Obit: Anthony H. Wilson, 1950-2007

Subject: RE: Obit: Anthony H. Wilson, 1950-2007
From: Linda Kelly
Date: 15 Aug 07 - 02:17 PM

I was tryng to recall from my days spent in Salford in 1979ish the other clubs apart frm the Hacienda, there was one called The alhambra I think and one where you could get the best reggae music I have ever heard -wish I could remember the name-but at the time I don't even think I could recall my own-loved The Hacienda great music and Tony Wilson became an icon. Sad he has gone.

Subject: RE: Obit: Anthony H. Wilson, 1950-2007
From: GUEST
Date: 14 Aug 07 - 09:18 PM

WHAT I LIKED ABOUT TONY WAS HIS FIERCE PRIDE FOR THE THE TWIN CITIES
OF SALFORD AND MANCHESTER, EVEN BACK IN 80'S AND EARLY NINETIES WHEN THERE WAS NOTHING MUCH TO BE PROUD ABOUT HE'D BE THERE TALKING UP THE ARCHITECTURE, BIGGING UP OUR HISTORY, TEACHING ME ABOUT THE INDUSTRIL REVOULUTION THE BOUNCING BOMB, AND THE COMPUTER, AND ASKING WHAT HAS
LONDON BROUGHT TO THE TABLE IN THE LAST 100 YEARS, ....NOT A LOT

Subject: RE: Obit: Anthony H. Wilson, 1950-2007
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 14 Aug 07 - 07:15 AM

I am sad to see him gone. He was indeed a great contributor to music. Whether that music is classed as folk by any is completely irrelevent but the Smiths have often been described as 'Wooly Jumper' music with Morrisey being positively Cohenian in the doom and gloom stakes!

Pity there is not more like he was.

Dave.

Subject: RE: Obit: Anthony H. Wilson, 1950-2007
From: Dave Roberts
Date: 13 Aug 07 - 11:02 AM

Viewers in the North-West will know what an excellent TV presenter Tony Wilson was, with that touch of independence and irreverence which used to be the hallmark of Granada TV. All gone now, of course, with the switch to the bland and boring amalgamated 'ITV Network'.

Subject: RE: Obit: Anthony H. Wilson, 1950-2007
From: Flash Company
Date: 13 Aug 07 - 10:12 AM

Met him once at Leigh Folk Club when I was there after a crikcet match,Union Folk v Leigh (Dont Ask!).
As I recall, he played quite good twelve string guitar. Bob Morton of the Union Folk was a film editor at Granada TV, and there was quite a bit of cross-over of culture as a result.

FC

Subject: RE: Obit: Anthony H. Wilson, 1950-2007
From: Folk Form # 1
Date: 13 Aug 07 - 08:35 AM

I never liked the way he said that there was no music before punk. There was! However, a sad loss and a fine man. From one old punk rocker to another, farewell.

Subject: RE: Obit: Anthony H. Wilson, 1950-2007
From: GUEST,Art Thieme
Date: 12 Aug 07 - 04:48 PM

Everywhere there is a group that enjoys music they adopt for their own, there are people that foster and precipitate ways to hear and work for that niche music. Venues around the world appreciate and depend upon them for survival---and I, for one, thank them for all of it.

I never ever even heard of this man----but I've known great "flames of life" like him wherever I've been privileged to sing my songs.

R.I.P.

Art Thieme

Subject: RE: Obit: Anthony H. Wilson, 1950-2007
From: Bernard
Date: 11 Aug 07 - 08:47 PM

That depends a lot upon your definition of 'folk music' - not that this is a folk music forum anyway... Max kindly lets us folkies use it!

Subject: RE: Obit: Anthony H. Wilson, 1950-2007
From: Flatpick
Date: 11 Aug 07 - 07:53 PM

Did a lot for folk music, did he?

Subject: RE: Obit: Anthony H. Wilson, 1950-2007
From: Roughyed
Date: 11 Aug 07 - 06:00 PM

I was at the same school as him in the 60s and he was someone you could not ignore even then. A very intelligent man and although some people thought he had a high opinion of himself, most unusually he had a lot to base it upon. I met him years later when I was on a television programme he was presenting and spoke to him afterwards. You could not have met a more pleasant, open and unassuming man. He is a great loss to Manchester.

Subject: Obit: Anthony H. Wilson, 1950-2007
From: Bernard
Date: 11 Aug 07 - 03:24 PM

'Mr. Manchester', Anthony H. Wilson, died on Friday August 11th 2007 from cancer.

He was best known as a journalist on Granada TV here in Manchester, where he also founded the famous 'Hacienda' night club (now replaced by a block of flats) and Factory Records, promoted such bands as the Happy Mondays, Joy Division and New Order.

More details here.

I only met him once, quite briefly, at BBC Radio Manchester (BBC GMR as it was then known), and I was struck by his humility.

I was in the downstairs office doing the PRS logging for 'Sounds of Folk', and he spoke to me in a manner completely lacking in arrogance or self-importance. He even called me 'sir', in a very respectful way.

So sad that cancer should take him at only 57, amidst controversy because the NHS in Manchester would not fund 'Sutent' treatment. His friends in the music industry rallied round to pay for the treatment, but to no avail.

Yes, I'm aware that he openly admitted he probably brought the illness on himself through misuse of his body by drugs in his younger days, but I'm sure no-one will say 'serves him right'.

Sorry to see you go, Tony. You'll be missed.