Factory | Interview - It's Psychedelic Baby Magazine

Factory, a rock band originally formed in Hastings, UK, in the seventies, return with their second album since they re-formed in 2015, called ‘Aiming High’. The band members have been friends since teenagers, and after much success going their separate ways, decided to reunite many years later. In their early days they were a busy touring band, supporting Fleetwood Mac, Status Quo, The Scorpions, Suzi Quatro, 10cc etc., and were the test band for Roger Daltrey’s home studio, but they never made an album.

All the original members are still there –
Tony Qunta (Edgar Winter, Hazel O’Connor) on lead guitar, electric violin & vocals
Andy Qunta(Icehouse, Hazel O’Connor, co-writer of John Farnham’s You’re The Voice) on keyboards, electric 12-string guitar, vocals
Laurie Cooksey, on drums & vocals
Geoff “Jaffa” Peckham, on bass & vocals plus Jaffa’s replacement from ’74-’76, bassist
Steve Kinch (Manfred Mann’s Earth Band) on 6 of the 12 tracks.

Factory in the 70s in Hastings. “Here’s a scary photo for you, taken in the ‘70s at an obviously haunted old mansion in our hometown of Hastings. Even more eerie is the fact that, when we went back there a few years ago to do more photos, there was no sign of the mansion! Completely disappeared! Absolute proof of ghostly goings-on! (Maybe.)”

When did you begin playing music? What was your first instrument? Who were your major influences?

Tony Qunta: I started on classical piano when I was six years old. Classical violin lessons from the age of eight. I was also learning drums for a short period of time around the age of ten. Finally got into guitar (which I had always wanted to play) when I was thirteen. My early influences were Cliff Richard and The Shadows, The Beatles, The Stones, The Kinks, Jeff Beck, The Who, Cream and Hendrix. Later it was bands like Free, Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, Rory Gallagher, Santana, Black Sabbath, King Crimson, Yes, Genesis and Focus.

Andy Qunta: My brother Tony and I are from a musical family. Mum was playing concerts on the piano from age nine. I was given a piano accordion when I was about four, but we didn’t play it in a serious way. I started piano lessons when I was six, and violin from age ten. When we were very young, we had sisters who were already teenagers, and they introduced us to the music of Elvis Presley and Buddy Holly, etc. The first big influence, which made me want to play in a band, was The Shadows. From then on I wanted to play the guitar. I got my first guitar for my 12th birthday. Later I was influenced by all the sixties bands, especially The Who and Hendrix, and after that, Prog Rock bands like Genesis and Yes.

What bands were you a member of prior to the formation of Factory?

Tony: There were a couple of bands at school with Andy – ‘Perfect Turkey’ and ‘Velvet Hush’. We recorded a few demos. I was playing bass then. After leaving school Andy and I formed ‘Static Emotion’ while we were at Hastings College.

Andy: Before Factory, Tony and I had a band called Velvet Hush at boarding school. When we left and the family moved to Hastings, we formed a band called Static Emotion. By this time, Tony was the lead guitarist, having worked very hard on it, and got much better than me!

Can you elaborate the formation of the Factory?

Tony: Andy and I became aware of Laurie Cooksey at some kind of jam with some local Hastings bands. We were very impressed with Laurie’s drumming and showmanship. From what I remember we all felt there was potential in us teaming up. Similarly with Jaffa. We started off playing covers, including songs by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young and Taste but quickly focused on originals.

Factory in October 1970. “This sign was halfway between Bexhill, where Laurie and Jaffa lived, and Hastings, where Andy and Tony lived. We thought it was a perfect backdrop, especially when you remember “bands” were called “groups” then, hence “groupies” as opposed to “bandies”. Not that Factory would know anything about that, of course!”

Andy: Tony and I were at college with bassist, Jaffa Peckham. We planned to form a band, but the drummer we wanted, Laurie Cooksey, was in another local band at the time. One day, out of the blue, Laurie bumped into Jaffa, and said he wanted to form a band with him and the Qunta brothers! It was great from the first time we got together!

