ZERO: Martin Hannett

Martin "Zero" Hannett

Martin "Zero" Hannett was born May 31, 1948 in Manchester, England. An accomplished student, he received a degree in Chemistry from Manchester Polytechnic. While in college he was a member of the campus social committee and was responsible for booking bands that played at the school. After graduation he accepted a job in a laboratory. The lab job was merely a means to an end as he continued to pursue his passion for music by playing bass in several bands and working as a sound man and roadie. Ultimately music won out and he quit his job to run a musicians cooperative, along with friend Tosh Ryan, called Music Force. The cooperative would book shows and rent PA equipment. The cooperative also had a publicity department that would hang flyer's promoting various shows. From the money earned the pair purchased space to achieve their ultimate goal, setting up a recording studio. The pair initially took any recording commissions that came their way, from recording theatres troupes to producing soundtracks for cartoons. By 1976 Hannett and Tosh established, along with others, Rabid Records which they used to promote a local glam rock group called Slaughter and the Dogs who had experienced some local success. Hannett found himself in the right place at the right time. The music scene in Manchester and throughout England was bursting with promise as Punk groups were forming almost daily and each looking for a way to have their music recorded and sold. Hannett's first professional production job, under the name Martin Zero, involved a local Punk group he had booked a few shows for, the Buzzcocks. Lead singer Howard Devoto would later recall that Hannett was chosen for the simple fact that he was the only person they could find that even called themselves a producer. From this effort evolved "Spiral Scratch", a 4-song EP recorded in a dizzying 8 hour period on December 28, 1976. Apart from being one of the first Punk recordings available to the buying public, it established the DIY ethic that exemplified everything that the Punk movement stood for. The highlight of the EP was the song "Boredom", a Buzzcock fan favorite. It also marked the beginning and end for Devoto with the Buzzcocks as he left shortly after the EP's release to form another groundbreaking Punk outfit, Magazine. Four months later Hannett would produce "Cranked Up Really High" by Slaughter and the Dogs on his Rabid label, but the group would break-up shortly thereafter. Hannett now assumed the title of in-house producer for the Rabid label.

Hannett in studio

For the remainder of 1977 into 1978 Hannett would working with an assortment of groups, all meeting with little to no success. In the Spring of 1978 he went into the studio with a Manchester University drama student Graham Fellows who, recording under the name Jilted John, would release a single entitled "Jilted John". The tried and true story of young love come and gone was an instant hit and, shortly after being snatched up by recording giant EMI, went to number 4 on the national charts. The single ultimately sold over a quarter of a million copies and gave Hannett his first true hit and established his name as a producer. Next Hannett found himself in the studio with art-punk John Cooper Clarke (right), the English Punk version of Bob Dylan. Hannett would produce a handful of singles and several albums for Clarke over the next several years that ultimately led to Clarke getting a major label deal with Epic. During this time Hannett would also form, along with keyboardist Steve Hopkins, The Invisible Girls, to act as Clarkes backing band. Hannett would use The Invisible Girls to support a number of artists throughout the remainder of his career, including former Velvet Underground member Nico and ex-Penetration lead singer Pauline Murray.

The use of electronic effects, be it drum machines, digital delay or other non-musical elements were a trademark of any Hannett produced recording. This was no more evident than on his work with Joy Division (right). Hannett, now producing for the Factory record label (which he helped co-found with Tony Wilson), had his first experience with Joy Division in 1979 and the recording of their groundbreaking debut album "Unknown Pleasures". Initially reluctant to use any synthesizers, Hannett convinced the group to include them on the record. The results stand as the seminal Hannett recording, employing the various electronic devices and non-musical noise, such as breaking glass, to augment the bands classic post-punk style. Hannett would go on to produce every studio track recorded by Joy Division. The suicide of Joy Division lead singer Ian Curtis hit Hannett hard. While most of the members of Joy Division were indifferent to Hannett's use of electronics to frame the bands sound, Curtis was always a strong ally (Hannett was portrayed by actor Ben Naylor in the Ian Curtis biopic "Control" released this past year).

During this period of his career Hannett's use of drugs, especially heroin, began to escalate. Despite his personal shortcomings, his work with Joy Division still made him a producer of choice. 1979 to 1981 were the high water mark of his creative output. A young Irish band, inspired by his work with Joy Division, sought Hannett out to produce there second single. In May, 1980 Hannett entered a Dublin studio with U2 to begin work on recording and the result, "11 O'Clock Tick Tock", would be his one and only collaboration with the group. Hannett's working relationship with the band was tenuous and the band would eventually utilize Steve Lillywhite for the remainder of the debut album "Boy", which was released toward the end of 1980. The experience was so bad that the group would leave "11 O'Clock Tick Tock" off the album all together. Around the same time the Psychedelic Furs would call Hannett's number, having been inspired by his work with John Cooper Clarke, asking him to produce 4 songs initially slated to be issued on an EP. The EP fell through but two of the songs, "Susan's Strange" and "Soap Commercial" would later be included on the groups self-titled debut album upon it's release in the United States. Hannett would work with the group a year later, steering the song "Pretty in Pink" during the recording of their follow-up effort "Talk Talk Talk" in 1981. Studio sessions with old Buzzcock acquaintance Devoto would follow, producing Magazine's (left) third full length album "The Correct Use of Soap" as well as singles by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark ("Messages"), London based band The Only Ones ("Oh Lucinda"), and Wasted Youth ("Rebecca's Room"). Hannett was as known for his stubbornness and dictatorial production style as he was for the electronic and digital sounds he added to each recording he was associated with.



The years from 1982 to 1988 would come to be known as Hannett's darkest. Becoming more unpredictable, deeply in debt and harboring a profound drug problem, Hannett disappeared from the recording studio. A prolonged law suit with Factory over missing wages cost him another two years and he would not reappear in the studio until the late 1980's. Having kicked heroin, he patched up his differences with Factory and eventually worked with the Happy Mondays in 1988 ("Bummed") and Kitchens of Distinction in 1990 (the single "Quick as Rainbows"). But he his earlier success would elude him, primarily due to his heroin habit having given way to his abuse of alcohol. His heavy dependence on alcohol further deteriorated his mental and physical health, effectively ending his recording career. He died on April 18, 1991 of heart failure.

Links:

Martin Hannett: http://www.martinhannett.co.uk/bio.htm http://www.discogs.com/artist/Martin+Hannett
Factory Records: http://www.factoryrecords.net/ http://www.partypeoplemovie.com/
Buzzcocks: http://www.buzzcocks.com/
Joy Division: http://www.incubation.ch/ http://members.aol.com/lwtua/joydiv.htm http://www.enkiri.com/joy/joy_division.html http://www.controlthemovie.com/
Magazine: http://shotbybothsides.com/
John Cooper Clarke: http://www.johncooperclarke.com/