DVD Talk Forum - Tony Wilson (Factory Records) dead at age 57

UK music promoter Tony Wilson dies
Saturday August 11, 09:26 AM

Tony Wilson, a feted music impresario credited with guiding a crop of exhilarating bands from industrial England to international acclaim, invigorating British music in the process, has died at the age of 57.

Wilson, a former broadcaster and journalist, promoted the careers of a host of influential musicians from his native city of Manchester in northern England, including Joy Division, New Order and the Happy Mondays.

He died from complications of kidney cancer, the city's Christie Hospital said.

His influence on the city, and on British music, is documented in the 2002 movie 24 Hour Party People, which charts the rise - and eventual fall - of Wilson's empire, which included Factory Records and the Hacienda nightclub.

Manchester-born and Cambridge-educated, Wilson's record label and nightclub were credited with making the city Britain's most vibrant music center through the 1980s and 1990s, spawning bands including the Smiths, the Stone Roses and Oasis; and transforming youth culture by bringing acid house music from US dance clubs to England.

In a 2002 interview with the Associated Press, Wilson said music had helped transform Manchester from a dour post-industrial city to a vibrant cultural hotbed.

"It is almost impossible to remember 1975 - how awful music was and how awful our industrial cities were," Wilson said.

Though both Factory Records and the Hacienda closed down in the 1990s, Wilson continued to be a passionate advocate for his city, presenting a radio show for the local BBC station.

"There will never be anyone quite like Tony. He was a true free spirit and a passionate advocate for Manchester - the city, its people and, of course, its music," the BBC said in a statement.

Wilson's sharp wit and penchant for wild claims about the talents of his bands - and himself - inspired fury from some, but admiration in many who worked with him.

"Tony was a genius, basically," Phil Saxe, an employee at Factory Records, told BBC television. "He was a visionary in that he helped bands, who otherwise wouldn't have made it, who were a bit out of the ordinary."

There was no immediate information provided about survivors or funeral arrangements.

http://au.news.yahoo.com/070810/2/146a8.html

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I hadn't heard of his death until it was mentioned on a podcast that I listened to yesterday. I'll have to pull out and watch my copy of 24 Hour Party People this weekend.