 1983 and 1985.
The band released a new album in 2009 called Nature + Degree through LTM Recordings. Several tracks featured vocals by Bethany Cassidy, daughter of Larry and Jenny, who joined the group as co-vocalist and keyboards player. Section 25 appeared at the 'Factory Night (And Then Again)' event at Plan K on 12 December 2009, with Beth and Larry sharing vocals. The group also returned to the States for festival dates in Los Angeles and San Francisco.
On 27 February 2010, it was announced that founding member, singer, and bass player for the group, Larry Cassidy, had died at the age of 56.[3][4][5]
2010 – present (Retrofit to Elektra)[edit]
Prior to Larry Cassidy's death, the band had completed work on a new album, Retrofit, which was released on 14 September 2010. The album features electro reworkings and updates of previously issued Section 25 tracks, as well as one new song 'Über Hymn'. The album closes with a new version of Looking From A Hilltop, produced and arranged by Stephen Morris of New Order.
Limited copies came with an extra CD of a 16-minute recording of Larry Cassidy reading selected lyrics of Joy Division's Ian Curtis. This was recorded in January 2010 and would be Larry's last visit to a recording studio.
The band opted to continue to perform with their current line up. Section 25 played the FAC251 club in Manchester on 20 November 2010, and in 2011 issued their first new release without Larry Cassidy, a download-only EP titled 'Invicta' EP, via Hacienda Records. June 2012 saw a deluxe vinyl reissue of From the Hip (Fact 90), issued as a special edition on Factory Records with 'remixed' artwork by Peter Saville, as well as a split coloured-vinyl 12' with Stereograph featuring two dub versions of 'Colour Movement Sex and Violence' and 'Inner Drive'.
Saville also provided the cover image and title for their eighth studio album, Dark Light, issued on the Factory Benelux imprint in February 2013. 'My Outrage' was also released as a 7' single. Also released during the same period were the 10' single 'Invicta Max' (an expansion of the 2011 EP of the same name) and the official remix album 'Eigengrau', featuring numerous remixes of earlier Section 25 recordings by Zoviet France, Absolute Body Control, Portion Control and Renaldo and the Loaf among others.
In May 2014, the group issued an expanded 30th anniversary CD edition of From the Hip via Factory Benelux, with a bonus disc featuring original demos as well as a BBC radio session from 1984 plus a new recording of 'Reflection'. Both Bernard Sumner and Jon Savage contributed liner notes. The new version of 'Reflection' (subtitled 'Younger Image') was also issued as a limited edition orange vinyl 7' single to mark Record Store Day in April 2014. On Record Store Day the band performed in Manchester with Factory peers Crispy Ambulance and Minny Pops. A review of the show in The Guardian described Section 25 as 'a revelation' and 'the best new/old band in Britain.'
In April 2015, Section 25 released 'Mirror', another limited edition 7' single for Record Store Day, with guest vocals by Simon Topping, formerly of A Certain Ratio. The song dated from 1980 but had never before been recorded in the studio. Both the song and the packaging complemented a new CD edition of Always Now, re-mastered and featuring a bonus disc with their 1981 John Peel radio session as well as a complete live concert from 1980. The packaging replicated the original wraparound cover designed by Peter Saville.
In 2016, the group released a new live album, Alfresco, as a vinyl and CD package to mark Record Store Day in April. That same year the track 'Hit' from their 1981 album Always Now was sampled by Kanye West on a new song, 'FML', featured on his seventh studio album, The Life of Pablo.[6]
In December 2017, the band announced on their Facebook page that they were working on a new album, to be released during the spring 2018. Vincent Cassidy also announced that their original guitarist, Paul Wiggin, will contribute on the new album. June 2018 saw the release of an eleven-track album, Elektra, recorded at West Orange Studios during the early part of the same year. The album featured appearances by original guitarist Paul Wiggin and newest family member Michael Cassidy on bass. One of the tracks, 'FML', is an acoustic cover of the Kanye West track that sampled the band's hit from their 1981 set Always Now.
