Bill Holding wrote:
BIGINOIL wrote:
Nice tribute from Steve Coogan.
MEN Again
that was a great tribute.
Reprinted on the front page of today's Guardan, along with a picture of the 12" that was stuck to the railings around the Hacienda.
Inside, there's a touching report on the funeral...
Soundtrack of a generation plays out final farewell to Mr Manchester
Music industry and media stars gather for the funeral of Tony Wilson
David Ward
Tuesday August 21, 2007
The Guardian
His passing ought to have been marked on the dancefloor at the Haçienda but that was demolished and replaced by flats five years ago.
So the farewells for Anthony H Wilson were switched to St Mary's, the Victorian romanesque church in the centre of Manchester known as the Hidden Gem. There were discreet bouncers on the door as mourners arrived, many in funeral fashions and remarkably high heels.
The funeral was organised by the Manchester-based Co-op: what else would you expect for a Manchester man? And there was certain sense of style including a jet black coffin with silver handles and a hearse with, possibly serendipitously, the initials AW in its number plate.
And because this Anthony H Wilson had been one of the most influential music industry figures of our time, there was a suitably eclectic soundtrack: Atmosphere by Joy Division and New Order's first single, Ceremony; Bob's Yer Uncle by the Happy Mondays; He Who Would Valiant Be by John Bunyan; and Hail Queen of Heaven, a traditional hymn Wilson would have sung often in his Catholic boyhood.
It was an afternoon of rock and roll mourning in a narrow street that is appropriately a dead end.
Wilson died of a heart attack 11 days go while battling liver cancer. Even the invitations had style: all who came presented the ushers with rectangles of green Perspex inscribed with the dates of Wilson's birth and death. A wreath, in the shape of a turntable, was inscribed So It Goes, a reference to the television music show Wilson hosted on Granada in the 1980s. Sir Alex Ferguson and the Manchester United team sent more conventional roses.
As a small crowd looked on, Richard Madeley and Judy Finnegan arrived early for the requiem mass. Then some of the figures for ever associated with Wilson, Factory Records and the Manchester scene walked towards the church: Andy Rourke, bass player with The Smiths; Peter Hook, bassist with first Joy Division and then New Order; Clint Boon of the Inspiral Carpets; Shaun Ryder and Rowetta Satchell from Happy Mondays.
Alan Erasmus, co-founder with Wilson of Factory Records, arrived in the passenger seat of the hearse and as the funeral bell began to toll in walked Peter Saville, who designed the sleeve for the 12-inch single of Blue Monday which was famously so complicated that every copy sold cost Factory money.
The coffin was carried in to the strains of Durutti Column's Sketch for Summer, and out again to Bob's Yer Uncle. And then the doors of the Hidden Gem slid shut because Wilson's family had asked for a private ceremony. But laughter and applause leaked out from the packed church with its startling stations of the cross by the late Norman Adams.
Actor Steve Coogan, who played Wilson in the film 24 Hour Party People, wrote a personal tribute, hailing Wilson as "the older brother for a whole generation of creative, bold, innovative people" who "gave confidence and legitimacy to an army of haltingly insecure men".
Four other tributes were heard during the mass: from Madeley, Manchester councillor Pat Karney, Wilson's boyhood friend Sean Bolyn and from Saville, who later described Wilson as "a perplexing man but a remarkable friend".
"Since Tony died, there have been an awful lot of public tributes," he said as mourners dispersed. "I only wanted to say thank you to him for what he did for me and to thank him for what he did on behalf of the city. We shared an opinion that time on Earth is short and is not about making a lot of wealth but about making a difference. Anthony Wilson made an enormous difference."
Madeley added: "He was absolutely charming. He had utter belief in himself. There was no petty jealousy with him, which was unusual for someone working in television. He was just a very decent man."
And then the hearse slid away, accompanied by cheers, applause and whistles from a crowd perhaps concerned that Mr Manchester should not drive away in silence on his final journey.
only Hooky got a mention in both newspapers.
Noticed Alan Wise at the funeral too.
Even by Online standards I thought it was in extremely bad taste. The thread's about AHW's funeral and people are far too quick (as usual) to come up with some misconceived perception they know what members of the band are actually thinking/doing.
