Tony Wilson

Anthony Howard Wilson (20 February 1950 – 10 August 2007) was a British record label owner, radio and television presenter, nightclub manager, impresario and a journalist for Granada Television, the BBC and Channel 4. As a co-founder of the independent label Factory Records and founder-manager of the Haçienda nightclub, Wilson was behind some of Manchester's most successful bands, including Joy Division, New Order, and Happy Mondays. Wilson was known as "Mr Manchester", dubbed as such for his work in promoting the culture of Manchester throughout his career. He was portrayed by Steve Coogan in Michael Winterbottom's film 24 Hour Party People (2002), and by Craig Parkinson in Anton Corbijn's film Control (2007). Depending on what he was working on, he would switch between alternate versions of his name. For example, when he was being a serious formal and respectable persona, such as certa...