Durutti Column sandpaper sleeve

I own an original vinyl copy of The Return of the Durutti Column with the sandpaper sleeve. Someone recently told me that they'd heard that Ian Curtis helped out with putting the sleeves together when the album was being prepared. If that's true I could have an LP with sleeve hand-crafted by Ian himself?!

Is this total fabrication, a known rumour, or a fact? I would guess at the fabrication...surely they wouldn't have hand-made the sleeves individually? How many of the sandpaper ones were issued?

Well, Deborah Curtis said so in her book... allegedly Ian did it to earn some extra money (really!) while the rest of the band were busy watching porn movies.

Really? I have read the book, but it was a few years ago when it first came out. Maybe I should re-read it. Or just wait for the film... ;)

Quite a little earner for the lads this sleeve lark, I'd always thought they'd glued up the Section 25 'Girls Don't Count' 7" tracing paper sleeve. Checking the Deborah Curtis book it appears it was the Durutti lp. Is she right? Did they do both?

I'm sure it was the DC album. Main motivation for doing it was being able to sniff the adhesive used to glue the sleeves...

i think I remember reading in the Peter Saville book that the tracing paper Section 25 sleeve was assembled at a workshop for the blind... or it was possibly in the LTM reissue sleevenotes.

Originally posted by Tyrone Slothrop i think I remember reading in the Peter Saville book that the tracing paper Section 25 sleeve was assembled at a workshop for the blind... or it was possibly in the LTM reissue sleevenotes.

Bugger, wrong again. Section 25's website confirms this http://www.section25.com/biography.shtml I really must do more research before tossing my thoughts into this forum. Still, when you get to my age........

I'm glad to see that someone else here uses the term "bugger".

in Q magazine's top album covers issue from a while back, there is an article devoted to the FACT 14 sleeve, and yes, it states in there that a few members of Joy Division were recruited to paste the sandpaper on the sleeve. i think it does say Ian Curtis worked on it specifically.