Tony Wilson Dies

[Fightshop.Com]

This is a big deal if you are my age and from Manchester. Well and truly the end of an era

Tony Wilson, the charismatic record label owner, nightclub manager and Granada journalist, died of a heart attack at Christie Hospital in Manchester on Friday night, aged 57.

Tony Wilson with Steve Coogan, who played him in 24 Hour Party People
Tony Wilson with Steve Coogan, who played him in 24 Hour Party People

Wilson, dubbed Mr Manchester for his pivotal role in the city's cultural emergence in the 1990s, died at 7pm after a battle with kidney cancer. His children and wife were at his bedside.

A key figure in the Manchester music scene, Wilson was credited with launching the careers of Joy Division (which later became New Order following the suicide of lead singer Ian Curtis) and the Happy Mondays through his record label Factory Records.

He co-founded the iconic Hacienda nightclub and the Dry Bar in Manchester, which together formed a central part of the music and cultural heart of the city.

However, despite his golden touch when it came to finding and nurturing musical talent, Wilson had less luck in business.
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Telegraph - TravelShop

Factory Records and Hacienda failed to turn a profit and Wilson never amassed a great fortune.

Earlier this year his friends, including members of the Happy Mondays, clubbed together to help pay for his £3,500-a-month cancer treatment after the NHS refused to fund it.

Doctors recommended the drug Sutent, after chemotherapy failed to stop the disease but he was turned down by the NHS.

Last night Phil Saxe, former head of A&R at Factory Records paid tribute to Wilson.

"A part of me, a part of Manchester and a part of modern British music has died tonight.

"Tony was a genius, he was a visionary who helped bands who were a bit unusual, who wouldn't otherwise have made it. He helped them realise their dreams and through that probably realised himself as Mr Manchester. I'm just so sad today, so sad."

Wilson was born in Salford, Greater Manchester in 1950. He attended Cambridge before beginning his career in regional television as a news reporter in the 1970s for Granada Television based in Manchester.

He went on to present Granada's culture and music programme So It Goes. It was in 1976, while working for So It Goes, that he saw the Sex Pistols at the Manchester Lesser Free Trade Hall, an experience he later described as "nothing short of an epiphany".

Wilson booked the band for the second series of the programme, probably the first time their strand of punk rock appeared on British television.

During 1980s and 1990s he anchored Granada Reports, the regional early evening news programme.

In 2002 he was immortalised by Steve Coogan in Michael Winterbottom's semi-fictional film 24 Hour Party People.

Most recently he presented a weekly radio show on Xfm Manchester and a show on BBC Radio Manchester.

[Leesin]

57 glorious years is better than a 1000 dull, RIP!

[Al Wallace]

Saw him on King street a couple of months back. His mrs jus ushered him into the passenger side of their 4X4, gave him a little kiss then drove off, he looked very frail. Big united fan and sometimes seemed a bit arrogant but I think underneath it all he was a very good man and will be sadly missed

RIP

[ginandtonic]

Saw him on King street a couple of months back. His mrs jus ushered him into the passenger side of their 4X4, gave him a little kiss then drove off, he looked very frail. Big united fan and sometimes seemed a bit arrogant but I think underneath it all he was a very good man and will be sadly missed

RIP

RIP Tony, Manchester's skies are crying for you.

[stapesmk1]

RIP Tony. Manchester owes you a great debt. Ive heard it said that the 1996 bomb was the best thing that ever happened to Manchester, as the growth and regeneration after it has been phenomenal.

Not a view I hold as there can be no doubt that Manchester would not have the culture or legacy it does now if it were not for this man. In the last few years of his life he had championed the causes of other NHS patients suffering from a range of illnesses or injuries who'd been refused treatment while budgets were being thrown away on pathetically incompetent middle management and red tape.

He was an inovator in several different media fields and never lost his passion and love for the city. He could sometimes come across as arrogant or something of a yuppy in some interviews. He could often be misjudged as being abrupt on his tv appearances, but that was more an expression of his utter focus and determination to get to the heart of a debate or issue. He never did anything half heartedly and always drew on whatever resources he could to help Manchester maintain its identity.

Mancunians will always remember when the Hacienda got knocked down and turned into the trendy but souless modern apartments you see by Deansgate Locks today, and the closing of Afflex Palace which Tony highlighted in a bid to save one small cornerstone of Manchesters culture.

57 is far too young to die for anyone and for a man of such achievement, it is disappointing the manner and circumstances that surround his passing. I just hope the memories he takes with him are as wonderful as the ones he has left behind.

Rest in Peace.

[ginandtonic]

RIP Tony. Manchester owes you a great debt. .



He was an inovator in several different media fields and never lost his passion and love for the city. . He never did anything half heartedly and always drew on whatever resources he could to help Manchester maintain its identity.

57 is far too young to die for anyone and for a man of such achievement, it is disappointing the manner and circumstances that surround his passing. I just hope the memories he takes with him are as wonderful as the ones he has left behind.

Rest in Peace.

I agree, hun. Mancunians should unite in his memory.

[DianeB]

RIP Tony.

I met him once. Didn't know who he was at the time though, til my friend told me afterwards. It was really wierd, cos we'd just got hold of the dvd 24 hr party ppl & were heading back to my friends flat to watch it. Then we came across Tony sat outside his flat, he'd locked himself out. He signed the dvd & chatted a bit. He was a nice guy. Wasn't really into the hacienda scene, but went a few times.

God Bless Mr Wilson ..x

[Fightshop.Com]

For anyone else who was in to the Manchester scene "back in the day", Who went to.......?

The Man Alive (808 State DJing fucking awesome), Shelleys, The Venue, The Boardwalk (for indie bands), Home (a little later on) but the daddy of them all Konspiracy !!!!!

(Oh and also the Rainbow Rooms in Eccles but thats another story)

[Hywel Teague]

57 glorious years is better than a 1000 dull, RIP!

good post, seconded.

[Fightshop.Com]

I’ve just put a a photo montage together and put it up on our myspace site www.myspace.com/fight_shop . It just shows what an interesting life this guy led and what an impact he had upon not only Manchester but music and culture nationally and internationally. He was often referred to as “a bit of a Twat” but I think his real impact upon music and modern UK culture will now start to be seen for what it was.