Vini Reilly has fans in high places. When God appeared to Tony Wilson in the film 24 Hour Party People, it was to suggest that he release a Durutti Column greatest hits. As the Lord Almighty correctly observed, “It’s good music to chill out to.”
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The Durutti Column were the first band signed to Factory Records in 1978, although they soon became a de facto Vini Reilly solo project (with staunch assistance down the years from drummer Bruce Mitchell and others). The group’s music – quiet, pensive, beautiful – was in stark contrast to the punk scene Reilly came up in as guitarist for Ed Banger & The Nosebleeds.
His delicate playing incorporated scales and techniques from classical and flamenco traditions rarely heard in rock. Occasionally The Durutti Column’s music has drifted towards the zeitgeist, as on 1989’s quasi-Balearic Vini Reilly album, soon to be reissued as a five-disc box set.
The year before, he played a key role on Morrissey’s debut Viva Hate. But mostly Reilly has preferred to do his own thing, maintaining a rare purity of vision.
So, what do you want to ask a singular British guitar genius? Send your questions to audiencewith@uncut.co.uk by Wednesday March 6 and Vini will answer the best ones in a future issue of Uncut.