Factory Star
Factory Star are an English post-punk group, formed in Manchester in December 2008. The group was formed by singer/songwriter/guitarist Martin Bramah. Factory Star began life as Bramah, Tim Lyons (bass) and Brian Benson (drums). In April 2009 they were replaced by Steve Hanley (bass), Paul Hanley (drums), and John Paul Moran (aka Hop Man Jr) of Gnod & Rapid Pig (Keys). Bramah had two stints in The Fall - 1976 to '79 and '89 to '90 - and fronted several incarnations of Blue Orchids from 1979 - 2005. The Hanley brothers were also previously members of The Fall - Steve from 1979 to '98 and Paul from 1980 to '85. They got in touch with Bramah through Dave Simpson, thanks to Simpson's book The Fallen. The band performed in Anglesey on New Year's Eve in 2008, playing tracks from Bramah's solo album The Battle of Twisted Heel. Their first single "Lucybel" was made available on iTunes in 2009 and. The band performed a live session and were interviewed by Marc Riley on his BBC 6 Music show in July 2009.