After Lee Hazlewood, another maverick on the music scene is dead. Tony Wilson died yesterday despite undergoing intensive chemotherapy for cancer. He was only 57.
The story of Tony’s life and it’s many ups and downs and twists and turns can be seen in ’24 Hour Party People’ where he is portrayed by Steve Coogan. Perhaps even better than the film is the book of the same name, from where the screenplay was adapted. Get it. Read it. Read it again. I was telling someone last week that it was ideal summer holiday reading material. Everything you would want to know about Tony Wilson, Factory Records, Joy Division, New Order, Happy Mondays and Crispy Ambulance is in there.
Tony saw the Sex Pistols at the Lesser Free Trade Hall in Manchester. 39 people in the audience went on to form bands. Step forward Bernard Sumner, Morrissey, Pete Shelley, Mick Hucknall. Sorry. Can’t have it all. Tony put the Sex Pistols on the telly. The day after it was shown Peter Hook went out and bought his first bass guitar. Years later, Tony put the Stone Roses on the telly (the Other Side of Midnight – a great programme shown in the wee small hours. That’s the Stone Roses on his programme on the inside sleeve of their first album.) The next day I went out and bought the Stone Roses first album. And formed a band. Hardly the seismic shift that the Manchester scene caused, but nonetheles…..
Tony Wilson was aloof. He was snobby. He was pretentious. He would quote Latin, he would enthuse about Greek tragedies, he would get super enthusiastic about music, about design, about getting the message across. He didn’t care that he lost money on every single copy of Blue Monday sold. It didn’t matter to him that Blue Monday went on to become the biggest selling 12″ single ever. He gave the people what they wanted, whether they realised it or not. Like Joy Division for starters. As if they’re not enough, here’s some of the other music he’s been responsible for:
New Order ‘Ceremony‘ demo. Had this for years on the ‘Western Works’ bootleg. What else do you need to know about New Order? Fac 33 was the catalogue number of the Ceremony single. Everything that Factory Records did was given a catalogue number. Fac 1? That’ll be the poster advertising the first Factory Club night in 1978. Fac 240? That’ll be the label’s 10th Anniversary wall planner. Fac 420? That’ll be ‘Yes Please’ by the Happy Mondays, the album that cost millions and finally killed the label. Crack cocaine, broken limbs, selling studio furniture. It’s all in the book. Read it. You’ll like it.
Happy Mondays ‘Freaky Dancin”. Their second single (Fac 142), the first was ‘Delightful’, (Fac 129) ‘Freaky Dancin’ was produced by Bernard Sumner. Scratchy white man funk. Still sounds great 21 (fuck me) years later.
A Certain Ratio ‘Shack Up’. (Fac 167). More scratchy white man funk. It’s a cover of an old Blue Note jazz/soul single by Banbara. Tony loved ACR until they started wearing shorts onstage. That’s in the book as well.
The Durutti Column ‘Sketches for Summer’. Tony really believed that Vini Reilly was a megastar in the making. He’s an artist I’ve always been planning to investigate but never quite got round to. He’s rake thin, weighs about 2 stone and plays fantastic guitar. In another world he might’ve been a megastar, but it’s always good to have cult heroes.
*Fac 8? That’ll be the Factory-designed menstrual egg timer. Of course.
Plain Or Pan 