1 Top Class Manager—The Notebooks of Rob Gretton: Q & A With Lesley Gilbert

Popshifter: In the films 24 Hour Party People and Control Rob was portrayed as being a somewhat brusque, blunt individual; tell us about the side that the public wasn’t aware of.

Lesley Gilbert: Rob could be brunt and brusque—he was never afraid to say exactly what he thought and always spoke his mind—but he was also a big softie and looked after the people he loved really well. His family and friends were very important to him.

Popshifter: How did you prepare to go through all of Rob’s notebooks/correspondence/etc. when initially coming up with the idea for 1 Top Class Manager?

Ian Curtis © Martin O’Neill

Lesley Gilbert: There wasn’t really any special preparation when I started to sort the notebooks. I just sat down and looked through them all one by one.

Popshifter: What elements about the notebooks (and such) surprised you the most when putting together the book? Did you rediscover or further learn things about Rob that you previously weren’t aware of/had forgotten?

Lesley Gilbert: Nothing in the books surprised me. I was fully aware how hard Rob worked and the effort he put into his job. They certainly brought back lots of memories.

Popshifter: What sort of time frame did it take to synthesize the book (it seems like it was a very large undertaking given all of the material)?

Lesley Gilbert: It took about 18 months from beginning to end, to get the finished book back from the printers.

Popshifter: What were your emotions when putting the book together? How did you feel when the book was finally completed?

Lesley Gilbert: I was fine during the whole process but I found the most emotional part was when I had the finished book in my hands. It was quite overwhelming, after such a long time, to realise what we had achieved and it really brought it home to me how much I still miss Rob.

A very special thanks to Lesley Gilbert for her contribution to this article.

Also thanks to Abigail Ward of the Manchester District Music Archive for coordinating the interview.

Additional Resources:

For more information about Joy Division, the website Joy Division Central contains an abundance of rarities, photographs, and discographies for die-hard fans and newcomers to the band alike.

Pages: 1 2