Tony Wilson, RIP.

source? FFS he was not old

Reunited with Factory nightclub opening act Bernard Manning in the afterlife.

weird to hear it here before bbc, nme or any of them

maybe New Order will reform...

All I found was this on wiki:
Anthony H. Wilson passed away on Friday 10th August 2007 at around 7pm. His children, partner and lifelong friend, Sean Boylan (Irish Football Coach) and his wife were with Tony when he passed away. May he rest in peace.

!! RIP if this is actually true

omg :(((

I heard he had cancer. RIP.

dammit i think of him and i can only see steve coogan

^this. RIP.

here, this should help us, LJ:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/f/f5/So_It_Goes1.gif/400px-So_It_Goes1.gif

RIP, if true.

Up on the BBC:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/manchester/6941392.stm

Dang.

Afraid that it is true. Heard the news from a friend who knows some of the people involved with the forthcoming Joy Division biopic. He's been seriously ill for a number of weeks.

RI fucking P.

:(

fuck. very sad.

Oh, xpost with the BBC via Ned. Sorry to have been the bearer of such a sad scoop...

Aw, holy fuck. RIP.

Somehow appropriate that one of his final acts will be to 'print the legend' via the biopic.

RIP of course. Ultimately my view is he was a great fan but a bad businessman -- still, it understates to say: not a bad legacy to leave, not at all.

That was one of the problems, Ned. He didn't have much money and couldn't afford some of the treatment. People such as the Happy Mondays were rallying round and helping out financially.

fuck. rip.

Heart attack, apparently. I remember hearing that about the treatment that they couldn't provide him on the NHS.

http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/s/1013/1013299_tony_wilsons_battle_is_over.html

RIP

oh shit. RIP.

This has upset me a great deal. A part of my youth has just disappeared. The smartarse off Granada Reports who looked like my brother who just happened to have a hand in some of the best records ever made. Good night, Tony. Martin and Rob are probably already making his (after)life hell.

RIP and respect

My spur-of-the-moment burbling.

A hero of mine.

Sad news. What a life, though.

sad.

they should give his death a fac number.

fucking hell. i've sort of been expecting this, but ... christ. fuck.

RIP, you fucking diamond.

way too upset to write more now.

Great piece from Jess on Idolator.

there's a lot more gritty swearing on this thread than most sleb death threads.

koogs OTM re Fac no.

I didn't realise how strapped the NHS was on these drugs. FFS, what an outrage.

Between this and Hazlewood I'm ready to phone the rest of the month in. Fuck fuck fuck

fac catalog # thirded. RIP.

:(((((

Fac ∞

zappi OTM.

i've raised a glass to him, and mrs fiendish and i have already had a bit of a laugh about our favourite wilson memories, etc. it's one of the few times this devout atheist wishes there was an afterlife -- just for the joy of imagining how gretton (and hannett) would greet him.

and because he'd be overjoyed to see ian curtis again, but that's just sentimental and silly.

he was the first person i ever interviewed properly -- on the phone in 1993 (or maybe early 1994). i'll cherish the memory of first time i met him in the flesh -- he was a friend of our then editor -- and then going along to his book-reading (24HPP) at borders and hijacking it totally :)

57. what a waste. still, as mrs F said: he'd have hated being an old man.

life goes on. the music, as he would no doubt have pointed out, goes on.

thanks, tony. you absolutely fucking rocked my world. thank you.

Damn, poor Tony. This just sucks.

RIP

RIP. nice pieces, ned & jess.

so sad. Just watching Newsnight - they've got Peter Saville, Paul Morley, Steven Morris and Richard Madely lined up to talk about him.

Gutted. Great piece Jess. RIP Tony.

Really wish I hadn't left my housemate's copy of Bummed in a club now. RIP.

No, no. Awful news. This has hit me as hard as Peel's death: the Scouser and the Manc each leaving a musical legacy that is unique, distinct, blah, blah. I'm too gutted to write more.

fuuuuuuuuck.

rip tony.

Fuck and fuck.

There's a bit in 24 hour party people when they're all in the car arguing about some crap and listening to Transmission (I think, I'm going to go and watch the extras in a bit and drink a large one for him...) and Coogan As Wilson says something like "this is a great great record". I don't know if this is what really happened but I know that that's what it was like for me listening to Peel and hearing that for the first time. And maybe it would have come about without Tony Wilson but maybe it wouldn't and even just for that he deserves our thanks. And he did so much more.

