D is for John Dowie

John Dowie was one of the inaugural acts on Factory Records. Dowie was born in 1950 in Birmingham and is a comedian, musician, and writer. He began performing stand-up comedy in 1969. In 1978 he contributed three comedic songs to the very first Factory music release, A Factory Sample, Fac 2, along with Joy Division, The Durutti Column, and Cabaret Voltaire. In 1981, a 7-inch single followed, It’s Hard to be an Egg, Fac 19, which Dowie described as “a flop.” The single was announced eighteen months before it appeared, and was recorded at Strawberry Studios in Stockport with Martin Hannett and Steve Hopkins (aka The Invisible Girls). “The mix and most of the music was recorded after I’d gone back to London, as if I were dead” joked Dowie, “What’s the obverse of a tribute?”

Fac 19 John Dowie It's Hard to be an Egg

The release has unusual packaging, even by Factory standards: the disc is white vinyl with a ‘yolk’ printed on the label, and is packaged in a clear plastic sleeve with a real white feather. The feathers were sourced from a local market by Alan Erasmus and were glued on by hand. This novel package transformed surreal comedy onto an art object. Reviews were positive, but Factory’s ‘first major assault on Radio Two’ failed to ignite and sales were modest.

Fact 89 John Dowie Dowie

Dowie’s final Factory contribution was a VHS video, Fact 89, released in 1983 and entitled simply Dowie, a recording of a live performance at the Edinburgh fringe festival. The cover featured an illustration by Ralph Steadman.