A Tribute to Tony Wilson, Purcell Room

The Factory Records founder remembered through poetry, music and chat

by Bruce DessauFriday, 17 June 2011

Tony Wilson: From denim-clad regional TV presenter to doggedly passionate cultural icon

The Meltdown Festival's tribute to Tony Wilson was a lot like the charismatic post-punk legend himself: funny, eccentric, obscure, populist; all over the place but never dull. Wilson died in August 2007 and this event was a reminder of his reputation as one of music's most fascinating post-punk provocateurs, giving the world Joy Division, Happy Mondays and more. It was also a reminder of his reputation, as poet Mike Garry put it, as a "knobhead". As someone who appeared on regional news programmes quoting Wordsworth while hang-gliding, Wilson could be spectacularly uncool.

Factory was a record label run by men who knew nothing about running a record label. That's what made it so special

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