Discography[edit]
Albums[edit]
- 1981: Always Now
- 1982: The Key of Dreams
- 1984: From the Hip
- 1988: Love & Hate
- 2007: Part-Primitiv
- 2009: Nature + Degree
- 2010: Retrofit
- 2013: Dark Light
- 2018: Elektra
Singles[edit]
- FAC 18: 'Girls Don't Count' / 'Knew Noise' / 'Up to You' 7' (With tracing paper sleeve)
- FAC 18-12: 'Girls Don't Count' / 'Knew Noise' / 'Up to You' 12' (Three different sleeves featured three different girls)
- FACBN 3 – 006: 'Charnel Ground' / 'Haunted' 7' (produced by Martin Hannett) (picture sleeve)
- FAC 66: 'The Beast' / 'Sakura' / 'Sakura' (Matrix Mix) / Trident' (Live) 12'
- FAC 68: 'Back to Wonder' / 'Beating Heart' 7' (There is also a test press 12', FAC 68-12)
- FAC 108: 'Looking from a Hilltop' (Restructure) / 'Looking from a Hilltop' (Megamix) 12'
- FBN 45: 'Crazy Wisdom' / 'Dirty Disco 2' / 'Guitar Waltz' 12'. This was initially intended for release via Factory Records. Produced by Dojo / Be Music
- FAC 157: 'Bad News Week' / 'Bad News Week 2' (Cough Mix) 12'. Produced by New Order's Bernard Sumner[7]
- MP3: Invicta EP (digital) – Four tracks. 'Colour, Movement, Sex & Violence' (Song Mix), 'Inner Drive' (Chaos Mix), 'Colour, Movement, Sex & Violence' (Alternative Mix), 'Inner Drive' (Song Mix)
- 7 FBN 62: 'My Outrage' / 'Hinterland' (picture sleeve)
- 7 FBN 53: 'Reflection (Young Image)' / 'Change' (orange vinyl)
- FBN 73: 'Mirror' / 'You Leave Me No Choice' (picture sleeve)
Other selected releases[edit]
- FACBN 5: 'Je Veux Ton Amour'/'Oyo Achel Ada' 7' (produced by Martin Hannett) (Picture sleeve). The A-side is a French version of 'Dirty Disco', a song issued on the album Always Now
- FAC 132: 'Crazy Wisdom' 7' (Cancelled – also FAC 132(T) should have been the 12'. Released by Factory Benelux instead)
- GG17: 'Eigengrau' – remix album feat versions of various Section 25 remixed by the likes of Portion Control, Absolute Body Control, 23 Skidoo, Cabaret Voltaire's Stephen Mallinder, Renaldo and the Loaf and more.
Compilation and live albums[edit]
- Deus Ex Machina (1998) (Some of this material was previously released as a mail-order cassette in 1984)
- Live in America and Europe 1982 (1998)
- From the Hip / In the Flesh (2000)
- Dirty Disco (Best Of) (2008)
- Fac. Dance 02 (Factory Records 12' Mixes & Rarities 1980-1987) (2012)
- Alfresco (2016)
Various artists compilation[edit]
![Section 25 Always Now Rar Section 25 Always Now Rar](/uploads/1/1/3/6/113626303/453195811.png)
- Hicks from the Sticks (1980)
References[edit]
- ^'Archived copy'. Archived from the original on 5 April 2010. Retrieved 13 April 2010.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- ^'Section 25 Biography'. Web.archive.org. 2 October 2000. Retrieved 14 September 2020.
- ^'Archived copy'. Archived from the original on 7 February 2009. Retrieved 1 March 2010.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- ^'Larry Cassidy/Section 25 RIP'. Johnrobb77.wordpress.com. 27 February 2010.
- ^'Cerysmatic Factory: Larry Cassidy (1953-2010)'. Web.archive.org. 14 September 2011. Retrieved 14 September 2020.
- ^'Kanye West samples post punk and Factory records key band Section 25 on new album'. Louderthanwar.com. 16 February 2016.
- ^'Vinylnet Record Label Discographies'. Vinylnet.co.uk.
External links[edit]
Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Section_25_(band)&oldid=978435996'
Always Now | |||
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Studio album by | |||
Released | September 1981 | ||
Recorded | February 1981 | ||
Studio | Britannia Row Studios, London, England | ||
Genre | Post-punk | ||
Label | Factory | ||
Producer |
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Section 25 chronology | |||
|
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [2] |
BBC | mixed[3] |
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 of Joy Division's studio albums. Joy Division front man Ian Curtis has been credited as co-producing the record, in parts produced before his death in May 1980.[1] Recording took place in February 1981 at Britannia Row Studios in Islington, London, owned by Pink Floyd.
A version of Dirty Disco with French lyrics was released as a single on Factory Benelux. The short, improvised instrumental C.P. was a musical collaboration (‘collective project’) between the band and Hannett. Two tracks recorded and finished at Britannia Row (Human Puppets and One True Path), were not included on the original vinyl album. English dance rock band Friendly Fires later took their name from the opening track.
While recording the album Section 25 supported New Order at London nightclub Heaven on 9 February 1981. Hannett mixed the live sound for both bands, using quadraphonic equipment rented from Britannia Row.
