talkmagic.co.uk

So it goes, so it went.

20 February 1950 – 10 August 2007

Anyone who writes an entire contract in his own blood is okay by me.

This is very sad news for me. I shall play some Joy Division in his honor. He was a great man.

This is dedicated to you Tony:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0We9d5J3BLQ

Such a shame. Thanks for the music, Tony

The man who brought us Joy Division

Then again, the man who brought us The Happy Mondays...

Farlsborough wrote:The man who brought us Joy Division

Then again, the man who brought us The Happy Mondays...

But never quite got around to bringing us the mighty musical force that was Crispy Ambulance.

Interestingly, the original Factory Records contract he wrote in his own blood is the model for how most magic gets published today. In magic, you don't usually sign to a single label for more than the current project; you're free to sell your subsequent works anywhere. The problem for Factory was that when they were approached by London Records to bail them out of the caca, they had to fess up that they had no assets in terms of back catalogue or bands! The contract said that the bands retained ownership of themselves. People are going to say what they like about him over the next few days, but one thing they can't say is that he sold out.

yeah, he was a good lad...pretentious and prickly at times, but a good lad, with a top missus too...

nowt wrong with a bit of Mondays, though it was Johnny Kongos derivative...

and i didnt even like New order or Division, but the Wilson was a unique fella, and helped shape indie-labels, and was a very eloquent and intelligent gent...r.i.p. mr wilson...

First I heard of this. How did he die?
Not really a fan of the bands he signed, but he was a domiant force in the Eighties and was one of the bigger independents being successful in an industry dominated by big money major labels.
Hats off to him.

He died of cancer.

Sad news. He wasn't that old really either...

I worked for a record company a long time ago and he came and did a speech at the conference. He used Ulysses and the way it finished on the affirmative article. It was very good, intelligently delivered and it has always impressed me.

I bet he had a few stories to tell. He will be sadly missed

DT