Awful, sad news. Nobody beats gravity.
RIP

What terrible news. Thanks for all of the many wonderful things that you did: RIP :(

Tony Wilson interviewed by the NME in 1986:

NME: There's a quote about being misconstrued: 'Irony is lost on pinheads'. I think Elvis Costello said it about The Clash, when all those, um, anti-violence songs caused the audiences to start slugging each other.

TW: The only way we can have peace in the world is by having lots more riots. There will be riots down the line before we get peace. A good old fashioned rock and roll riot is a movement towards truth; it's the forward motion of history.

NME: Even if the rioters aren't freedom fighters, but simply a bunch of assholes?

TW: Oh certainly. The urge to destroy is a creative urge. It's never static. You only get old when you decree 'all revolutions are over', when you say the dialectic is finished. That's why Russia is an old nation, because it has called a halt to change.

NME: What happens to pop when the rioting stops?

TW: I saw Malcolm McLaren last week in Los Angeles, and his theory at the moment is that it will never happen again. He's saying that there are now so many avenues open to music that there's just no chance. I said to him,'Just like fucking Lenin, right? There's a continuous dialectic going on until you've had your bit. As soon as you're in charge, that's the end; no more world revolutions'. Speaking of Malcolm, I'll have to tell you my How Malcolm McLaren Fucked Himself In The Ass Theory.

Speaking of Malcolm, I'll have to tell you my How Malcolm McLaren Fucked Himself In The Ass Theory.

HAHAHAHAHAHA

awesome quote, thanks.

the kids now use all kinds of hip slang like "totally tubular" and "gnarly". their fave bands are london boys and big fun.

most dj's were in a shit indie band at some point weren't they?

Oh, c'mon Hook's band was pretty good.

(trying desperately to get thread back to Tony Wilson somehow)

early post-punk factory? love it

later baggy phase? not so great

thanks for that.

[ring ring]

"no ... no, mr morley, i don't think you need worry too much about max r."

lol

i jest. but really: have you heard "my rising star" by northside? the glorious factory arc might begin to make a little more sense ... i know northside had more moments of grating than greatness but really, that song ...

"palatine" really is essential listening, too: it's not too hard to find if you know where to look :)

sorry, i even hate the roses, so all that stuff is a turn-off really. except perhaps the vince clarke mix of "wrote for luck", that's cool.

the oakenfold/osbourne one (it was them, wasn't it?) is better.

tchah, though. kids these days. etc. seriously: check out "palatine" anyway.

the "face the future" mix? not really into, that it sounds dashed off. vince clarke's is like him having a go at acid house and not doing such a bad job of it at all.

Original WFL : juggernaut
VC mix : compact, pulsing
Oakenfold : sprawling, stretched

All good.

Palatine - lovely, but should have had 'Smiling Monarchs' on it, and 'Presence' and a Swamp Children track.

grimly OTM about 'My Rising Star'

All good

all godlike, actually. but i'm a sucker for the propulsive bassline that kicks off the oakenfold one.

"palatine" doesn't have any crispy ambulance, either, does it? that's totally wrong. i listened to "the plateau phase" again the other week -- while raking up leaves very early in the morning -- and it sounds better, fresher and more intriguing than ever.

[as an aside: if anyone can tell me what time signature "the presence" is in, i'd be eternally grateful.]

oh, hang on. dur. you said presence, and i missed it. (at least, i assume that's what you mean.)

yes, that's what I mean. It's their best, I reckon. Plateau is pretty strange - I dunno what I think really, 'I'm glad it exists' probably sums it up.

Just had a listen to The Presence - 7/4 works for me - try counting along with drum machine/hi-hat/bass bit from about 0.30 and then keep going when the guitar and snare comes in.

Watching The Hydroplanes!

have you heard the longer demo version of hydroplanes, from the tunnelvision LTM CD? it is absolutely blinding: way more atmospheric than the (hannett?) production on FAC 39 (i'm guessing, but i think that's right).

hmm: given that the re-formed SXXV have bloke-from-tunnelvision on guitar, i wonder if there's any chance of them doing a cover? hmmm. hmmm!

try counting along with drum machine/hi-hat/bass bit from about 0.30 and then keep going when the guitar and snare comes in

heh, i have -- a couple of times -- and i end up getting confused somewhere. 7/4 sounds plausible. thank you!

