This episode of Music In Time travels between the present, the recent past, and a vital piece of global music history that sprung out of Manchester, England in the 1970s—the story of Factory Records. The episode highlights a new take on that history by Audrey Golden, a Catskill-based music & culture writer who recently published I Thought I Heard You Speak: Women At Factory Records (White Rabbit Books).

While Factory Records has become the stuff of legend, no in-depth history has ever been told from the perspectives of the women who were integral to Factory's cultural significance. Golden’s book uncovers that untold history of Factory Records—one of women's work at nearly every turn: recording music, playing live gigs, running the label behind the scenes, managing and promoting bands, designing record sleeves, making films and music videos, pioneering sound technology, DJing, and running one of the most chaotic clubs on the planet, The Haçienda.

Earlier this summer, Golden traveled through the UK on a book tour, with stops in Liverpool, Manchester, Oxfordshire, and London. I was lucky enough to accompany her, and—digital recorder in hand—I set about recording some of what I heard on the trip. This episode is the product of that experiment: an audio collage featuring some recordings of Golden’s events, some Factory music referenced in the book, and some of what I heard going on around the tour. It’s experimental, overambitious, and fun–all in the true Factory tradition. It also features an in-studio interview with Golden, in which she talks about writing the book and reflects on the tour.

In addition to Audrey Golden, the episode also features appearances by: Jane Houghton (PR for Factory bands, including Happy Mondays, through Excess Press; NME photographer); John Robb (of The Membranes, author, and editor of Louder Than War); Bindi Binning (A&R for Factory Too); Hillegonda (Gonnie) Rietveld (Quando Quango programmer/synthesiser; Haçienda employee from its opening until 1992; Co-editor of The Haçienda Must Be Built!); Tina Simmons (Factory director and all-around business manager extraordinaire); Stephanie Phillips (of bands Big Joanie and Stef Fi, music journalist and author of Why Solange Matters); Simone Butler ('bass slinger' -- Primal Scream and other); Mark Hart and Simon Cardwell (Walthamstow Trades Hall Rock n Roll Book Club); Sarah Witt (consummate host & friend).

Episode Playlist
1. Terror - Stockholm Monsters
2. Revolve - The Melvins
3. The Receiver And The Empire State - The Melvins
4. You've Got Me Beat - Swamp Children
5. It's All Too Much - The Beatles
6. Atom Rock (FAC 102 Remix) - Quando Quango
7. Villiers Terrace - Echo & The Bunnymen
8. Do You Want To Know A Secret? - The Beatles
9. Age Of Consent - New Order
10. Dead Souls - Nine Inch Nails
11. Eternal Flame - Susanna Hoffs (The Bangles)
12. Back On The Chain Gang - The Pretenders
13. Step On - The Happy Mondays
14. Genius - Quando Quango
15. Ceremony - New Order

Music does not just exist. It exists in specific times and places, and in the sonic world of each individual listener who engages with it. That’s the basic idea behind "Music in Time," which explores the social and political context in which songs and albums emerge, are listened to, and reflected on over the years. Each broadcast will focus on a single album, detailing the social and political circumstances surrounding its release and moments in time that made certain music resonate anew. How is music shaped by these historical moments, and, in turn, how does it shape the histories that we remember?

By day, Evan McCormick is a historian at Columbia University, where he is part of the Obama Presidency Oral History project, interviewing a range of people — from cabinet members to ordinary folks — about their memories of the Obama years. By night McCormick is a music lover and singer-songwriter, recording under the stage name Egan Caufield. For most of his life these two worlds remained separate, but after relocating to Catskill, in 2020, he chose to bring history and music together over the airwaves, and Music in Time was born.