The Tony Wilson Experience: Review

Conversations about Tony Wilson in 24 Hour Talking People

21 June 2008 - A 24 hour long event in memory of Manchester impresario Tony Wilson was sparked off on Saturday. Far from a drug-fuelled party, the tribute to Wilson was an epic series of talks given mainly by his former colleagues and friends.

The venue next to Urbis was a tent set up like a TV chat show in the heart of Manchester. Joy Division co-founder Peter Hook, Charlatans front man Tim Burgess and actor Steve Coogan were among the eclectic mix of creatives keeping the conversation going. Other speakers included poet Simon Armitage, novelist Irvine Welsh and 6 Music’s Stuart Maconie.

Tributes were paid to the founder of Factory records and the Hacienda for his role as “the author of modern Manchester”, to use Maconie's words. Wilson's talents as a broadcaster and his involvement in politics were also remembered.

However, speakers were conscious of the process of “deification” that has gone on since he died of a heart attack last summer. “It used to be very fashionable to slag Tony off”, said Coogan, who played Wilson in Michael Winterbottom's film 24 Hour Party People, “at his worst, he was about noble failures”.

Tributes were paid to the founder of Factory records and the Hacienda for his role as “the author of modern Manchester”.

Given Wilson's passion for finding and nurturing talent, organisers were obviously keen to avoid a nostalgia fest. To continue his legacy, young people were invited to apply to take part in the event by completing creative application forms on the web. The most creative 200 were selected and given free “talent passes” to the show. So while most speakers were in their late forties, the audience was two to three decades younger. This shows the extent of Tony Wilson's influence and also enabled Coogan to make a couple of self deprecatory “old git” remarks.

If the aim of the event was to inspire this younger generation, what did they make of it? Perhaps not surprisingly, a couple felt that it was anchored too steeply in the past, with Cristina saying that “it steers a bit in the territory of 'I knew Tony Wilson – he was brilliant'. That's great but I kind of want it to be little bit more”.

Others, like Matt, wanted more encouragement to enter the debate: “The disappointing thing if I'm honest, is that there's not enough interaction with the speakers. They do keep saying 'please talk and say stuff,' but it's a little intimidating”.

The vast majority however, had an overwhelmingly positive experience. It wasn't just the instant celebrity status the “talent” passes provided, but genuine creative excitement gushed out in comments such as Gemma's: “I feel like I'm breathing ideas. I'm very glad that there's a notebook in the goody bag, I've already done a bit of writing today. I'm a poet, I'm sure there are going to be one or two poems come out of today”.

This year's event was funded by Manchester City Council and the driving force behind it was Factory record designer Peter Saville, who is now the Council's creative director. While funding is not yet secured, he hopes it will become an annual event and further cement Tony Wilson's legacy.

So are we ready for another 24 hours of conversation? Perhaps not quite yet, but give it 12 months and we might just be prepared for another brain enhancing session.

Silvia Costeloe