Yes, I have heard it - very good IIRC, but I don't have the LTM CD myself. FAC39 was Hannett, wasn't it? Now you've got me wondering...

back o/t, did anyone see the photos of peter saville crying at the funeral? thought that was quite touching.

i didn't, but <suzy> my pal was out with saville's wife/partner in berlin </suzy> a week or so later and she was bemoaning the fact it became a bit of a media circus, and that his friends weren't necessarily given space to grieve. of course, that's probably true of every "celebrity" funeral -- and each individual deals with grief in their own way.

i mean, i was devastated and i didn't know the guy at all: met him once, spoke to him on the phone a couple of times. it's easy to forget that dudes like hooky, saville etc -- almost all the factory lot, plus many others -- would have forged genuine, deep, lengthy friendships with him; that, for them, he existed on a level the rest of us would never know, regardless of the aesthete-everyman image he put across.

i was listening to "interleukin 2" from the new durutti column album the other day, which is subtitled "for anthony", and became slightly choked up.

The new Durutti Column is really growing on me.

I only have one question. Where's Alan Erasmus? He was a key member of Factory, but never appears in programs and never does interviews. It's odd that he's so completely disappeared from public life. Is there some background story I've missed? Does anyone here know?

curious as to why Alan Erasmus remains such an elusive figure tho - not much info about him online even now from what i can tell

-- blueski, Monday, 24 September 2007 12:55 (1 week ago) Link

OTMFM. I was just commenting about this after watching 24PP with a friend. It's really weird isn't it? The Hannett book mentions him a little bit, though. Says he just quietly went about getting things done, was usually the one to give rides when people needed them, etc.

-- Bimble, Tuesday, 25 September 2007 04:14 (1 week ago) Link

Sorry, not trying to be an arse about it, I just don't know if you saw those posts, Leavethecapital. Hell, maybe requoting them again will lure someone who knows about Erasmus into the spotlight. You never know.

In the meantime, it's interesting Crispy Ambulance have come up on this thread. (one of those bands it's best not to get Bimble started about) I'll just say that the last time I tried to play Plateau Phase it really disappointed me, the sound of it and I became quite upset as it's long been one of my fave albums ever and they are one of my Top 3 fave bands ever. I was moved to forget the CD and pull it out on vinyl and see if I was any happier with the way it sounded but alas, I wasn't. It was very surprising and frankly, not a little upsetting. Perhaps I really have played it too many times. Maybe I just have to be in the right mood.

In the meantime, I'm filled with guilt that I don't yet have the new Durutti Column.

I'm sure this is the wrong place to say this, but hey.

The new "Voice of the Seven Woods" is my favourite guitar album since the first Durutti one.

Go see.

i'm a longtime fan of rick's stuff.. i'm yet to pick up the album but all the 45s/EPs so far have been great

I got a couple of singles, but the album was like "whoa!"

No, Bimble I didn't see those posts. My bad for being lazy. I thought if anyone knew where he went it might be someone here.

He obviously stays out of the limelight (Erasmus that is) for a reason, maybe we should just let him?

I'm sure this is the wrong place to say this, but hey.

The new "Voice of the Seven Woods" is my favourite guitar album since the first Durutti one.

Go see.

Such a recommendation and they are playing relatively nearby soon. So maybe I will.

http://www.cerysmaticfactory.info/2007_10_01_archive.html#7558059712547704499

The November edition of i-D magazine will be a Punk-themed issue and they are dedicating the back section of the magazine to the memory of Tony Wilson and Factory Records.

The i-D Punk issue is out on 10 October 2007.

i didn't, but <suzy> my pal was out with saville's wife/partner in berlin </suzy>

You evil man. ;-)

"He obviously stays out of the limelight (Erasmus that is) for a reason, maybe we should just let him?"

Fair enough. He doesn't own anyone an explanation. If he wants to tell his side of the Factory story I'm sure he'll do that when he's good and ready.

