Tony Wilson RIP
Tony Wilson died today. I met the guy a couple of times, on the second occasion he was chairing a panel I was speaking on, at an arts event in Manchester. I can’t recall exactly what the theme was but I do remember thinking he was a complete tosser.
He was arrogant, didn’t let anyone else get their opinons across and made me look stupid by cutting me off and not allowing me to explain my arguements properly. All of which he did with great skill and panache, and the audience loved him.
So it seems strange that I should want to write a blog post about him. However he played an important part in my teenage years on two fronts by co-founding Factory Records.
Firstly the music of Factory provided the soundtrack to my teenage angst. Secondly the aesthetics of the label inspired me towards my eventual career path. Wilson probably only had a limited input into the music compared to someone like producer Martin Hannett, while it was Peter Saville that was responsible for the album covers and posters.
Yet I can’t help but feel the thing that attracted me most to both the music and the aesthetic was the mystique that surrounded the label, a mystique that Wilson was largely responsible for. Each album, single, poster or band had a value but gained its unique status by being part of the Factory collective and by having its own FACT number.
Anthony Wilson taught me the importance of creating an aura around a project and made me recognise the value of building a body of work that can be greater than the sum of its parts. Anthony Wilson (1950-2007), rest in peace.
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