STARS PAY TRIBUTE TO FACTORY RECORDS BOSS

Last updated: Saturday, August 11, 2007

STARS PAY TRIBUTE TO FACTORY RECORDS BOSS

LATEST: Music stars have paid tribute to TONY WILSON, who died on Friday (10AUG07).

The Factory Records co-founder, who managed groups like Joy Division, New Order and Happy Mondays, had been battling kidney cancer.

Wilson was taken to Manchester's Christie Hospital on Sunday night (05Aug07) after suffering a heart attack. He failed to recover and died on Friday (10Aug07).

Former Happy Mondays manager Phil Saxe says, "Part of me, part of Manchester, part of modern British music has died tonight."

"He was a visionary in that he helped bands, who otherwise wouldn't have made it, who were a bit out of the ordinary. He helped them realise their dreams and through that probably realised himself to be Mr Manchester."

Former Joy Division and New Order drummer Stephen Morris has also spoken of Wilson's important role in his career, saying, "There would be no Joy Division or New Order without Tony. He really believed in us and he was smart enough to start a label and put our records out.

"He was so enthusiastic, he was always, 'We'll just go ahead an do it and figure out why we did it afterwards'. It was his spirit of enthusiasm that steam-rollered things through and it's why we put up with him for so long.

"You could have an argument with Tony and walk out hating him and the next time you saw him it was all forgotten. You just love him."

Source: WENN

| Saturday, August 11, 2007

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