‘Use Hearing Protection’ the new exhibition coming to Manchester’s Science & Industry Museum opens on 19th June.
A new exhibition is coming to Manchester showcasing stories of one of Manchester’s most influential record labels and celebrating its effect on the UK’s music and creative industries.
One thing that is so special and iconic about Manchester is the music scenes and artists that have appeared over the years, cementing us as an international hub of culture and creativity.
The museum has announced a new exhibition opening titled Use Hearing Protection: the early years of Factory Records – shining a light on the untold stories of Factory Records and Mancunian Music history.
image: Kevin Cummins
The exhibition will highlight Factory Records in its formative years between 1978 – 1982, exploring how contemporary post-industrial Manchester allowed the label to spearhead innovation in the fields of music, technology and design, giving the city an authentic voice and distinctive identity.
Founded by Tony Wilson and Alan Erasmus, the label played an influential part in the city’s transformation from an industrial powerhouse to a beacon of art and culture by reclaiming its past and leading a new wave of creative industries, a move that continues to influence the city’s culture today.
Museum visitors will be guided through the pre-Hacienda years and will include iconic artifacts including a FAC1 poster signed by Peter Saville, Ian Curtis’ Vox Phantom guitar that he played in the Love Will Tear Us Apart video, which will be on public display for the first time in over 30 years.
Jan Hicks, lead curator of the exhibition at the Science and Industry Museum, said: “This is an unmissable exhibition for anyone eager to explore the origins of this influential label and its long-lasting legacy. The early years of Factory Records did so much to influence the city and the UK’s contemporary creative industries, and this exhibition explores why its unique development could only have happened in Manchester at this time and involving this group of people.
“It’s a story that the Science and Industry Museum is uniquely placed to tell. Factory Records was hugely influenced by Manchester’s industrial heritage, which we sit at the heart of, and was progressive in its use of digital and electronic technologies, which are again core focuses of the stories we tell here at the museum.
“This is a hugely exciting exhibition. Having originally planned to take place last year, I’m delighted we’re finally able to bring the experience to our visitors. We’ve taken the additional time to expand the objects and stories available, giving audiences access to a rich collection of
Factory artefacts, first-hand accounts and immersive experiences that transports them back to an era where Manchester’s contemporary identity was formed.”
Use Hearing Protection: the early years of Factory Records at the Science and Industry Museum is a new exhibition, supported by the Players of the People’s Postcode Lottery.
It will be located on the first floor of the museum. Tickets are available now and are priced at £8 for adults and £6 for concessions, with under-12s going free.
For more information or to book tickets, visit www.scienceandindustrymuseum.org.uk/whats-on/use-hearing-protection
Use Hearing Protection will now run from Saturday 19 June 2021 to Monday 3 January 2022.
