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Tony Wilson

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Anthony "Tony" Wilson
File:So It Goes1.gif
Tony Wilson presents So It Goes in 1976
Born(1950-02-20)20 February 1950
Died10 August 2007(2007-08-10) (aged 57)
NationalityBritish
EducationBA in English (University of Cambridge)
Occupation(s)Journalist, TV presenter
Employer(s)Granada TV, BBC North West
Known forFactory Records, Madchester impresario, The Haçienda nightclub

Anthony Howard Wilson (20 February 195010 August 2007) was an English record label owner, radio presenter, TV show host, nightclub manager, impresario and journalist for Granada Television and the BBC.

Wilson, commonly known as Tony Wilson, was the music mogul behind some of Manchester's most successful bands. He was the founder and manager of The Haçienda nightclub, and was one of the five co-founders of Factory Records. Wilson was also known as Mr. Manchester,[1][2] dubbed as such for his work in promoting the greater cultural status of Manchester throughout his career. He was portrayed by actors Steve Coogan and Craig Parkinson, in Michael Winterbottom's 2002 film 24 Hour Party People, and Anton Corbijn's 2007 film Control respectively.

Early life

Wilson was born 20 February 1950 in Hope Hospital, Salford, Lancashire, England.[3] After passing his Eleven plus exam, Wilson attended the De La Salle Grammar School in Weaste, Salford. He developed a love of literature and language, ignited by a performance of Hamlet at Stratford upon Avon.[4] Wilson started his professional career in 1968 at the age of 17, working as an English and Drama teacher at Blue Coat School in Oldham.[5] He later graduated with a degree in English from Jesus College, Cambridge.[3]

Broadcasting career

Tony Wilson hosting After Dark in 1988.

After his graduation in 1971, Wilson began as a trainee news reporter for ITN, before returning to Manchester in 1973, where he secured a post at Granada Television. He went on to present Granada's culture, music and events programme, So It Goes. Through the 1970s and 1980s he was one of the main anchors on Granada Reports, a regional evening news programme, where he worked with Richard and Judy among others. He continued in this line of work even at the height of his success in the music industry.

In 1989, Wilson hosted The Other Side of Midnight, another Granada weekly regional culture slot, covering music, literature and the arts in general. Its Sunday night slot made it one of the UK's first experiments in late night weekend TV. He reported for ITV's celebrated current affairs series, World in Action in the early 1980s and also hosted Channel 4's After Dark, the UK's first open-ended, late night chat show, in which he chaired loose discussions in a darkened studio between intellectuals and celebrities of various descriptions, often in various stages of inebriation. He hosted the short-lived TV quiz shows Topranko! and MTV Europe's Remote Control in the 1990s, as well as the Manchester United themed quiz, Masterfan, for MUTV.

In 2006 he became the regional political presenter for the BBC's The Politics Show. He presented a weekly radio show on Xfm Manchester - Sunday Roast - and a show on BBC Radio Manchester. In October he joined Blur bassist Alex James, Blue Peter presenter Konnie Huq and previously unknown presenter - Emily Rose - to host the 21st century version of the iconic 80s music programme, "The Tube", for Channel 4 Radio which ran until March 2, 2007.

Music career

File:Stevecoogan.jpg
Steve Coogan played Tony Wilson in 24 Hour Party People - a 2002 film about Manchester's popular music community during the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s.

Wilson's involvement in popular music stemmed from hosting Granada's culture and music programme "So It Goes". Wilson, who intensely disliked the music scene of the mid 1970's, saw the Sex Pistols at the Manchester Lesser Free Trade Hall, in June 1976, an experience which he described as "nothing short of an epiphany" [6]. He booked them for the last episode of the first series, probably the first television showing of the then-revolutionary British strand of punk rock.

He was the manager of many bands, including A Certain Ratio and The Durutti Column, and was part owner and manager of Factory Records, home of the Happy Mondays and Joy Division - the band managed by friend and business partner Rob Gretton. He also founded and managed The Haçienda nightclub and Dry bar, together forming a central part of the music and cultural scene of Manchester. The scene was termed "Madchester".

He never made a fortune from Factory Records or the Haçienda, despite the enormous popularity and cultural significance of both endeavours. This is mainly due to the sky-high production costs and the fact that most of the punters at the Haçienda were more interested in taking ecstasy rather than buying alcohol from the bar. Both came to an abrupt end in the late 1990s.

A semi-fictionalised version of his life and of the surrounding era was made into the 2002 film, 24 Hour Party People, which stars the comedian Steve Coogan as Wilson. After the film was produced, Wilson wrote a novelization based on the screenplay. He played a minor role in the 2005 film, A Cock and Bull Story, in which his character interviews Steve Coogan (playing himself). Wilson also co-produced the 2007 Ian Curtis biopic, Control (his character this time being played by Craig Parkinson). Unfortunately, however, he died a few months before its release.

