Tony wilson wiki

Tony Wilson, the music mogul who has died at 57, leaves behind an enormous musical legacy. Here are five ways that Wilson changed the music industry.

BRINGING PUNK TO THE MAINSTREAM

Wilson, who was working as a reporter at Granada TV, gave the Sex Pistols their television debut in

Wilson booked The Sex Pistols for his music programme So It Goes

He had seen the punk pioneers' legendary gig at the Manchester Lesser Free Trade Hall that June.

Only about 40 people were in the crowd, according to author David Nolan, who wrote a book hailing the concert as The Gig that Changed the World.

But they included future stars such as Morrissey, Mark E Smith and Mick Hucknall, who were inspired by the event to form their own bands.

Tony wilson biography Last year the world was shattered to hear of the death of Tony Wilson, the staunch Mancunian impresario whose lifelong obsession and dedication to music resulted in a new breed of bands from his beloved city and a whole new way of life for music lovers around the world. From the late 70s onwards Manchester had an aura of musical anti-establishment difference; it was, dare I say, sexy, in its post-industrial, pre-Urban Splash grime. All of that I can trace to T and the music programmes for Granada, the label that released the best music, mostly, and his aggrandisement of the club that redirected the course of club history. He would have laughed me out of the bar if I had said this to his face but I will miss him dearly. My heart goes out to Yvette, Oliver, Hilary and Isabel.

And Wilson was inspired to book them for the second series of his regional music programme So It Goes. The Jam and Elvis Costello also got their TV debuts on the show.

In the late s, Wilson also presented a Friday night arts show, The Other Side of Midnight, which gave The Stone Roses, State and The Happy Mondays their first appearances on TV.

SETTING UP FACTORY RECORDS

Joy Division, who went on to become New Order, and The Happy Mondays were among the acts on the roster at Manchester's Factory Records.

New Order's hits included True Faith, World in Motion and Blue Monday

It has often been said that Wilson wrote contracts in his own blood, saying the artists owned everything and the label owned nothing.

Whether this story was true or not, the principle was.

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It was a powerful and revolutionary statement of creative freedom - but it was also financial suicide.

Wilson once said it "resulted in my entire catalogue being owned by somebody else". But he added: "I can't regret it, because the idea was not to own the past but to present the future."

New Order's Blue Monday became the biggest-selling inch single in UK history - but Factory lost money on every copy because of the intricate sleeve design.

Other local heroes such as The Durutti Column, A Certain Ratio and James were also on the label - as well as a host of others who never quite lived up to their billing (like The Wendys and Northside).

Wilson claimed Factory was on the verge of signing Oasis and Pulp before it went bankrupt in

ESTABLISHING THE HACIENDA NIGHTCLUB

Joy Division and New Order manager Rob Gretton decided there should be a venue that played the kind of music he liked.

The Hacienda was an integral part of film Hour Party People

The club, which opened in , was one of the first to play house music in the UK and went on to become the spiritual home of the "Madchester" scene in the lates, with acid house and ecstasy at its heart.

The Hacienda was funded by New Order and Factory Records, and as well as being a magnet for clubbers, it also hosted gigs.

Tony wilson biography wikipedia All All. Sign In. Anthony Howard Wilson. Mr Manchester. He was married to Hilary and Lindsay Reade.

Along with the Factory bands, the performers included The Smiths, The Stone Roses, Oasis and Madonna in her first UK appearance.

"The Hacienda changed Manchester forever," said Vaughan Allen, chief executive of the city's Urbis centre, which is currently hosting an exhibition about the club.

"It did 25 years ago what MySpace does today, bringing together creative people to create something new," he told the BBC last month.

But like Factory Records, the Hacienda lost money, and the heavy drug use meant gangs and dealers moved in, leading to regular violence. The club closed in

RUNNING THE "IN THE CITY" CONFERENCE

Set up in , In the City is the UK's largest and most influential forum for finding new talent and discussing the future of the industry.

Oasis played at In the City in , two years before their first single

It allows the music industry to run the rule over the cream of the UK's new and unsigned bands.

And it has helped launch almost every major British act of the last 15 years.

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The spirit of Manchester is inextricably linked with its music scene these days. When the "Madchester" scene of the s was at its peak, it centred on the famously hip nightclub The Hacienda. It helped kick-start Manchester's rebirth as a confident, modern city, the home of boutique hotels and a thriving centre. And at the heart of it all was a visionary who helped Manchester out of a post-war slumber into becoming a cutting edge cultural hub. He was a TV presenter as well, working with future daytime TV stars and Express columnists Richard Madeley and Judy Finnegan at Granada, while also persuading Manchester politicians to have bigger ambitions for the city.

Oasis, Radiohead and Suede played at the first In the City. Muse and Coldplay appeared in , Snow Patrol performed in and The Arctic Monkeys put in an appearance two years ago.

Wilson was renowned as "one of the great spotters of music talent", according to Alan McGee, who founded Creation - the home of Oasis and Primal Scream.

"He was a complete inspiration," McGee told the NME website following Wilson's death.

PIONEERING LEGAL MUSIC DOWNLOADS

Wilson was one of the first people to realise the full implications of the illegal downloading revolution that Napster ushered in at the turn of the millennium, and to turn it into an opportunity.

Napster let fans download songs without paying royalties

Back in - four years before iTunes was launched - Wilson was preparing a site called Music33, which sold tracks from local labels for 33p each.

Tony wilson basketball Anthony Howard Wilson 20 February — 10 August was a British record label owner, radio and television presenter, nightclub manager and impresario , and a journalist for Granada Television , the BBC and Channel 4. Wilson was known as "Mr Manchester", [ 1 ] [ 2 ] dubbed as such for his work in promoting the culture of Manchester throughout his career. He developed a love of literature and language, ignited by a performance of Hamlet at Stratford upon Avon. After his graduation in , Wilson began as a trainee news reporter for ITN , before moving to Manchester in , where he secured a post at Granada Television. He presented Granada's culture, music and events programme, So It Goes.

He said the 33p price-tag was based on an honest assessment of the costs of digital delivery.

However, the site failed to take off and the cost of digital music was set much higher by the major players in the coming years.