John Metcalfe

John Metcalfe has always been surrounded by music. As a child, he would listen to his father sing opera, before a love of Kraftwerk and Joy Division led to a stint as a drummer in a high school band. But it was a move to Manchester that accelerated his development as an artist and led to him finding his true calling. Joining cult band The Durutti Column, then signed to legendary label Factory Records, brought him into the orbit of Tony Wilson and the Haçienda, formative events that would help foster his renegade spirit. Unimpressed with the strictures demanded by the classical recording industry, Metcalfe persuaded Wilson to launch the ground- breaking Factory Classical Label, aimed at unearthing exciting – and unconventional – new British talent. It was here that