Tony Wilson
Also Known As: Anthony H. Wilson
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.
Department: Acting
Place of Birth: Pendleton, Lancashire, UK
Birthday: February 20, 1950
Deathday: August 10, 2007
Adult: No
Gender: Male
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Known For:
The Smiths: Under Review
Overview: This in-depth retrospective surveys the history and music of the Smiths via interviews with the band, expert commentary and insights from insiders, including producer Stephen Street. Performance footage and TV clips round out the program.
Genres: Documentary Music
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2006-09-11
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Ian Dury: Rare And Unseen
Overview: 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!
Genres: Documentary Music
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2010-05-17
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Shadowplayers: Factory Records and Manchester Post-Punk 1978-81
Overview: Shadowplayers is a two hour documentary film by James Nice tracing the early history of iconic Manchester Label Factory Records between 1978 and 1981. The facts and the fictions are explored through candid interviews with 22 key participants, including Anthony H. Wilson (Founder) and Peter Saville (Designer), as well as musicians including Peter Hook (Joy Division/New Order), Vini Reilly (Durutti Common), Simon Topping and Martin Moscrop (A Certain Ratio), Chris Watson (Cabaret Voltaire) and Howard Devoto (Buzzcocks/Magazine). The film is divided into 19 chapters, covering subjects such as The Factory Club, sleeve art and graphic design, producer Martin Hannett, the riot at the Joy Division concert at Bury in April 1980, The Factory Beneleux connection, the tragic suicide of Joy Division singer Ian Curtis, the beginnings of New Order, and the decline of the post-punk culture in 1981.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2006-08-21
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Madchester: The Sound of the North
Overview: Exploring the 'Madchester' music phenomena of the late '80s and early '90s. The band Northside appears in interview, rehearsal, live in concert and even at work; Central Station Design in their studio creating something out of a pane of glass and loads of ephemera; Happy Mondays in Amsterdam; 808 State; and MC Tunes. Aired as part of Granada Television's Celebration arts strand.
Genres: Documentary Music
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1990-05-06
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Catch: The Hold Not Taken
Overview: Catch: The Hold Not Taken is a 2005 feature documentary film that contrasts the billion dollar industry of professional wrestling with its humble roots in Lancashire, England, where the original tradition struggles to survive. The documentary examines wrestling's exile from the commercial world of ‘real’ sports and looks at Catch’s clear relationship with the growing modern phenomenon of full contact fighting.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2005-01-01
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A Cock and Bull Story
Overview: Steve Coogan, an arrogant actor with low self-esteem and a complicated love life, is playing the eponymous role in an adaptation of "The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman" being filmed at a stately home. He constantly spars with actor Rob Brydon, who is playing Uncle Toby and believes his role to be of equal importance to Coogan's.
Genres: Comedy History
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2005-07-17
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Manchester Passion
Overview: The Manchester Passion is a passion play about the last hours of Jesus, retold using a backdrop of the contemporary music of Manchester, England. The event took place on the streets of Manchester, and aired live on BBC Three on Good Friday, 14 April 2006. The event was created by the same people who created Flashmob: The Opera; also aired on BBC Three.
Genres: No genres available
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2006-04-14
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24 Hour Party People
Overview: 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.
Genres: Comedy Drama Music
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2002-02-13
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The Alcohol Years
Overview: Carol Morley returns to Manchester, where in the early 1980s, five years of her life were lost in an alcoholic blur. The Alcohol Years is a poetic retrieval of that time, in which rediscovered friends and acquaintances recount tales of her drunken and promiscuous behavior. In Morley’s search for her lost self, conflicting memories and viewpoints weave in and out, revealing a portrait of the city, its pop culture, and the people who lived it.
Genres: Drama Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2000-11-09
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Joy Division
Overview: A chronological account of the influential late 1970s English rock band.
Genres: Documentary Music
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2009-01-28
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Occupy!
