From Manchester with Love: The Life and Opinions of Tony Wilson

(Paperback, Main)

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'Reading From Manchester With Love I feel I understand the times we've lived through differently, better, and from new angles. The writing is compelling and musical, befitting its extraordinary subject. I never met Tony Wilson, but now I feel as though I knew him well - and I'm sorry that I didn't.' - BRIAN ENO

'When forced to pick between truth and legend, print the legend.' Tony Wilson

To write about Tony Wilson, AKA Anthony H. Wilson, is to write about a number of public and private characters and personalities, a clique of unreliable narrators, constantly changing shape and form. At the helm of Factory Records and the Hacienda, Wilson unleashed landmark acts such as Joy Division and New Order into the world as he pursued myriad other creative endeavours, appointing himself a custodian of Manchester's legacy of innovation and change.

To Paul Morley he was this and much more: bullshitting hustler, flashy showman, aesthetic adventurer, mean factory boss, self-deprecating chancer, intellectual celebrity, loyal friend, shrewd mentor, insatiable publicity seeker. It was Morley to whom Wilson left a daunting final request: to write this book.

From Manchester With Love, then, is the biography of a man who became eponymous with his city, of the music he championed and the myths he made, of love and hate, of life and death. In the cultural theatre of Manchester, Tony Wilson broke in and took centre-stage.

Reviews

'From Manchester with Love is the perfect monument.' - SUNDAY TIMES

'Epic . . . More than a mind map, the book's peculiarity and expanse and, yes, love, means it becomes an immersive experience. I found it very moving indeed.' - OBSERVER

'A gigantic, haphazard and unexpectedly emotional monolith dedicated to the "irritating dilettante", "pretentious charlatan" and "huckster extraordinaire" who put his city on the musical map . . . Here he burns on fantastically bright.' - UNCUT (9/10)

'This is no ordinary biography . . . [From Manchester with Love] is a work unto itself, solidifying Tony Wilson as a postmodern hero . . . it's brilliant . . . I have to imagine Tony Wilson (if ghosts of dead impresarios read from their graves) is pleased with From Manchester with Love.' - LOUDER THAN WAR

'Written with Technicolour perspective, humour, pathos and empathy in fluid, immensely readable prose, it is a book that does justice to Wilson's memory and enduring influence.' - RECORD COLLECTOR (5/5)

'Captivating . . . Across 600 pages, each of the 51 chapters weaves dream states with journalistic investigation, a tale of how one human being, with the help of like-minded spirits, psychically co-opted an entire city.' - CONFIDENTIALS

Author Bio

Writer, broadcaster, and cultural critic Paul Morley has written about music, art, and entertainment since the 1970s. He wrote for the New Musical Express from 1976 to 1983 and formed the Zang Tumb Tuum record label with record producer Trevor Horn. A founding member of the Art of Noise and a member of staff at the Royal Academy of Music, he collaborated with Grace Jones on her memoirs and is the author of a number of books about music including The Age of Bowie (a Sunday Times bestseller), his history of classical music A Sound Mind (a Sunday Times Music Book of the Year) and a biography of Bob Dylan, You Lose Yourself, You Reappear.