Anthony "Tony" Wilson
Hosting TV discussion After Dark in 1988
Born	(1950-02-20)20 February 1950 Salford, Lancashire, England
Died	10 August 2007(2007-08-10) (aged 57) Withington, Manchester, England
Resting place	Southern Cemetery, Chorlton-cum-Hardy, Manchester
Nationality	British
Education	BA in English (University of Cambridge)
Occupation	Journalist, TV presenter
Employer	Granada TV, BBC North West
Known for	Factory Records, Madchester impresario, The Haçienda nightclub

Anthony Howard Wilson known as Tony Wilson (20 February 1950 – 10 August 2007), was an English record label owner, radio presenter, TV show host, nightclub manager, impresario and journalist for Granada Television and the BBC.

Wilson was the music mogul behind some of Manchester's most successful bands. He was the founder and manager of The Haçienda nightclub, and was one of the five co-founders of Factory Records (Joy Division's label). Wilson was also known as Mr. Manchester,^[1][2] dubbed as such for his work in promoting the greater cultural status of Manchester throughout his career. He was portrayed by actor Steve Coogan in Michael Winterbottom's 2002 film 24 Hour Party People, and by Craig Parkinson in Anton Corbijn's 2007 film Control.

Early life[link]

Wilson was born 20 February 1950 in Hope Hospital, Salford, Lancashire to Sydney Wilson and Doris Knupfer (who was 20 years her husband's senior), and moved to Marple, Stockport at the age of 5.^[3] His maternal grandfather was German. After passing his Eleven plus exam, Wilson attended the De La Salle Grammar School in Weaste Lane, Pendleton, Salford. He developed a love of literature and language, ignited by a performance of Hamlet at Stratford upon Avon.^[4] Wilson started his professional career in 1968 at the age of 17, working as an English and Drama teacher at Blue Coat School in Oldham.^[5] He later graduated with a degree in English from Jesus College, Cambridge.^[3]

Broadcasting career[link]

After his graduation in 1971, Wilson began as a trainee news reporter for ITN, before moving to Manchester in 1973, where he secured a post at Granada Television. He went on to present Granada's culture, music and events programme, So It Goes. Through the 1970s and 1980s he was one of the main anchors on Granada Reports, a regional evening news programme, where he worked with Richard and Judy among others. He continued in this line of work even at the height of his success in the music industry.

In 1989, Wilson hosted The Other Side of Midnight, another Granada weekly regional culture slot, covering music, literature and the arts in general. Its Sunday night slot made it one of the UK's first experiments in late night weekend TV. He reported for ITV's celebrated current affairs series, World in Action in the early 1980s and also hosted Channel 4's After Dark, the UK's first open-ended, late night chat show, in which he chaired loose discussions in a darkened studio between intellectuals and celebrities of various descriptions, often in various stages of inebriation. Wilson co-anchored the BBC's coverage of the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert at Wembley Stadium in 1992. He hosted the short-lived TV quiz shows Topranko! and MTV Europe's Remote Control in the 1990s, as well as the Manchester United themed quiz, Masterfan, for MUTV.

In 2006 he became the regional political presenter for the BBC's The Politics Show. He presented a weekly radio show on Xfm Manchester - Sunday Roast - and a show on BBC Radio Manchester. In October he joined Blur bassist Alex James, Blue Peter presenter Konnie Huq and previously unknown presenter Emily Rose to host the 21st century version of the iconic 80s music programme, "The Tube", for Channel 4 Radio which ran until 2 March 2007. His final music TV show was filmed in December 2006 for Manchester's Channel M. Only one episode of the programme - entitled 'The New Friday' - was recorded before Wilson became ill.

Music career[link]

Wilson's involvement in popular music stemmed from hosting Granada's culture and music programme "So It Goes". Wilson, who intensely disliked the music scene of the mid 1970s, saw the Sex Pistols at the Manchester Lesser Free Trade Hall, in June 1976, an experience which he described as "nothing short of an epiphany".^[6] He booked them for the last episode of the first series, probably the first television showing of the then-revolutionary British strand of punk rock.

