Factory floored

There's not a lot to say about the death of Tony Wilson that won't be said elsewhere more eloquently by others. It was hardly unexpected, as he'd been ill for some time. But Tony really did change lives, mine included. And for a large group of thirty-somethings who grew up in the North West in the 1980s, and were too young to recall So It Goes, there was that wonderful moment when the penny dropped, and we realised that that the man who read the news every night on Granada Reports was also largely responsible for Blue Monday. It was quite sobering. For those that lived outside the Granada region, I'd imagine that if Reginald Bosanquet had let slip that he was one of The Residents, the effect would have been similar.

So instead, of a lengthy encomium, I'll pay tribute to Tone's life in the most appropriate way, by showcasing some tunes by some artists, many of whom went on to bigger, though not necessarily better, things, and some of whom were legends only in their own lunchtime. All enabled and paid for by Anthony Howard Wilson and the nice people at Factory, without whom...

Download Brighter by The Railway Children (deleted May 2008)

Download Hymn From A Village by James (deleted May 2008)

Download Reach For Love by Marcel King (deleted May 2008)

Download Electricity by OMD (deleted May 2008)

Download Time Goes By So Slow by The Distractions (deleted May 2008)



YouTube stuff:

Tony tribute from GranadaTV c 2002

Happy Mondays on Other Side of Midnight

The Fall on So It Goes

Wired feature on Factory c 1988

Steve Morris, Paul Morley, Peter Saville et al on Newsnight 10/8/07