The Durutti Column 'Vini Reilly'

Arguably the seminal Durutti Column album, the ironically titled ‘Vini Reilly’ is now available remastered and expanded to a two-disc set. First released in1989 – the album Vini Reilly, features the extensive use of sampling, with looped samples of vocalists as the basis for several tracks. As his peers wrestled with Akai Sampler engineered rare groove or break beats, these voices blended well for an artist - combining Viola, Chinese vocals and his trademark guitars.

Ever the re-inventor, the artist chose a mixture of Opera - Dame Joan Sutherland (his fathers favourite) Soul Ballads - Otis Redding and Folk/Pop - Tracy Chapman and Annie Lennox. The album flows from classical-based flamenco and operatic voices, to the soul of Otis, either side of a rockier drum led Peoples Pleasure Park.

Ending on ‘My Country’, which dolefully reflects on the state of Manchester, the lyrics seem apt again today…Disc two was curated from a TDK tape which was found in a storage box recently. It was marked ‘Sampler tunes’ and contained all the material released. Much of this has not been heard for several years, being the demos and sketches, which were used by Vini during the making of the record in London.

Bruce Mitchell recalls that the recording was not a particularly easy time. The artist was unwell and had to be wheeled in and out to get the material together with Stephen Street. ‘I could not bring myself to even listen to the finished article until a couple of months had passed’ recalls the drummer, ‘…but when I heard it I knew what a great record we had made’. Currently Vini is recovering from a stroke and busy writing for his next project.

A new biographical musical commission is to be premiered in Manchester at the Bridgewater Hall on 30^th April 2011, which will be an audiovisual product and a CD will be released following. Finally, ‘Requiem Again’ was used within the first half of the Tom Cruise film Jerry Maguire  Reilly is still looking for someone to show him the money

Tracklisting:
1. Love No More

2. Pol In G

3. Opera I

4. People's Pleasure Park

5. Red Square

6. Finding The Sea

7. Otis

8. William B

9. They Work Every Day

10. Opera II

11. Homage To Catalonea

12. Requiem Again

13. My Country

1. Opera II / Demo

2. Finding The Sea / 1

3. PPP / Demo

4. Juxqan Montero / Sketch 1

5. Sample Tune

6. Finding The Sea / 2

7. Juan Montero / Sketch 2

8. William B / Demo

9. Sketches On Stratocaster