He was the manager of many bands, including A Certain Ratio and The Durutti Column, and was part owner and manager of Factory Records, home of the Happy Mondays, Joy Division, and New Order - the band managed by friend and business partner Rob Gretton. He also founded and managed The Haçienda nightclub and Dry bar, together forming a central part of the music and cultural scene of Manchester. The scene was termed "Madchester".

He made little money from Factory Records or the Haçienda, despite the enormous popularity and cultural significance of both endeavours.^[7] Both Factory Records and the Haçienda came to an abrupt end in the late 1990s.

A semi-fictionalised version of his life and of the surrounding era was made into the 2002 film, 24 Hour Party People, which stars the comedian Steve Coogan as Wilson. After the film was produced, Wilson wrote a novelization based on the screenplay. He played a minor role (playing himself) in the 2005 film, A Cock and Bull Story, in which his character interviews Steve Coogan. Wilson also co-produced the 2007 Ian Curtis biopic, Control (his character this time being played by Craig Parkinson). He died a few months before its release.

Wilson was a partner in the annual "In The City" music festival and industry conference, and also F4 Records, the fourth version of Factory Records, which was set up to be an online distributor for Wilson's long term protégé Vini Reilly, of The Durutti Column. F4 also released music by Manchester based bands RaW-T and The Young Offenders Institute.

Politics[link]

Wilson was an outspoken supporter of regionalism.^[8] Along with others including Ruth Turner, he started a campaign for North West England to be allowed a referendum on the creation of a regional assembly, called "The Necessary Group"^[9] after a line in the United States Declaration of Independence. Although his campaign was successful, with the Government announcing that a vote would take place, this was later abandoned when North East England voted against the introduction of a regional tier of government. Wilson later spoke at several political events on this subject. He was also known for using Situationist ideas.^[10]

Relationships[link]

Wilson was married twice, first to Lindsay Reade and then to Hilary, with whom he had a son, Oliver, and a daughter, Isabel. In 1990 he started a relationship with Yvette Livesey, a former Miss England and Miss UK, who was his girlfriend until his death in 2007^[11] Livesey has since co-operated with a biography of Wilson's life – called You're Entitled To An Opinion ... – written by David Nolan and published in 2009.^[12]

Illness[link]

After developing renal cancer, and having one kidney removed in 2007, Wilson wished to take the drug sunitinib (aka Sutent), the £3,500 per month cost of which was not funded by the Manchester Primary Care Trust. He was turned down by the NHS, while patients being treated alongside him at the Christie Hospital and living just a few miles away in Cheshire received funding for the medication, for other conditions.

A number of Wilson's music industry friends, including former Happy Mondays manager Nathan McGough and their current manager, Elliot Rashman and TV stars Richard Madeley and Judy Finnegan, formed a fund to help pay for Wilson's medical treatment.^[13]

Wilson said: "This [Sutent] is my only real option. It is not a cure but can hold the cancer back, so I will probably be on it until I die. When they said I would have to pay £3,500 for the drugs each month, I thought where am I going to find the money? I'm the one person in this industry who famously has never made any money. I used to say some people make money and some make history, which is very funny until you find you can't afford to keep yourself alive. I've never paid for private healthcare because I'm a socialist. Now I find you can get tummy tucks and cosmetic surgery on the NHS but not the drugs I need to stay alive. It is a scandal."^[13]

Death[link]

In early 2007 emergency surgery was performed to remove one of his kidneys.^[14] This forced the postponement of plans to create a southern hemisphere version of the In The City festival.^[15] Despite the surgery, the cancer progressed and a course of chemotherapy was not effective. Wilson died of a heart attack in Manchester's Christie Hospital on 10 August 2007 aged 57.^[16][17] Following the news of his death, the Union Flag on Manchester Town Hall was lowered to half mast as a mark of respect.^[18] As with everything else in the Factory empire, Tony Wilson's coffin was also given a Factory catalogue number - FAC 501.^[19] He is buried at the Southern Cemetery in Chorlton-cum-Hardy, Manchester.^[20] His black granite^[20] headstone, erected in October 2010,^[21] was designed by Peter Saville and Ben Kelly of Factory Records^[21] and features a quotation, chosen by Wilson's family,^[20] from G Linnaeus Banks's 1876 novel The Manchester Man,^[20][21] set in Rotis serif font.^[20] The quotation reads: "Mutability is the epitaph of worlds/ Change alone is changeless/ People drop out of the history of a life as of a land though their work or their influence remains."^[20]

