The Durutti Column

Recent features such as the inclusion of the beautiful Future Perfect on the hit TV show The Bear in 2023 continue to bring fresh attention and recognition to this most distinctive of British outfits.

Ostensibly the work of one musician – the multi-instrumentalist genius Vini Reilly – the ‘band’ came together under the auspices of Factory Records founders Tony Wilson and Alan Erasmus. The name, inspired by an anarchist military unit during the Spanish Civil War and a 1960s’ Situationist pamphlet, actually predated Reilly joining, but after members came and went, the band effectively became his solo outlet.

While Factory’s artists were often intense post-punk and dance rock outfits, Durutti’s members, guitarist, pianist and occasional vocalist Vini Reilly, along with drummer, percussionist and co-manager Bruce Mitchell, carved a musical space away from the strident DIY leanings of many of their Manchester contemporaries.

Incorporating ambient textures, jazz, classical music and folk, alongside new wave experimentalism, the largely instrumental record – and the releases that followed – were never hits in a mainstream sense but were highly influential on the growing 1980s indie movement.

While The Durutti Column’s output would largely remain overlooked by the public, their releases, and in particular Vini’s guitar work would go on to gather praise from the likes of Joy Division’s Ian Curtis, Brian Eno, Johnny Marr and The Red Hot Chili Peppers’ John Fruiscante, who deemed Vini “the best guitarist in the world”.

Between 1980 and 2012, Reilly prolifically released twenty studio albums. Many, including 1987’s The Guitar and Other Machines, his 1989 self-titled release Vini Reilly and 1996’s Fidelity, are cited as inspirations by a number of bands today.

After the death of his early mentor Wilson, Reilly issued the 2010 tribute album, A Paean to Wilson.