Is this where we talk about <i>Control</i>? I saw it yesterday, and blogged about it as follows:

Joy Division might have been a Manchester band, but there's a strong Nottingham link to the movie; lead actress Samantha Morton was born and bred here, a large chunk of the funding came from the East Midlands, and most of the film was shot in the city. The concert scenes were filmed inside the Ballroom of the Marcus Garvey Centre, with crowd extras recruited from the message boards of LeftLion magazine; the Derby Road council flats behind the Savoy Cinema are easily recognisable; and the supposedly Mancunian kids in the opening scene have suspiciously local accents.

The film marks the directorial debut of rock photographer Anton Corbijn, perhaps best known for his work with U2 and Depeche Mode, who also worked with Joy Division in the late 1970s, helping to define their oh-God-I-hate-using-this-word iconic (bleurgh) image. Not surprsingly, the visual aesthetic is closely aligned with Corbijn's signature style, all monochrome austerity and pared down moodiness. As such, it's completely in line with the band's existing iconography - almost to the degree of being an extension of their brand, were I minded to be cynical.

Which, to my relief, and despite niggling early doubts (with every shot exquisitely composed, was the art direction in danger of drowning in its own sumptuous "perfection"?), I'm not. For the tightly controlled visual aesthetic actually serves to preserve the band's mystique, even as the drama seeks to examine the circumstances which led to singer Ian Curtis's suicide, aged 23, in May 1980. Or, as I put it on Twitter earlier today, on my way back from the cinema, the film "illuminates the story without puncturing the legend". It's a tricky line to walk, and some slightly clunky initial wobbles notwithstanding (or maybe it's simply impossible not to giggle at the first sight of the earnest young actors playing Barney and Hooky, and at the sight of "Tony Wilson" in a daft wig), the balance is admirably struck.

(Thus, to give one example, you gain an almost literal insight as to how Curtis's emotional state inspired the lyrics of Love Will Tear Us Apart, without running the risk of permanently devaluing the personal experience that you might get from the song.)

Ah yes: Tony Wilson, whose serious illness was well known amongst the cast and crew, and whose death less than two months ago casts an extra shadow over what was already a distinctly murky drama. His character provides a couple of the film's rare comedic moments - the lack of which was also noted, with some measure of disappointment, by Curtis's widow Deborah. Control thus becomes something of a dual memorial, as well as making some of the links between Ian Curtis's and Kurt Cobain's respective states of suicidal despair all the more explicit (I'm thinking of one concert scene in particular, which shows Curtis no longer able to control the widening gap between what his audience expects and what he is capable of providing).

Highly recommended. Go see.

http://troubled-diva.com/2007_09_30_troubled-diva_archive.html#1159973526702731889

(Obviously not nearly flip/snarky/geeky enough for ILM, but I couldn't be @rsed to re-draft with added geek-snark.)

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

http://www.tonywilsonexperience.com/ streaming now

i'm assuming they're going to edit together the highlights?

Thanks to jed_ for the link on the Peter Saville thread:

http://creativereview.co.uk/cr-blog/2010/october/peter-saville-anthony-wilson-headstone

kinda pissed they didn't

give his death a fac number.

― koogs, Friday, August 10, 2007

but that is still lovely

oh wait:

@Daniel

His casket has the FAC number 501 and if I remember his estate vowed that would be the last thing catalogued

!!

That is disarmingly beautiful. Actually felt quite emotional looking at it.

http://www.toplessrobot.com/340x_monolith_action_figure_main_zoom.jpg

haha

Love the way it reflects the zantedeschias

And Saville was three years late. Kind of fitting really...

The boxed cassettes were the pinnacle for Saville's aesthetic. I still think it all died with Tony though. From there, and from here...it will be inelegant, typical recitation. He was the constant gardener, he aged the story so it wouldn't die.

Without whom.

http://www.zani.co.uk/userimages/Tony%20Wilson%20ZANI%203.jpg

I can hear him now, raving about Rothko or telling us about a burst water main in Chorley. Off to play Temptation.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3cYNI8s_vo4

http://louderthanwar.com/watch-this-mike-garrys-powerful-and-moving-video-for-classic-st-anthonytony-wilson-poem/

is Grimly's obit knocking around anywhere does anyone know? the link to it has long since gone it seems.

Video is awesome. Thanks, Mike.