Tony Wilson, RIP.

genius wilson quote -

"in the north west it rains and it rains and it rains and yet we managed to produce the industrial revolution, the trade union movement, the communist manifesto and even the goddam computer and down south where the sun never sets, you took all our money and what did you produce? chas and fucking dave."

so, tony wilson, keith allen, derrick may and marshall jefferson are sat in a room -

http://dewit.ca/archs/JD/New_York_Story.html

can ysi an episode of 'so it goes' from '76 if anyone wants it.

rip

Brilliant thread, this.

And it is gratifying to see his life appreciated by people from all over. I'm a Vancouverite through and through nowadays, but at heart I'm still a Manc, and Wilson (to me) personified that weird mix of self-regarding and self-deprecating shyness/swagger so typical of the good people of Grtr M/cr.

http://blog.fawny.org/2007/08/12/fac461/
'The foundation of graphic design at Factory Records had two parts: Tony Wilson’s belief that quality should almost never be compromised and the simple rigour of numbering everything. The original poster for the first “Factory club” show was FAC 1; the first record was FAC 2. And not the other way around, because the poster came first.'

Unfortunately most of my knowledge about Tony Wilson comes from 24 Hour Party People, which served as a great influence amidst my teenage hood, which, due to my relative lack of years, cemented my love for Joy Division, The Mondays and a brief infatuation rave era music. I feel at loss, because my knowledge of his life outside of 24HPP is rather limited (I will watch it with the TW commentary soon though) and almost all of that knowledge was about what an asshole he was, or how much people disliked him, heh. Nevertheless, I am furthermore at loss because in reflecting on his life I'm yet to really articulate in my mind the impact and grandeur accomplishments he held, I mean, look at the Factory back catalogue, the impact of the Hacienda, Madchester; he's carrying behind a legacy, to have such a wide reaching impact in such short time is inspiring, and so much of it just comes all back to him. RIP.

it was always northern irony/distance. No one actually hated TW. Well, some must have, but not the ones saying that.

Guess that sort of 'appreciation' doesn't cross waters.

As with the Peel tribute thread, this is also moving and full of some great stories, thanks all of you. I was very sad to hear about his cancer, and saddened further to hear of his passing.

I wonder if he's up there seeing god, and finding he looks like Tony Wilson? :D

I didn't think I was going to cry.

here is 15 minutes of a 1976 episode of tony's 'so it goes' featuring jerry lee lewis, clive james, peter cook and the first ever tv appearance by the sex pistols.

Newsnight story with Morley, Saville, and Morris

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rlFwScEjUk

Q: "Do you have any regrets?"

TW: "Yes. I never went to Barbados with the Mondays. It sounds like it was excellent."

Factually incorrect obitpile of wank from the Telegraph

RIP Tony. Every crane in Manchester wouldn't be there without you. Hell, you even got Man City a new stadium, in a roundabout way.

jesus. that is a really bad piece of writing, by someone who doesn't actually get what wilson, factory or the past 30 years were about at all.

that said, i do love the way the "signed in blood" thing is going to pass into history as fact :)

xpost to the factually incorrect..

Well, so much has been oft repeated, it's no wonder it's now taken as fact. Apart from the 'signed bands contracts in blood on napkins' like he has a special fountain pen for that reason, it's not that bad (although smacks of 'cribbed from everyone e;se's articles')

The "Blue Monday" losing 2p for every copy.. No, they changed the design of the sleeve for subsequent pressings. There's loads without the different inner sleeve colour and the cut-out hole.

and so on.. NME has a 2 page tribute 'put together at the last minute', I guess Mojo and Uncut will have bigger ones.

Well, so much has been oft repeated, it's no wonder it's now taken as fact

yeees ... and that was the point i made at the very start of mine, ie "some of this might not be 100% fact". even his degree result ... wikipedia says a third, 24HPP (which is hardly a statement of record) a 2.2. i went with the latter because it allowed me to use the "end of time" quote.

but i think the point about that telegraph obit is it just feels like it's missed the point: that it doesn't understand the whole blurring of man and myth, of businessman and bollocks.

i'm reading the rest morley's stuff now; first chance i've had.

what's struck me is the fact that two or three phrases -- eg the twinkle in eye stuff -- are exactly how i wrote it, too. okay, it's not much of a coincidence. but still. i'm a) proud and b) bothered that people will think i've ripped it off. i promise that the only morley thing i'd read before i wrote mine was the smaller of the two guardian pieces ;)

coo ur gosh, etc.

