by Bruce Warren, Program Director for WXPN.

Music legend Tony Wilson died at the age of 57 this past Friday. He died of a heart attack and had been battling cancer.

Wilson was nearly singularly responsible for the baggy pants “Madchester” music scene of the late 80’s. Perhaps the second most significant musical and cultural movement in the UK since Beatlemania, Wilson’s legacy included the founding of Factory Records, the Hacienda night club in Manchester, and managing and nurturing the careers of many bands including Joy Division, New Order, Happy Mondays, The Stone Roses, The Durutti Column, and many others.

Wilson’s influence on music, marketing, live events, album cover design, recording and youth culture as a whole was accounted in a semi-fictionalized version of his life and of the surrounding era in the 2002 movie 24 Hour Party People, which starred comedian Steve Coogan as Wilson. He was an ardent champion of localism in its purest form and his influence has a pronounced effect on rock ‘n’ roll.

Here’s some video of some of the bands he had a hand in developing.

Happy Mondays - “Step On”

The Stone Roses - “I Wanna Be Adored”

The Charlatans - “The Only One I Know”

Joy Division - “Transmission”