Early Years
The band played gigs around the Manchester scene in many dingy and trendy venues, whilst at the same time recording demo tapes in local studios. Local funk DJ Mike Shaft became their mentor and would play 52nd Street demos on his Piccadilly Radio shows. In mid-1981 soul DJ Richard Searling and ex-Sad Café manager Derek Brandwood (both of RCA Records) put the band in Revolution Studios Manchester to record what was supposed to be their debut single. The irony of this liaison was that Searling and Brandwood were also responsible for early pre-Factory Joy Division recordings, when they were called Warsaw.
Whilst recording demos for RCA, the band was also put into Strawberry Studios to record tracks for Warner Bros. Records A&R scout and club promotions manager Erskine Thompson. With both major labels increasing the pressure to talk to the manager-less 52nd Street, bass player Derrick Johnson instead contacted ex-DJ Rob Gretton, co-owner of Factory Records, and Joy Division’s manager. (The connection was through Johnson's brother Donald, the drummer for Factory act A Certain Ratio.) Gretton went to see the band play at jazz venue The Band on the Wall in Manchester. Soon after, Gretton and his reluctant partner Tony Wilson agreed to take a chance and add the band to their roster. Funk/soul was not what Factory Records was about and that initially frightened Wilson, although he had previously released a single from Manchester reggae act X-o-dus.
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