What’s the story behind the 1971 single ‘Time Machine / Castle On The Hill’? What were the influences and inspirations for the songs recorded?

Tony: ‘Time Machine’ was one of the first songs I ever wrote – I was about 16. I used to love reading sci-fi around that time, especially books by Isaac Asimov. Thinking about some of those ideas certainly influenced the lyrics. Musically the heavier bands I was into inspired the somewhat dark sounds to complement the lyric content. Regarding ‘Castle On The Hill’, as far as I know, Hastings Castle may have given Andy the idea.

Andy: A few months after we formed, we decided to record some songs as a demo for agents. In January 1971 we recorded 4 songs, each written by a different band member. We released ‘Time Machine’ and ‘Castle On The Hill’ as a limited edition single. It is now a collector’s item, selling for 600 pounds, if you can find one! ‘Castle On The Hill’ was insured by the view of Hastings Castle I had from my bedroom window. One night I picked up my acoustic 12-string while looking at the castle, and wrote the song in about 20 minutes. When we re-recorded it in 2016, I wrote an extra verse.

“A tattered old pic maybe, but it captures the essence of our live shows, we think you’ll agree.”

Did you play any gigs at Factory? What were some of the bands that you shared stages with?

Tony: After initially playing small local gigs around the Hastings area such as at Youth Clubs and school dances, we started doing bigger gigs locally and ended up playing all over the UK supporting various acts such as Status Quo, 10cc and Fleetwood Mac. We did hundreds of gigs and built up a very loyal following. We also played in Europe, including Germany and Denmark.
One very interesting gig we did was with two other bands – headlining was ‘Krakatoa’ which Hans Zimmer was playing with. Bottom of the bill was an unknown band called ‘Sex Pistols’!

Factory in May 1972. “Factory supported Stone The Crows in Maidstone, Kent. Fabulous band, and really friendly and helpful road crew, which wasn’t always the way. They suggested we should get ourselves a better PA system, so we ended up buying a WEM system, previously owned by Manfred Mann Chapter 3. Here we are pictured with it a few months later.”

Andy: Between our formation in 1970, and disbanding at the end of 1976, we played over 500 gigs, 300 of them in our last couple of years. We played all over the UK, plus Germany and The Netherlands. As well as gigs on our own, we supported many big bands of the day, including Fleetwood Mac, Status Quo, Manfred Mann’s Earth Band, Spencer Davis Group, The Scorpions, Suzi Quatro, 10cc etc.

Also we were once supported by the Sex Pistols, which was one of their first gigs. We have also played some gigs since we re-formed in 2015, and have been surprised to find we have the same energy as before!

“Our first gig since the band called it a day back in the ’70s. We decided to “get it together in the country” as bands used to back in the day. In this case the country was France, in fact Jaffa’s old farmhouse in Normandy, and the subsequent gig was for the good folks at le Famous Knight in Couptrain, Mayenne. Needless to say, it was a joyous reunion and a great time was had by all! Five years on, and we were to have had another celebratory get-together and album launch. The gig wasn’t to be, but the album, ‘Aiming High,’ is now available. It’s our second and we’re delighted with it – in fact, it rocks! Grab your copy and be ready for the fun once we all reunite on the other side!

“In 1972 we were chosen as the test band for Roger Daltrey’s home studio.”

Is there any unreleased material?

Tony: Yes, amazingly there is still unreleased material which I hope we can record and release at some point.

Andy: We have some demos from the ’70s, which we could possibly be released one day, but no plans yet. In 1972 we were chosen as the test band for Roger Daltrey’s home studio. He liked us, and he invited us back several times over the following year. We still have some of the demos we recorded there.

What can you tell me about ‘Back in The Time Machine’ that was released in 2015?

