Legendary Manchester club and record label owner, and In The City founder, Tony Wilson died last week after suffering a heart attack. The former Factory Records chief had been battling kidney cancer prior to his death, though Wilson's doctor says that, in the end, that was not the direct cause of his death. Professor Robert Hawkins told reporters: "It's very sad. He died as a result of something unrelated to his cancer. His cancer was responding well to treatment but obviously did contribute to his poor health".
Wilson was a key figure in the rise of the Manchester music scene in the late eighties, of course, bringing the world bands like Joy Division, New Order and Happy Mondays, through his unconventional indie label Factory Records. He was also a co-founder of the infamous Hacienda nightclub, as well as working across the music and media industries, most notably co-founding the popular In The City music convention.
Despite his successes in the music industry, he also maintained a career in TV journalism and, for those of us who lived in 'Granada-land' remained the bloke off the local news even as the Factory/Hacienda empire was at its peak. Despite his prolific career, his unconventional approach to business meant he did not profit hugely from his business ventures, meaning he recently had to appeal to friends and colleagues to fund private healthcare treatment for his cancer.
Among those paying tribute to Wilson on Friday was former Happy Mondays manager Phil Saxe, who told the BBC: "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. Part of me, part of Manchester, part of modern British music has died tonight".