Probate documents reveal his estate was valued at £484,747 after tax. That figure includes the value of his city centre apartment on Little Peter Street. The will, signed by Wilson on 4 July 2007, gave Yvette Livesey, 39, his girlfriend of 17 years, the proceeds from their home. He also left her his share of six businesses. His son Oliver and daughter Isabel share the rest of his estate.^[22]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Keeping it Real Last documentary on Tony Wilson
• Story of his death
• Tony Wilson hosting "After Dark" on television
• Return to the Hacienda - BBC News article, dated Friday, 5 April 2002
• Fourth Time Lucky - Spike Magazine interview with Tony Wilson about F4, the latest incarnation of Factory Records
• Tony Wilson's "love letter" to the National Health Service
• Anthony H Wilson - Excerpts from the Interview with Eyewitness in Manchester 30 April 1998
• Oliver Wood's Factory Page.
• The Other Side of Midnight
• Obituary and Public Tributes
• "Anthony Wilson: The Last Interview" by Gareth Grundy, The Q Daily, 13 August 2007.
• http://www.tonywilsonexperience.com - 24 Hours of Lectures and workshops dedicated to Tony Wilson organized by Manchester City Council.
• Tony Wilson at the Internet Movie Database
• Find-a-Grave.com entry for Tony Wilson

James Martin Hannett^[1] (31 May 1948^[2][3] – 10 April 1991), initially credited as Martin Zero, was a record producer and an original partner/director at Factory Records with Tony Wilson. Hannett's trademark sound, most apparent on Joy Division's debut album Unknown Pleasures and its follow-up, Closer, is sparse, eerie and spacious.

Biography[link]

Early years[link]

Born in Manchester, Lancashire, England,^[4] Hannett was raised in a working class, Catholic^[5] family in Miles Platting, Manchester,^[4] attending Corpus Christi school^[6] and Xaverian College in Rusholme. In 1967,^[6] he began to attend UMIST (University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology) where he earned a degree in chemistry but chose not to pursue that profession.^[5]

Career[link]

Martin's uncle was a bass player and he gave Martin a bass guitar when he was 14. Martin played bass with Spider Mike King^[6] and as member in a band called Paradox, in 1973, alongside Paul Young, later of Sad Café and Mike + The Mechanics.^[2][7]

His production work began with the cartoon show All Kinds of Heroes soundtrack, which also was produced by Steve Hopkins (with whom later worked again). By this time, he also began to mix at pub gigs. Another early production works included Greasy Bear material, Belt & Braces Road Show Band's eponymous album, in 1975, and five songs from Pete Farrow's repertoire recorded at Pennine Studios, Oldham, later included on that artist's compilation album Who Says There's No Beach in Stockport. However, he first came to musical attention in 1977, when, as Martin Zero, he produced the first independent punk record, The Buzzcocks' Spiral Scratch EP. Under the same moniker he produced early records by punk poet John Cooper Clarke, whose Salford monotone was complemented by drum machines, simple synthesiser motifs and Hannett's own bass playing. As Martin Zero, Hannett appeared on Top of the Pops playing bass on Jilted John's eponymous single, which he also produced.

Hannett became closely associated with Joy Division. Hannett's production incorporated looping technology to treat musical notes with an array of digital filters and both Melos analogue and digital and AMS digital delay units of which Hannett owned three. The Melos tape and BBD echo units were at the opposite end of the price spectrum to the AMS delays but Hannett still loved using their crude echo effects. The first synthesizers Hannett and Joy Division guitarist Bernard Sumner both used were Transcendent 2000s and then ARP Omnis. Hannett also liked to feed sounds through his Marshall Time Modulators and the three AMS delays he had, along with a fourth owned by Strawberry Studios.

