by 112-1077774096 » Tue Aug 14, 2007 5:44 pm
liverpool echo phil
LIVERPOOL musicians today paid tribute to music mogul Tony Wilson who died last night from cancer.
He was behind some of Manchester’s biggest bands and launched Factory records and the Hacienda nightclub.
But although the entrepreneur, who managed New Order, Joy Division and the Happy Mondays, was dubbed Mr Manchester, six years ago he put forward proposals to build a pop museum in Liverpool with a futuristic gallery dedicated to fashions in music, art, industry and sport on the Kings Dock site.
Peter Hooton, from The Farm, described the 57-year-old as “the perfect gentleman” and said he had loved Liverpool.
He added: “He did so much for north west music.
“He didn’t take himself too seriously, I would often wind him up about the way he was dressed. It’s a great loss and a sad day for the north west.”
Phil Hayes, from The Picket, said Wilson had contributed funding to help the Picket recording studios get established in the 1980s.
He said: “He was appreciative of what we were trying to do here, and supported us.
“He used his own imagination to create interesting projects, I really liked his regionalism.”
Phil Saxe, who runs the arts, music and entertainment management degree at the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts and discovered the Happy Mondays, was friends with Wilson since they worked together at Factory.
He said: "Tony had a great outlook on life. He was a very funny guy and a great friend.
"Tony wasn't just Mr Manchester, he was Mr north west. He loved the fact that Scousers loved to hate him, but he had a great affection for Liverpool and its people really and vice versa.”