The album was reissued on CD in 1991 through LTM Recordings with several bonus tracks. An expanded double CD edition on Factory Benelux in 2015 re-mastered from the original analogue tapes, and added a bonus disc featuring their 1981 John Peel radio session as well as a complete live concert from 1980. The packaging replicated the original wraparound cover designed by Saville.
Recording[edit]
'We recorded and mixed in ten days,' recalled singer and bassist Larry Cassidy. 'We went in with about six or seven finished numbers, while others were more improvised. C.P. was made up on the spot. I was playing a cheap bass in an expensive studio.' The group were then a trio composed of Larry, younger sibling Vin Cassidy on drums, and guitarist Paul Wiggin. Musically the album combined austere post-punk rhythms with abstract and/or abrasive guitar textures, together with elements of Can, krautrock and psychedelia.
Packaging[edit]
The album was packaged in a lavish sleeve devised by Factory design director Peter Saville (credited as Grafica Industria). 'I did get a fascinating brief from Larry,' Saville told author James Nice in Factory history Shadowplayers. 'I seem to remember he wanted something quite European, but psychedelic – and with some Oriental influences. After that, I was on my own.'
![Now Now](/uploads/1/1/3/6/113626303/572615653.jpg)
Section 25 Always Now Rarely
The exterior sleeve featured black Berthold type on a yellow background, printed on heavy card die-cut to form a pochette envelope, and sealed with a small red I Ching sticker. The psychedelic element was concealed within, the lining and separate inner sleeve featuring a rich marbled pattern in dark blue, yellow and red supplied by specialist French paper company Keller-Dorian. Some copies of FACT 45 also included a home-made poster, printed cheaply by the group and featuring lyrics and photos.
Reception[edit]
The first edition of Always Now went on to sell 5,000 copies and entered the indie Top Ten, although the cost and complexity of the packaging made it problematic to license abroad.
On release in September 1981 the album was reviewed in scathing terms by NME, who drew comparisons with Factory labelmates Joy Division. Dutch magazine Vinyl also expressed reservations, observing that early Section 25 'always had something paper-thin about it - a sound, or rather an absence of sound, giving the impression that the slightest breeze would blow it away.' However, in 2006 Q described Always Now as 'one of the best albums Britain's second city has unleashed', while avant garde magazine The Wire also praised 'the wind-dried skeins of their blasted guitar harmonics and skimped electronics.'
In February 2016 album track 'Hit' was sampled by Kanye West on a new song, 'FML', featured on his seventh studio album, The Life of Pablo.
Track listing[edit]
All tracks are written by Section 25.
No. | Title | Length |
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1. | 'Friendly Fires' | |
2. | 'Dirty Disco' | |
3. | 'C.P.' | |
4. | 'Loose Talk (Costs Lives)' | |
5. | 'Inside Out' | |
6. | 'Melt Close' |
No. | Title | Length |
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1. | 'Hit' | |
2. | 'Babies in the Bardo' | |
3. | 'Be Brave' | |
4. | 'New Horizon' |
LTM reissue extra tracks[edit]
LTMCD-2308, 1991[4]
- Haunted (3:17)
- Charnel Ground (3:55)
- Knew Noise (4:30)
- Up To You (4:00)
- Girls Don't Count (4:16)
- Oyo Achel Ada (4:21)
- After Image (2:50)
- Red Voice (1:49)
Factory Benelux 2015 reissue[edit]
Disc one
Section 25 Always Now Rarities
- same tracks as LTM reissue
Disc two
- One True Path (Peel Session)
- Babies in the Bardo (Peel Session)
- Hit (Peel Session)
- Je Veux Ton Amour (7')
- Loose Talk (Costs Lives) (live)
- Human Puppets (live)
- Knew Noise (live)
- Friendly Fires (live)
- Girls Don't Count (live)
- New Horizon (live)
- Haunted (live)
- You're On Your Own (live)
- Floating (demo)
- Friendly Fires (outtake)
- One True Path (outtake)
Personnel[edit]
- Martin Hannett – production
- John Caffrey – engineering
References[edit]
- ^ abSection 25: The Brit Post-Punkers on Being Sampled by Kanye West - Rolling Stone
- ^Kellman, Andy. 'Always Now – Section 25 : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards : AllMusic'. AllMusic. Retrieved 18 February 2013.
- ^Jones, Chris. 'BBC – Music – Section 25'. bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 18 February 2013.
- ^Section 25 - Always Now (CD, Album) at Discogs
External links[edit]
Section 25 Always Now Rarest
- Always Now at Discogs (list of releases)
Section 25 Always Now Rare
Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Always_Now&oldid=925094253'