Overview

'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.

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9780571252497

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Reviews

PRAISE FOR THE AGE OF BOWIE If the writing can't resist sliding into the sentimental, it's also a bit mental, which is perfect . . . There is a great deal of cultural history to enjoy in this personal, engaged and slyly scholarly biography. Morley's triumph is to know there is no such thing as the definitive story. -- Deborah Levy [Morley] pours blood, sweat, and tears on the pages in this freewheeling, deeply informed, and, yes, ragingly personal admixture of biography, memoir, loving tribute, cultural theory, and enlightened self-help book . . . indispensable. -- Vogue THE UNCUT #1 BOOK OF THE YEAR A NEW STATESMAN and MOJO BOOK OF THE YEAR Paul Morley writes about things you thought you knew about -- and then shows you so many new facets. 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 A gigantic, haphazard and unexpectedly emotional monolith...Morley captures Wilson's vainglorious chaos . . . The man/myth Wilson died aged 57 in 2007, but here he burns on fantastically bright. -- Uncut 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 Paul Morley's writing has been delighting and exasperating me since his NME work in the late 1970s. His biography of Anthony H Wilson - TV presenter, music entrepreneur and evangelist, provocateur - From Manchester with Love is by far his best book. -- New Statesman (Books of the Year) Morley's biography is as illuminating on Wilson's strange ability to hold others in his orbit, even after his death, as it is on the story of his life . . . fascinating. -- Spectator As much a (brilliant) biography of Manchester as it is of Tony Wilson . . . It's a fantastically written, sprawling, superbly research book that's both heartfelt tribute and essential reference work. -- Classic Rock This is no ordinary biography . . . a work unto itself, solidifying Tony Wilson as a postmodern hero . . . It's brilliant, and I can only guess that the hero of the story would be charmed by Morley's clever interplay between truth and legend . . . I have to imagine Tony Wilson (if ghosts of dead impresarios read from their graves) is pleased with From Manchester with Love: The Life and Opinions of Tony Wilson. -- 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 As close to an official Tony Wilson biography that we're likely to get . . . A mix of biography, oral history, memoir, and tangential history lessons, its non-linear approach works well. -- MOJO Morley's book spins acute, multi-layered insights into music, culture and the very soul of the city . . . 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

PRAISE FOR THE AGE OF BOWIE If the writing can't resist sliding into the sentimental, it's also a bit mental, which is perfect . . . There is a great deal of cultural history to enjoy in this personal, engaged and slyly scholarly biography. Morley's triumph is to know there is no such thing as the definitive story. -- Deborah Levy [Morley] pours blood, sweat, and tears on the pages in this freewheeling, deeply informed, and, yes, ragingly personal admixture of biography, memoir, loving tribute, cultural theory, and enlightened self-help book . . . indispensable. -- Vogue Paul Morley writes about things you thought you knew about -- and then shows you so many new facets. 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 Written with Technicolor perspective, humor, pathos and empathy in fluid, immensely readable prose, it is a book that does justice to Wilson's memory and enduring influence. -- Record Collector

Author Information

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.

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