Tony Wilson’s personal record collection for sale!
In one of those “once in a lifetime” opportunities, a portion of the late, great Tony Wilson‘s record collection has come up for sale on eBay! Tony Wilson is probably best known for being co-founder of Factory Records and the Haçienda nightclub.
Contained for sale are some absolute gems that I’m sure will achieve vast sums of cash.
Here is a copy of Joy Division’s Transmission/Novelty – FAC 13, signed by Ian Curtis!
Click here to browse what is currently on offer and there is more to come apparently!
Factory: The Story Of The Record Label by Mick Middles
A little while back, I finished reading “Factory: The Story Of The Record Label” by Mick Middles and I have to say, I haven’t read such a rich, detailed and thorough account of a music scene as this and yet it still remains a personal account too.
Mick used many of his own recordings made at the time in his capacity as a journalist for such tomes as the NME. This gives much authority to the tales recounted, and this is reassuring as many of the tales told about Factory, Tony Wilson, Joy Division, New Order and everything else about the Manchester music scene that kicked off in 1976 and went on to be the heavyweight force it is today, are coloured by time, chemicals and the effect of chinese whispers 
Mick speaks to all the movers and shakers, those alive at the time of writing, and this edition of the book featured an update to take into account the passing of the late, great co-founder of Factory, Tony Wilson.
All the staple stories are here but with Mick’s take on events instead of the myth, supported by his journalistic evidence. And this book really does cover everything. Quite often I found myself rediscovering many Manchester acts that I had forgotten about such as The Distractions & X-O-Dus. Thankfully, Spotify came to the rescue on a number of occasions
This is a great book for any music lover, especially those of my generation who remember the new wave movement that kicked off the whole thing, through the turbulent Joy Division/New Order times, through to Madchester and the Hacienda and on to the now well established Mancunian acts such as Elbow.
I spoke to Mick very briefly online the other week and thanked him heartily for this book for which he was most grateful. It is worth also checking out his other books about the era, especially his book on Ian Curtis, “Torn Apart”, written in conjunction with Lindsey Reade, Tony Wilson’s ex-wife.
Links:
Essential Spotify listening for Factory found here.
Excellent unofficial Factory fansite, CerysmaticFactory.
New club, FAC251, founded by Peter Hook, and site full of Hacienda stuff.
New Order/Peter Hook – The Happy One (aka Spot the synths!)
Just lately I have been re-immersing myself in the whole world that is Joy Division/New Order/Factory Records/etc.. in fact, anything from that golden age of musical renaissance that was the New Wave revolution of circa 1979. This has involved re-purchasing Joy Division back catalogue, books, documentaries and films, as well as scouring the interwebs for anything remotely JD/NO related. I’ve even bought myself a ticket to go see Peter Hook give a talk on his life & times as bassist with the aforementioned bands as well as being part owner of the legendary yet doomed Hacienda night club in Manchester.
Anyway, whilst pootling about the web tonight, I came across the following video that, albeit in poor quality, shows us the legend that is Tony Wilson (co-founder of Factory) presenting a segment on a show (The Other Side Of Midnight) that has Peter Hook playing a track called “The Happy One” live, along with a bunch of synth geekery behind him. See if you can spot anything that I haven’t already seen.
I can make out an E-MU Emulator EII, a Roland D-50, Apple Macintosh SE/30, Yamaha TX-816 & Akai S900
