Product Description

Tony Wilson was the co-founder of Factory Records and The Hacienda, he kick-started the careers of Joy Division, Happy Mondays and New Order, he put the Sex Pistols on television for the first time and was the inspiration behind the film 24 Hour Party People. From his unique childhood growing up with a gay father and a domineering mother to his tragically early death in 2007 after battling the NHS for a drug that could prolong his life, David Nolan investigates the lives and times of the man they called 'Mr Manchester'. Drawing on nearly 50 interviews with musicians, DJs, writers, actors, family and friends - including Wilson's partner of 17 years Yvette Livesey - You're Entitled To An Opinion...paints a picture of a unique, driven and chaotic man whose inspiration and influence is still being felt today across the worlds of music and television.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #36196 in Books
• Published on: 2009-08-03
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 288 pages

About the Author
Steeped in the chaotic swirl of the Manchester music scene, David Nolan is the critically acclaimed author of Bernard Sumner: Confusion and I Swear I Was There: The Gig That Changed The World. He's also an award-winning former Granada TV producer with 150 television credits to his name including documentaries on the Sex Pistols, The Smiths and Echo and the Bunneymen.

Customer Reviews

Entitled To Do Really Well
Inevitable someone was going to tackle Wilson's life - but this isn't the expected book at all. Yes the Factory Records/ Hacienda stories are all here ... it's to be expected and it's thoroughly done by someone who clearly knows his stuff. But there's so much more. Wilson's childhood is well and truly revealed (first of many surprises) as are his personal entanglements, his telly career (usually overlooked, but covered here including his many triumphs and sackings)and his battle with cancer. Really brave of his partner to talk about this. The chapter where the author gives the text over to her is really moving (there's a donation to a cancer charity for every copy). There's even a breakdown of all the weird Factory catalogue numbers right down to the most obscure item for all the trainspotters. Woolly hats and menstrual timers anyone? All here. Class.

Essential Reading for Anyone Who's Interested
Of all the books to have been written about Tony Wilson and the Factory story this is the first, certainly since the release of 24 Hour Party People, to avoid being either congratulatory or patronising towards its subject. Nolan, who is emerging as a specialist in writing ordinary books about extra-ordinary people, manages to convey admiration for the diverse and unusual work of Tony without sitting in judgement. The facts are crammed into this richly-researched work, presented chronologically and plainly with a few well-placed quotes from Tony, key figures in his life and Nolan himself.

Nolan's career and social life brought him close enough to Tony and his work for him to be well-informed, but he is unfazed by the notoriety and legend. At the end of Chapter 3, a brief and painful moment where Nolan becomes one with the tale, the author resists the temptation to have the last word.

Nolan appears to be the only person in Manchester who doesn't have an opinion on Tony Bloody Wilson, but makes no secret of his dislike of one of the other characters in the tale. A cutting jibe in the helpful Where Are They Now section provides the best of a laugh out loud moment in a book-long campaign that reminded me of the Horoscopes in Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency (which you should also read).

The best of Factory's work was like a succession of little secrets that you were the first to hear. You will feel like you are the first person to read this book; there is certainly no sign that anybody proof-read it. The final 30 pages are given over to a make-weight Factory Discography and there's a page of references where Nolan helpfully recommends that you read his other books. There's a thoughtful selection of photographs in the middle and 25p from each copy sold goes to the Christie charity so buy your own rather than borrowing it.

Essential reading for anyone who's interested.

My "Entitled Opinion"...
...a great read! Yes - all the "obvious" aspects of his life are included with regard to The Hacienda and Factory Records, yet Nolan has clearly gone that extra yard to include many an unknown thing about these Manchester institutions - every page is a "well I didn't know that" moment. The book also exaplains his upbringing and his life behind the camera. Many a person has contributed to the book including Tony's wife - Yvette, which has then been cleverly peiced together resulting in a celebratory collaboration of Tony's life... Not to say this book is all roses... A must have.