Overview: Bill Nighy, Pete Postlewaite and (briefly) Julie Walters, then all of the Everyman Theatre Company, feature in this potent reportage/dramatisation hybrid about the occupation of the Fisher-Bendix Factory in Kirkby. Dohany uses a variety of imaginative techniques to explore the longstanding dispute, and a pronounced sense of urgency pervades this act of solidarity.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1976-01-01
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New Order Story
Overview: 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.
Genres: Documentary Music
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1993-08-29
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The Frontline
Overview: Upon his release from a mental hospital, James re-kindles his relationship with pirate DJ Marion, helping her kick her nasty heroin addiction. However, when Marion is found dead, James and Marion's father hatch a plan to trap and expose the 'protected' killer. A plan that leads to a tense and bloody showdown that will leave you shattered. Filmed in the Moss Side area of Manchester this gritty tale of futility pulls no punches in its graphic depiction of drug addiction, political corruption and society out of control.
Genres: No genres available
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1993-01-01
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The Smiths: The Queen Is Dead - A Classic Album Under Review
Overview: Showing for the first time how it all came together and what made it so great, the film is all at once hugely enlightening, downright entertaining, and remains the only visual document of this momentous happening ever released. - Written by Clint Weiler
Genres: Music Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2008-06-10
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New Order: Pumped Full of Drugs
Overview: New Order filmed live in concert in Tokyo, May 2nd 1985
Genres: Music
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1986-09-01
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The Fall: The Wonderful and Frightening World of Mark E. Smith
Overview: A 1-hour Documentary looking at the Manchester post-punk group and its infamous leader Mark E Smith. The Film follows the current band recording their final Session for the John Peel Show (they were his favourite group and recorded more sessions than any other band) as well as chronicling the chaotic history of the band & its numerous line-up changes.
Genres: Documentary Music
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2005-01-21
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Factory: Play at Home
Overview: An examination into Factory Records. The members of New Order interview founders Tony Wilson and Martin Hannett, who speak on the philosophical and cultural purpose of their label, and their associates, who mostly appear frustrated or confused. Rob Gretton, Factory founder and manager of New Order, interviews himself. Also includes three live performances of New Order at the Haçienda.
Genres: Documentary Music TV Movie
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1984-10-19
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Factory: Manchester from Joy Division to Happy Mondays
Overview: 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.
Genres: Music Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2007-09-20
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New Order: Decades
Overview: Part concert, part documentary, this film follows the band’s preparations in the re-staging of their acclaimed collaboration So It Goes.. with the artist Liam Gillick and the 12-piece synthesiser orchestra that spectacularly captured the headlines during Manchester International Festival 2017.
Genres: Documentary Music
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2018-09-22
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The 90s: Ten Years That Changed the World
Overview: Documentary that outlines the 1990s and the decade the changed the world.
Genres: Documentary Music
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2015-06-13
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Poly Styrene: I Am a Cliché
Overview: 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.
Genres: Documentary Music
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2021-02-27
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The Summer of Rave, 1989
Overview: 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.
Genres: Music Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2006-01-01
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Funny Up North
Overview: Documentary featuring a cavalcade of Northern comedy stars including the great Frank Randle, George Formby, Arthur Askey, Norman Evans and many more. The North of England has always enjoyed its own very particular brand of comedy, best seen today in Coronation Street. 80 years ago however Mancunian Studios produced feature films for the northern masses. Funny Up North tells the story of the Mancunian Studios, its eccentric owner John E Blakeley and its cavalcade of stars including such household names as Arthur Askey, Jimmy Jewell, George Formby and the legendary Frank Randle. Hosted by Professor Chris Lee, the authority on northern cinema, Funny Up North takes you on a journey from its humble beginnings to its sad demise in the 1960s.
Genres: Comedy Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2011-07-23
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Music Maker: Rory Gallagher
Overview: Director Bill Keating built a programme around following Rory through a day of his short 1972 Irish tour. At the center of the programme is a recording of the concert Rory played in the Savoy Cinema in Limerick on May 11th 1972.
Genres: Music Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1973-01-01
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