45 replies to this topic

[Mitchell]

Anthony Wilson dies from cancer

Anthony Wilson, the music mogul behind some of Manchester's most successful bands, has died of cancer.

The Salford-born entrepreneur, who founded Factory records, the label behind New Order and the Happy Mondays, was diagnosed last year.

The 57-year-old, also famous for setting up the Hacienda nightclub, underwent emergency surgery in January to remove a kidney.

He passed away on Friday evening in hospital.

Doctors recommended he take the drug Sutent after chemotherapy failed to beat the disease, but the NHS refused to fund the £3,500-a-month treatment.

However, members of the Happy Mondays and other acts he supported over the years stepped in and started a fund to help pay for it.

His vision and determination played a key role in helping to put Manchester on the map for its music and vibrant nightlife and his entrepreneurial skills inspired people everywhere.

Phil Saxe, who used to work at Factory Records with Wilson, said: "Part of me, part of Manchester, part of modern British music has died tonight.

"Tony was a genius, basically.

"He was a visionary in that he helped bands, who otherwise wouldn't have made it, who were a bit out of the ordinary.

"He helped them realise their dreams and through that probably realised himself to be Mr Manchester".

'An inspiration'

BBC journalist Kristan Deconinck sought advice from him in the early 1980s on how to launch an independent record label shortly after Wilson had started Factory records.

"He couldn't have been more helpful and more patient," Kristan said.

"He inspired me - and countless others - to have a go if you believed in something.

"That in itself is a great legacy, apart from the vision he had with his label, his shows, his attitude - his contribution to a new culture.

"When I later met him, I found him far more amenable than scurrilous rumours had led me to believe and my esteem for the guy never diminished."


Obituary: Tony Wilson

Record label owner, broadcaster, journalist, pop impresario and nightclub founder - Anthony Wilson was famous for many things, but perhaps he was most famous for being a self-styled professional Mancunian. Tony Wilson was widely regarded as the man who put Manchester on the map for its music and vibrant nightlife. He remained active on the city scene until his death on Friday aged 57. He was born in Salford's Hope Hospital on 20 February 1950. He attended De La Salle Christian Brothers' school, before going on to read English at the University of Cambridge in 1968. In the 1970s he went to work for Granada Television in Manchester, where he fronted programmes including music show So It Goes and current affairs magazine World In Action. He later went on to be long-time host of the early evening Granada Reports. Wilson was a founder of Factory Records in the late 1970s, the label behind Joy Division, New Order and The Happy Mondays. He continued to work in television even at the height of his work with Factory records. In 1982, he set up The Hacienda nightclub, which became known as perhaps the most famous club in the world in the late 1980s and early 1990s. It became the heart of the "Madchester" scene, playing host to bands such as New Order, The Smiths, The Stone Roses and Oasis. Even Madonna played her first UK gig at the Whitworth Street club in February 1983. The club was famous for its dance nights, particularly house music nights where DJs Mike Pickering, Sasha and Dave Haslam regularly played. In the early 1990s the club was blighted by cash flow problems and it closed its doors in 1997.

Devolution call

The building was demolished in 2002 and apartments were built in its place. The semi-fictional story of the club, the music and Wilson's life was documented in Michael Winterbottom's 2002 film, 24 Hour Party People. His character was played by comedian Steve Coogan to critical acclaim. Wilson later went on to set up the annual Manchester music conference, In The City, with long-term partner and former Miss England Yvette Livesey. But it was not just in the music world that he made his mark - he was also a key player in local politics and supported a campaign for a regional assembly for the North West.

Emergency surgery

In 2004 he set up an unofficial coalition calling for regional devolution, called The Necessary Group. More recently he presented radio shows Ground Rules and Talk of the Town on BBC Radio Manchester and Sunday Roast on Xfm Manchester. He was the main presenter of the BBC's Politics Show North West. Wilson fell ill in 2006, before undergoing emergency surgery to have a kidney removed in January 2007.
Doctors diagnosed him with cancer and he started a chemotherapy course at Manchester's Christie Hospital. The chemotherapy failed to beat the disease and he was recommended to take the drug Sutent, which is not funded by the NHS in Manchester. Members of the Happy Mondays and other acts he supported over the years had started a fund to help pay for his treatment.

[Saskadelphia]

[Undercooked Sausage]

oh my god

[Mantana]

Doctors recommended he take the drug Sutent after chemotherapy failed to beat the disease, but the NHS refused to fund the £3,500-a-month treatment.

Was everything I learned in Sicko wrong?

[Mitchell]

How the NHS places a value on life

[typical pickle conflicts]

oh man

[no magnets]

Doctors recommended he take the drug Sutent after chemotherapy failed to beat the disease, but the NHS refused to fund the £3,500-a-month treatment.

Was everything I learned in Sicko wrong?

you didn't really think it was accurate, did you?

this is really sad news.

[Mantana]

Doctors recommended he take the drug Sutent after chemotherapy failed to beat the disease, but the NHS refused to fund the £3,500-a-month treatment.

Was everything I learned in Sicko wrong?

you didn't really think it was accurate, did you?

I didn't see why I should necessarily assume it wasn't.

[Undercooked Sausage]

guys will you stop talking about a fucking michael moore movie this is a time to be mourning.

[throughsilver]

This is bad news. I once ate in the same posh Thai restaurant as him in Manchester, late 2000. Good times.

[Wolfgang]

Now Ian can call him a cunt to his face again.

[Duff.]

Now Ian can call him a cunt to his face again.

Heh.

This sucks.

[Plate]

People need to stop dying. Everybody, put on the original New Order version of "Ceremony".

How the NHS places a value on life

Insane, and upsetting

[unterwasser]

I knew he was ill, but I didn't realise just how bad it was. Absolutely gutted. Tony, thanks for everything, Joy Division, Durutti Column, New Order, Peter Saville, Quando Quango, Happy Mondays, The Menstrual Egg Timer, Hacienda, 24 hour party people, being the coolest mf in the whole music business and so much more. R.I.P.

[Pavement Ist Rad]

Fucking hell.

[Agrimorfee]

Everybody has to rent 24 Hour Party People in memoriam, now.

[Undercooked Sausage]

I've seen it, but I'm ordering it off Ebay right now.

[Mitchell]

Guardian is saying he actually died of a heart attack, I'm going to go watch 24HPP in bed now. RIP Tony.

[HandBanana]

Crap sorry. The search didnt bring up this one and I totally spaced seein it. My bad. MODS delete my dupe thread pleasse

[typical pickle conflicts]

I feel like such a 17-18 year old who still spells color with a u in their livejournal for being so bummed about this, gonna have to dig out 24HPP for sure