Paul Morley’s Tony Wilson Biography, ‘From Manchester With Love’ Set For US Edition
Faber Books have announced the US edition of From Manchester with Love, the long-awaited biography of Factory Records co-founder and Manchester icon Tony Wilson by bestselling author Paul Morley. Previously only available overseas, the US edition is out 5 April.
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 Manchester super club, The Haçienda , 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.
A highly-respected 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.
Pre-order the US edition of From Manchester With Love here.