As a producer, Hannett obsessed over drum sounds, never being content until they completely coincided with the sounds in his head. Legend has it that he once forced Joy Division drummer Stephen Morris to take apart his drum kit during a recording session and reassemble it to include additional parts from a toilet. He also reputedly had Morris set up his kit on a first floor flat roof outside the fire escape at Cargo Recording Studios, Rochdale. The studio was used for the recording of "Digital", "Glass", "Atmosphere", "Dead Souls" and "Ice Age". Hannett's unorthodox production methods resulted in drum sounds mixed with synthesisers that were both complex and highly distinctive. According to Hannett: "There was a lot of space in [Joy Division's] sound. They were a gift to a producer, because they didn't have a clue. They didn't argue. A Factory Sample was the first thing I did with them. I think I'd had the new AMS delay line for about two weeks. It was called 'Digital'. It was heaven sent."^[8] Hannett was instrumental in the early development of these particular AMS delays asking the engineers in the company to try to recreate within the electronics the sounds he was hearing in his head. Hannett had a fascination for working in three particular studios, Pennine Studios in Oldham, Cargo Studios in Rochdale and Stockport's Strawberry Studios. Hannett and Chris Hewitt designed Peter Hook's Joy Division/New Order bass equipment set up, the Alembic, Amcron, and Gauss system which Hook used for around twenty years.

Hannett also produced two albums by Magazine, as well as working extensively with John Cooper Clarke and (briefly) with U2. He also produced many early Factory Records bands including Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, A Certain Ratio, The Durutti Column, Section 25, ESG, Minny Pops, Stockholm Monsters, Crispy Ambulance, The Names and Tunnelvision. However his role as in-house producer at the legendary label diminished in importance after New Order, A Certain Ratio and The Durutti Column all elected to produce themselves.

Hannett's production can also be heard on Basement 5's album 1965 - 1980. Hannett remixed some of the tracks from 1965-1980 for In Dub, which features dub versions of Basement 5's material. In 1981 he was name-checked by the Dead Kennedys frontman Jello Biafra on their track "Nazi Punks Fuck Off!", which appears on the In God We Trust, Inc. EP. Biafra introduces the track by saying, "This is 'Fuck Off', overproduced by Martin Hannett, take four." The comment was tongue-in-cheek; Hannett never produced for the Dead Kennedys. A similar quote precedes the song "Fuck Me" by "Mihi" as appears on Regret, the first volume of the I've Girls Compilations.

A rift formed with Factory and he sued them in 1982 over various financial disputes; the matter was eventually settled out of court. The lawsuit is listed as part of the Factory Records catalog as FAC61.^[1] When Hannett returned to produce the Happy Mondays he worked as a freelance producer, and was not reinstated as a Factory director.

His partner from 1972 until 1984 was Susanne O'Hara. They lived together from 1975 in Chorlton and Didsbury in Manchester. Susanne worked with Martin at Music Force, a musicians cooperative in Manchester, until it closed when Hannett's production career began to develop, around 1979. Susanne continued to support his life and work until 1984.

Death[link]

Post Factory, Hannett's career spiralled into decline due to his heavy drinking and drug use, especially his use of heroin. His weight eventually doubled to roughly 365 lbs (26 stone or 165 kilogrammes).

Hannett died on April 18, 1991 at the age of 42 in Manchester as a result of heart failure. Hannett is survived by a wife, stepdaughter and a son. His headstone at Manchester Southern Cemetery pays him tribute as the creator of The Manchester Sound.

Several weeks after his death, Factory Records released "Martin: The Work Of Martin Hannett (FACT325)" as a tribute.^[9]

Fictional portrayals[link]

Hannett was portrayed by actor Andy Serkis in the 2002 film 24 Hour Party People, which was based on Tony Wilson's career as the co-founder of Factory Records and The Haçienda nightclub. In the DVD commentary, Wilson notes a review that described Hannett as Serkis' "strangest role," and points out that Serkis is best known for his portrayal of Gollum in Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy. Wilson concludes that the reviewer's implication is correct, that indeed, Hannett was far stranger than the Lord of the Rings character.

Hannett was portrayed by Ben Naylor in Anton Corbijn's film Control.