Wilson was a partner in the annual "In The City" music festival and industry conference, and also F4 Records, the fourth version of Factory Records, which was set up to be an online distributor for Wilson's long term protégé Vini Reilly, of The Durutti Column. F4 also released music by Manchester based bands RaW-T and The Young Offenders Institute.

Politics

Wilson was an outspoken supporter of regionalism. In 2003, along with others including Ruth Turner, he started a campaign for North West England to be allowed a referendum on the creation of a regional assembly, called the Necessary Group after a line in the United States Declaration of Independence. Although his campaign was successful, with the Government announcing that a vote would take place, this was later abandoned when North East England voted against the introduction of a regional tier of government. Wilson later spoke at several political events on this subject. He was also known for using Situationist ideas.

Relationships

Wilson was married twice, first to Lindsay Reade and then to Hilary, with whom he had a son, Oliver, and a daughter, Isabel. In 1990 he started a relationship with Yvette Livesey, a former Miss England.

Illness

After developing renal cancer, and having one kidney removed in 2007, Wilson's doctors recommended he take the drug Sunitinib (aka Sutent), the £3,500 per month cost of which was not funded by the Manchester Primary Care Trust. He was turned down by the NHS, while patients being treated alongside him at the Christie Hospital and living just a few miles away in Cheshire received funding for the therapy.

A number of Wilson's music industry friends, including former Happy Mondays manager Nathan McGough and their current manager, Elliot Rashman, formed a fund to help pay for Wilson's medical treatment.[7]

Wilson said: "This [Sutent] is my only real option. It is not a cure but can hold the cancer back, so I will probably be on it until I die ... When they said I would have to pay £3,500 for the drugs each month, I thought where am I going to find the money? I'm the one person in this industry who famously has never made any money ... I used to say some people make money and some make history, which is very funny until you find you can't afford to keep yourself alive ... I've never paid for private healthcare because I'm a socialist. Now I find you can get tummy tucks and cosmetic surgery on the NHS but not the drugs I need to stay alive. It is a scandal."[8]

Death

In early 2007 an emergency surgery was performed to remove one of his kidneys.[9] This forced the postponement of plans to create a southern hemisphere version of the In The City festival.[10] Despite the surgery the cancer progressed, and a course of chemotherapy was not effective. Wilson died of a heart attack, a consequence of his condition, in Manchester's Christie Hospital on Friday, 10 August, 2007 aged 57.[11][12] Following the news of his death, the Union Flag on Manchester Town Hall was lowered to half mast as a mark of respect.[13]

As with everything else in the Factory empire, Tony Wilson's coffin was also given a Factory catalogue number - FAC 501. At the time of his funeral, this was the last Factory catalogue number.[14]


Tony drew up a will just weeks before he died leaving property worth less than £500,000.

Probate documents reveal his estate was valued at £484,747 after tax. That figure includes the value of his city centre apartment on Little Peter Street which is currently up for sale. The will, signed by Wilson on July 4 last year, gives Yvette Livesey, 39, his partner of 17 years, the proceeds from their home. He also leaves to her his share of six businesses.

His son Oliver, and daughter Isabel share the rest of his estate.[15]

References

  1. ^ Bonnie Malkin (2007-08-11). "'Mr Manchester' Tony Wilson dies". telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 2007-08-12.
  2. ^ Anon (2007-08-11). "Tributes paid to 'Mr Manchester'". news.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2007-08-12.
  3. ^ a b "Anthony H Wilson: Broadcaster and Co-Founder of Factory Records". manchesteronline.co.uk. N.D. Retrieved 2007-08-12. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  4. ^ "Tony Wilson: Guardian obituary". The Guardian. 2007-08-13.
  5. ^ Ferguson, James (2007-08-16), Tributes to the former town teacher... known also as Mr Manchester, Oldham Advertiser, p. 3
  6. ^ Guardian interview on the release of 24 Hour Party People
  7. ^ BBC news report
  8. ^ BBC report
  9. ^ "Obituary: Tony Wilson". BBC News online. Retrieved 2007-08-10.
  10. ^ Simon Collins (2007-02-09). "Music showcase postponed after founder in surgery drama". The West Australian. Retrieved 2007-08-10.
  11. ^ Family Notices - Manchester Evening News
  12. ^ Factory Records founder Anthony Wilson dies from cancer
  13. ^ Amanda Crook (2007-08-13). "'Wilson extraordinary' - Yvette". manchestereveningnews.co.uk. Retrieved 2007-08-15.
  14. ^ "'Tony Wilson and his coffin'". Retrieved 2007-08-30.
  15. ^ "'Tony Wilson Will Revealed". Retrieved 2008-03-24.