Tony: Well the first thing to say about ‘Back In The Time Machine’ is that we probably all thought that it would never happen! Although we recorded a lot of demos back in the day, we missed out on being able to record our songs the way we would have liked and make them available to our potential fans. Although we hadn’t played together since the 70s, we all jumped at the chance of playing together and making the album we had all wanted to. Happily we found we all got on so well and had the same excitement about the music and crazy sense of fun! To say that Factory reuniting and making an album after so many years was an amazing experience is an understatement!

Andy: In the ‘70s we were very successful as a live band, but we never recorded an album. When we decided to re-form in 2015, our main objective was to finally record an album, which we did. ‘The Back In The Time Machine’ album was released on our own label in April 2016. The songs are all songs we had written back in the 70s. We freshened them up and gave them a more modern sound, and the critical response was very positive! This album is probably going to be re-released at some point, now that we have a record label behind us.

And you have a brand new Factory album.

Tony: Yes the new album entitled ‘Aiming High’ has just been released. We are all very pleased with how the album has turned out. I feel the songs are all very strong and really represent our range of styles, whilst still communicating the ‘Factory sound’! So far it has been very well received.

Andy: We had so much fun recording the first album, and still had more songs we wanted to do, so last year we recorded our new album, ‘Aiming High’. Again, we recorded it at Broadoak Studios, Bexhill, England, with superb producer, Harvey Summers. Harvey is a genius and very easy to work with. He deserves a lot of the credit for getting us to sound like we do! Los Angeles label, Rock Avenue Records USA, heard the album and loved it, and we were delighted to sign with them. They released ‘Aiming High’ on September 25th, and are giving it the kind of push we couldn’t do on our own.

Would appreciate it if you can tell us what else you have been working on after Factory?

Tony: Well I am very glad to say we have all individually continued our musical careers since the original Factory days. I have mainly played freelance over the years with many different bands. Recently I have released the first album (entitled ‘Taboo Guitar’) with my three piece rock/fusion band ‘Toneheadz‘.

Andy: After Factory disbanded, Tony, myself and Steve Kinch, the bassist who had replaced Jaffa when he left in ‘74, formed a band called Head On. We had some great material, but this was the height of Punk, and we weren’t Punk! Even so, Steve and I later joined New Wave star Hazel O’Connor’s band, and had hit records, TV appearances and tours. Steve joined Manfred Mann’s Earth Band in 1985, and still plays with them to this day.

I did a tour with Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel, and then joined Australian band, Icehouse, and stayed with them for their most successful 6 years. We had hits like ‘Hey Little Girl’, ‘Electric Blue’ and ‘Crazy’, which I co-wrote. Also during this time, I co-wrote John Farnham’s hit, ‘You’re The Voice’. Co-writers included Procol Harum’s Keith Reid, and Manfred Mann’s Earth Band’s lead singer, Chris Thompson, who I met after the Earth Band recorded one of my songs on their ‘Somewhere In Afrika’ album.

After leaving Icehouse, I moved to Los Angeles and recorded a solo album, ‘Legend In A Loungeroom’, released by German label, Intercord. Since then I have written music for 2 theatre productions, and have been playing in classic rock tribute bands.

I would appreciate it if you could highlight a few of your releases that you’re most proud of?

Tony: Well I am certainly very proud of both of the Factory albums. Also the album I recorded with my band ‘Toneheadz’ – I had wanted to do that album for a long time.

Andy: Released I’m proud of? I’m proud of all of them, but especially Factory’s ‘Aiming High’ album!

Thank you for taking your time. Last word is yours.

Tony: Thank you so much Klemen! I very much hope Factory will be touring in your part of the world in the not too distant future!

Andy: Thanks for inviting me to do this interview, it was a lot of fun remembering lots of good times. Sorry if it’s rather long, but I guess I’ve done a lot of things!

Factory Official Website / Facebook / Instagram / Twitter
Tony Qunta Official Website
Andy Qunta Official Website