Tony Wilson

Factory Records was founded by Tony Wilson and Alan Erasmus in 1978 and was a Manchester based British independent record label boasting artists such as Happy Mondays, Joy Division and James.

Anthony Howard Wilson was born on 20th February 1950 in Pendleton, Salford. Better known as ‘Tony’ Wilson, he was a record label owner; radio and TV presenter; nightclub manager; and a journalist for Granada and BBC. He was behind some of Manchester’s most successful bands; one of the founders of Factory Records; founder and manager of The Hacienda.
 

"The original bust is mainly constructed of broken records by bands Tony had worked with, the surfaces and edges provide interesting textures to the sculpture, his glasses are not fully formed, like a loose sketch and perch low on his nose, like they did when he was in deep conversation. I have studied a number of images, information and video footage to watch his expression and movement hence his hand resting gently on his shirt.

Loose text of quotes and information are interwoven through the piece, to enhance the narrative. Even the base gives a gentle nod to an OMD album cover. My aim was to keep the piece quite fluid as he was so expressive with such an imagination. A really forward thinking person I was trying to convey that energy of such a strong character.”

Emma Rodgers