Factory Records founder Anthony Wilson passed away today, after battling cancer for nearly a year. Best known for helping discover such bands as Joy Division, New Order and Happy Mondays, Wilson was strongly tied to the Manchester music scene that thrived in the late ’70s and early ’80s. He also is famous for helping to set up the Hacienda nightclub in Manchester in 1982. Bands including New Order, The Smiths, The Stone Roses and Oasis have performed at Hacienda, but it eventually closed in 1997.
His life was documented in Michael Winterbottom’s 2002 film 24 Hour Party People, which starred comedian Steve Coogan as Wilson.
Wilson was diagnosed with cancer last year and underwent chemotherapy, but when the treatment failed to work, he was recommended to take Sutent, which was not funded by the National Health Service in England. Various band members, including those from the Happy Mondays, started a fund to help pay for the treatment, but Wilson ultimately lost his struggle against cancer. He was 57.
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