("mixing fact and fiction to produce the truth of history", morley calls it. this is dead on. this observer piece is also truly, truly fantastic.)

(although smacks of 'cribbed from everyone e;seGrimly's articles')

fixed.

I've hard Wilson complaining about his 2.2 elsewhere - I'm fairly sure I read it the summer I got my 2.2... Something along the lines of "a third at least suggests you were out partying for the duration or had better things to do than go to the lectures; a first says that you're brilliant, a 2.1 that you're brilliant but a bit lazy. A 2.2 is nothing."

A splendid and handy compilation of AHW YouTube clips here:

http://www.thetripwire.com/news/2007/8/13/video-all-things-tony-wilson

xpost I'm sure that's in his book at the end, about how he's getting his kids through uni.

basically you want a first or a third -- the rest is bullshit.

desmond.

Great to see that Newsnight clip at last, though I had the unalloyed pleasure of the Pinefox doing all the Morley bits word- and rhotacism-perfect in Highgate on Saturday.

[thoroughly enjoyable use of the word rhotacism, Michael]

marcello, brilliant as ever; http://cookham.blogspot.com/2007/08/liberation-doesnt-have-to-hurt-tony.html

I'd refer him to my comment re Blue Monday losing money above, if he were here, but hey.

and he'd probably tell you not to fucking try it.

happy days.

that's a fantastic piece by marcello. i've just skimmed it there; i shall read it properly anon. thank you for the link, acrobat.

i miss marcello round these parts. hey ho.

I don't.

LOL at him seeing the Sex Pistols on So It Goes while on a "childhood holiday" in the Granada broadcast region. Prepostrous Tales in the life of Marcello Carlin.

4 MARCELLO

http://img239.imageshack.us/img239/5162/eazy2ll7.jpg

Apparently the coffin was labeled FAC 501 - the last FAC number

So right.

And I love details like these:

Hooky pointed out that the invite-only memorial was "pretty boring" compared to Rob's free-for-all. Others bemoaned the use of 'Atmosphere' when Wilson had wanted 'Ceremony'.

Ha! Good lord, that's a good quote.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/essentialmix/

"In celebration of the late great Tony Wilson, Pete Tong and Mike Pickering present a special essential mix of Factory Records and Hacienda classics."

listenagain-able for the rest of the week

I keep clicking back here hoping for news on BBC4's comprehensive tribute.

Or something similar.

so who enjoyed the Factory documentary?

BBC Four, Friday 21st September 2007
http://www.bbc.co.uk/musictv/factory/

Oh tell us afterwards! Thanks a bunch!

Right: IT'S BEING REPEATED AT 02:20 UK TIME!!!!

re: Oh tell us afterwards! Thanks a bunch!

hang on ! I plugged it on my blog earlier this week !

blogs are nice, but they are not "this thread"

No worries anyway, there's hardly anyone here at the moment.

Sigh, I know I will lose with the goddamn time zone differences once again.

I can't bear to read all that right now. Can't I just see the documentary like so many others? So much to ask. Oh well, if anyone has a link directly to the damn thing, let me know. :)

Stephen Morris: the surprise star of the show! Esp the Rob Gretton impressions.

Shaun Ryder's 'London record label wanker poshboy' voice a close second.

OTM re: Stephen Morris and Shaun Ryder.

I thought the voice-over narration was a bit weak, though; I know they felt they needed a Manc to do it, but couldn't they have got someone who doesn't sound so, I dunno, cheery?

Thirded re. Stephen and Shaun! Shaun's hat-over-ears look was, um, yeah. Poor Tony's voice sounded awful weedy for a loudmouth. The whole programme made me *extremely* homesick for Manchester.

It also reminded me of those bloody posts around the dancefloo in the Hacienda, which were exactly at groin height.

Tony was overdoing the swearing a bit. In contrast, I think Stephen Morris said "bloody" once then look dead embarrassed about it. The New Order lads were all "top" and "sorted". Shaun Ryder's poshboy voice was ace. Also Paul Ryder's story about Shaun stealing chairs from Eddy Grant's studio to give the local crackheads something to sit on.

good to hear from tony that the happy mondays invented acid house.

You expect the truth from Tony Wilson!??!?!