Tony Wilson
Acting
Biography
Anthony Howard "Tony" Wilson was an English record label owner, radio and television presenter, nightclub manager, impresario and journalist for Granada Television and the BBC. As the head of Factory Records and one of the owners of the infamous Hacienda nightclub, Wilson was the man behind some of Manchester's most successful bands and was known as Mr Manchester. His day job as a broadcaster saw him present programmes such as regional news show Granada Reports, music showcase So It Goes, World in Action, After Dark, Remote Control, Granada Upfront and the Politics Show to name but a few. His role in the music industry formed the basis of Michael Winterbottom's acclaimed film 24 Hour Party People.
Born: February 20, 1950
Place of Birth: Pendleton, Lancashire, UK
Known For
The 90s: Ten Years That Changed the World
Documentary that outlines the 1990s and the decade the changed the world.
Factory: Manchester from Joy Division to Happy Mondays
Documentary celebrating the triumph, tragedy and human comedy that was Manchester record company, Factory. Started by the late Tony Wilson, Alan Erasmus, Peter Saville and Martin Hannett in the late 1970s, it became known as the home of Joy Divsion, New Order and Happy Mondays and for creating the Hacienda club. The label pioneered Britain's independent pop culture, creating a new Manchester and blowing a shed-load of money. Includes interviews with all the main players in the Factory story.
Joy Division
A chronological account of the influential late 1970s English rock band.
The Summer of Rave, 1989
In the final days of the yuppie decade, the summer of ’89 saw a new type of youth rebellion rip through the cultural landscape, with thousands of young people dancing at illegal Acid House parties in fields and aircraft hangars around the M25. Set against the backdrop of ten years of Thatcherism, it was a benign form of revolution, dubbed the Second Summer of Love – all the ravers wanted was the freedom to party… The rave scene, along with the drug Ecstasy, broke down social barriers and even football hooligans were ‘loved up’, solving a problem the government had never managed to crack. But lurid tabloid headlines and cat-and-mouse games with the police eventually turned the dream sour, as the gangster element moved in at the end of the summer.
Ian Dury: Rare And Unseen
Here is the movie for all the Clever Trevors and Billericay Dickies out there! A stunning and truly 'Rare and Unseen' look back at Ian Dury, poet, thinker, geezer and all round crowd-pleaser. He wasn't half a clever b'stard. The earliest known TV performance from the London Programme 1976. Three great interviews with much missed Mancunian Tony Wilson who died in 2007. Final Richard and Judy interview and live performance restored for widescreen. Includes eight live musical performances with the Kilburns and the Blockheads: 'Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll', 'Sweet Gene Vincent', 'Upminster Kid', 'Rough Kids', 'Billy Bentley', 'England's Glory', 'Blockheads' and 'Geraldine'. Is that enough of the old reading matter for you? This ain't a bleeding library… Oi! Oi!
Shadow Play: The Making of Anton Corbijn
Most rock fans may not know the name Anton Corbijn, but they've certainly seen his work. Corbijn shot the iconic cover artwork for U2's The Joshua Tree and Depeche Mode's 101, and gave both groups a new and more dramatic visual persona in the process. Since them, Corbijn's work, bearing his trademark dark shadows and deep, textural details, has graced the covers of recordings by R.E.M., Bruce Springsteen, Morrissey, Nick Cave, John Lee Hooker and even Bon Jovi. Corbijn has also directed a number of music videos for the likes of Nirvana, Johnny Cash and Metallica, and made his debut as a feature film director in 2007 with Control, a screen biography of Ian Curtis of Joy Division (who Corbijn photographed several times in the group's heyday). In Shadow Play: The Making of Anton Corbijn, filmmaker Josh Whiteman offers an intimate look at the life and career of this celebrated visual artist, featuring interviews with Bono, Chris Martin, Michael Stipe, Dave Gahan and Bernard Sumner.
Never Mind the Buzzcocks
Never Mind the Buzzcocks is a comedy panel game show with a pop and rock music theme. The show is infamous for its dry, sarcastic humour and scathing, provocative attacks on the pop industry.
24 Hour Party People
Manchester, 1976. Tony Wilson is an ambitious but frustrated local TV news reporter looking for a way to make his mark. After witnessing a life-changing concert by a band known as the Sex Pistols, he persuades his station to televise one of their performances, and soon Manchester's punk groups are clamoring for him to manage them. Riding the wave of a musical revolution, Wilson and his friends create the legendary Factory Records label and The Hacienda club.
New Order Story
Rising from the ashes of the legendary British post-punk unit Joy Division, the enigmatic New Order triumphed over tragedy to emerge as one of the most influential and acclaimed bands of the 1980's, embracing the electronic textures and disco rhythms of the underground club culture many years in advance of its contempraries. "New Order Story" is the definitive documentary on the band and traces their history all the way back to its origin with Joy Division. This extended version includes additional interviews and live footage, over 2 hours of great New Order footage. A longform video chronicling the band's history and music with interviews by Bono, Neil Tennant, Quincy Jones and others.
Poly Styrene: I Am a Cliché
The death of punk icon and X-Ray Spex front-woman Poly Styrene sends her daughter on a journey through her mother's archives in this intimate documentary.
Filmography
as Self (Archive Footage)
as Self (archive footage)
as Self (archive footage)
as Himself
as Himself
as Self
as Self
as Tony Wilson
as Self
as Self
as Studio Director
as Himself
as Self
as Self
as Himself
as Self
as Self - Granada Reports (archive footage)(uncredited)
as Interviewer