Tony Wilson (1950 - )
Tony Wilson
Anthony (Tony) Wilson (born February 20, 1950) is a British record label and nightclub manager and journalist for Granada Television. who made him anchor of the rock programme So It Goes. Wilson saw the Sex Pistols and The Clash at the Manchester Lesser Free Trade Hall, in June, 1976, an experience which he has described as "nothing short of an epiphany" [1] (http://film.guardian.co.uk/interview/interviewpages/0,6737,661059,00.html). He booked them for the second series, probably the first television showing of the then-revolutionary British strand of Punk rock. He later founded the record label Factory Records and the Hacienda nightclub in Manchester.
He was the pop group manager behind (at various times) Joy Division, New Order and the Happy Mondays (amongst many others). He was part owner and manager of Factory Records and the Hacienda nightclub which formed a central part of the music and cultural scene of Manchester (and, indeed, the whole of the NW of England).
Wilson originally sought a career as a television journalist on Manchester's local station, Granada TV, where he worked as reporter and anchorman. He eventually returned to the career and the channel in the late 1990s, where he still works. He never made a fortune from Factory Records or the Hacienda, despite the enormous popularity and cultural significance of both endeavours. Both came to an abrupt although not necessarily premature end in the late 1990s, the Hacienda being forced to close because of an out of control drug problem.
A semi-fictionalized version of his life and of the surrounding era was made into a 2002 film, 24 Hour Party People, which stars the comedian Steve Coogan as Wilson. After the movie was produced, Wilson wrote a novelization based on the screenplay, which was released under the same title: 24 Hour Party People. Despite being described on the movie poster as a "twat". --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Wilson [Feb 2005]
24 Hour Party People (2002) - Michael Winterbottom
24 Hour Party People (2002) - Michael Winterbottom [Amazon.com]
24 Hour Party People is a 2002 film about Manchester's popular music community from 1977 to 1997, and specifically about Factory Records. It was directed by Michael Winterbottom.
It begins with the punk rock era, and moves through the 1980s into the "Madchester" scene of the late 1980s and early 1990s. The main character is Tony Wilson, the head of Factory Records (played by comedian Steve Coogan), and the narrative largely follows his career, while also covering the major Factory artists, especially Joy Division and New Order, A Certain Ratio, The Durutti Column, and The Happy Mondays.
The movie is a dramatisation based on a combination of real events, rumours, urban legends and the imaginations of the scriptwriter - as the movie makes clear. In one scene featuring Howard Devoto (played by Martin Hancock), the real Devoto, an extra in the scene, turns to the camera and says "I definitely don't remember this happening". Several other people from the era of the film appear in cameos, such as Mani from the Stone Roses, Vini Reilly, Paul Ryder, Mark E. Smith and Tony Wilson himself. Rowetta, the Happy Mondays backing singer, plays herself in the film. The actors are often intercut real concert footage taken at the time, including the famous Sex Pistols gig at the Free Trade Hall.
The ensemble cast includes:
- Steve Coogan - Tony Wilson
- Shirley Henderson - Lindsay Wilson (Tony's first wife)
- Paddy Considine - Rob Gretton (Joy Division/New Order manager)
- Lennie James - Alan Erasmus (co-founder of Factory)
- Andy Serkis - Martin Hannett (producer)
- Sean Harris - Ian Curtis (Joy Division singer)
- John Simm - Bernard Sumner (Joy Division/New Order guitarist)
- Danny Cunningham - Shaun Ryder (Happy Mondays' singer)
A novelization, 24 Hour Party People, based on the screenplay for the film, was written by Wilson himself and released in 2003. The title (and opening theme) for the film comes from the song "Twenty Four Hour Party People" by the Happy Mondays, from their album Squirrel and G-Man Twenty Four Hour Party People Plastic Face Carnt Smile (White Out). --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/24_Hour_Party_People [Feb 2005]