Exactly three years ago, on August 10th of 2007, a city began to mourn as the inimitable
Tony Wilson lost his battle with cancer and passed away. As music journalist and co-founder of both
Factory Records and
The Haçienda, Wilson's enormous influence on the
Manchester music scene - and in turn the city in general - was, and still is, undeniable. He wrote the following letter in 1978 to
Rob Gretton, just a few days after seeing an impressive young local band play live; the band -
Joy Division - signed to Factory soon afterwards. The rest is history.
Transcript follows.
Transcript
GRANADA TELEVISION LIMITED
A MEMBER OF GRANADA GROUP LIMITED
Manchester M60 9EA Telephone: 061-832 7211
19 April 1978
Dear Rob
Thanks for the photostat.
I am not quite sure whether it is interesting or amusing; probably both. I am totally in agreement, Joy Division are the best thing I have heard in Manchester for about six months.
Yours
(Signed, 'Tony Wilson')
Tony Wilson
Presenter - What's On
TW/JF
