“Blue Monday” and Q’s Manchester ties
Fans know that Quincy’s influence in popular music extends from bebop to hip-hop and beyond, yet some may be surprised to learn that he also has ties to the Manchester scene in the U.K. that merged post-punk with dance music in the ’80s.
New Order, the acclaimed British post-punk act that rose out of the tragedy of Joy Division singer Ian Curtis’ suicide, was signed to Quincy’s Qwest Records label in the U.S. The band went on to record “Blue Monday,” which became the best-selling 12-inch single of all time. (See the video below).
“The funny thing about New Order is they came to me to sign,” Quincy says. “I didn’t even know who New Order was. Later on Bono came by my house and told me that Joy Division and New Order were big influences on U2.”
Quincy’s ties to Manchester don’t end there. Last year, Quincy’s grandson, Sunny Levine, produced the comeback album by Happy Mondays, a late-’80s, early-’90s Manchester band that was influenced by New Order.
Levine released Love Rhino, his own solo debut, earlier this year on the Quango label.
“Sunny’s father is Stewart Levine, who produced ‘Up Where We Belong’ with Joe Cocker, Simply Red, and ‘Grazing In the Grass’ with Hugh Masekela 30 years ago,” Quincy explains. “And his mom, my daughter Jolie, was the first one of the first black models on the cover of Mademoiselle magazine and ran the Take It Back foundation, so Sunny has genes all over the place.”
Remarking on the connection between himself, New Order, U2 and his grandson, Sunny, Quincy marvels, “It’s a small world and there’s so much magic involved.”
Check out the playlist below featuring New Order’s “Blue Monday,” Happy Mondays’ “Jellybean” produced by Quincy’s grandson, Sunny Levine, and Sunny’s own “Love Rhino.”
What do you think of Quincy’s ties to the Manchester scene?
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