Selected discography[link]

Albums produced[link]

• Belt & Braces Road Show Band, Belt & Braces Road Show Band LP 1975 private pressing - rare- tracks issued on Hannett Maverick Producer compilation cd
• Pete Farrow, Who Says There's No Beach In Stockport? recorded 1977 issued 2001 on cd by Ozit Morpheus and on Maverick Producer Hannett compilation cd
• John Cooper Clarke, Disguise in Love 1978
• The Durutti Column, The Return of the Durutti Column 1979
• Joy Division, Unknown Pleasures 1979
• Pauline Murray And The Invisible Girls, Pauline Murray And The Invisible Girls 1979
• Basement 5, 1965-1980 1980
• John Cooper Clarke, Snap, Crackle & Bop 1980
• Joy Division, Closer 1980
• Magazine, The Correct Use of Soap 1980
• The Psychedelic Furs, The Psychedelic Furs 1980 (songs "Susan's Strange" and "Soap Commercial")
• A Certain Ratio, To Each... 1981
• Joy Division, Still 1981
• Magazine, Magic, Murder & the Weather (mixed) 1981
• New Order, Movement 1981
• Section 25, Always Now 1981
• John Cooper Clarke, Zip Style Method 1982
• The Names, Swimmin' 1982
• Orchestre Rouge, Yellow Laughter 1982
• Armande Altaï, Nocturne Flamboyant 1983
• Blue in Heaven, All The Gods Men 1985
• The Stone Roses, The Martin Hannett album 1985 (Finally released as Garage Flower, coupled with the single So Young in 1996)
• Walk in the Walk, Walk the Walk 1987
• Happy Mondays, Bummed 1988
• The High, Somewhere Soon 1990
• Joy Division Martin Hannett's Personal Mixes 2007
• Joy Division In the Studio with Martin Hannett 2008

Singles produced[link]

• Buzzcocks, "Spiral Scratch" 1976 as Martin Zero
• Jilted John, "Jilted John" 1978
• Joy Division, "Transmission" 1979
• Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, "Almost" 1979 as Martin Zero
• A Certain Ratio, "Flight" 1979/1980
• A Certain Ratio, "Do The Du" EP 1980
• Kevin Hewick, "Haystack" 1980
• Joy Division, "Love Will Tear Us Apart" 1980
• U2, "11 O'Clock Tick Tock" 1980
• Pauline Murray And The Invisible Girls, "Mr X" 1980
• Pauline Murray And The Invisible Girls, "Searching For Heaven" 1981
• Crispy Ambulance, "Live on a Hot August Night" 1981
• ESG, "ESG" 1981
• Kissing the Pink, "Don't Hide in the Shadows" 1981
• New Order, "Ceremony" 1981
• New Order, "Everything's Gone Green" 1981
• New Order, "Procession" 1981
• Stockholm Monsters, "Fairy Tales" 1981
• The Names, "Nightshift" 1980
• The Names, "Calcutta" 1981
• The Names, "The Astronaut" 1982
• Blue in Heaven, "Across My Heart" (version) 1984
• The Stone Roses, "So Young" / "Tell Me" 1985
• Kit, "Overshadowing Me" 1990
• Kitchens of Distinction, "Quick as Rainbows" 1990
• New Fast Automatic Daffodils, "Get Better" 1991
• World of Twist, "She's A Rainbow" 1991

Compilations[link]

• Martin: The Work of Martin Hannett (Factory Records, 1991)
• And Here is the Young Man (Debutante, 1998)
• Zero: A Martin Hannett Story 1977-1991' (Big Beat, 2006)
• Martin Hannett- Maverick Producer,Genius and Musician 2CD set ( Ozit Morpheus Records Sept 2011)

See also[link]

• Music of Manchester

References[link]

External links[link]

• The Martin Hannett biography project
• Martin Hannett biography at LTM
• Jonsavage.com/film
• Martin Hannett page.
• The work of record producer Martin Hannett
• Martin Hannett and Tony Wilson in Strawberry Studios, July 1980 Martin Hannett explaining his production of Pauline Murray And The Invisible Girls's "The Visitor" song.
• A page about working with Martin in the early 1980's

Ian Brown
Background information
Birth name	Ian George Brown
Born	(1963-02-20) 20 February 1963 (age 49) Warrington, England[1]
Origin	Manchester England[2][3][4][5]
Genres	Alternative rock, indie rock
Occupations	Musician, songwriter
Instruments	Vocals, keyboards, Tambourine
Years active	1984–1996, 1998–present
Labels	Polydor/Fiction Records (UK) Interscope, E1 Music (US)
Associated acts	The Stone Roses
Website	www.ianbrown.co.uk

Ian George Brown (born 20 February 1963 in Warrington) is an English musician, best known as the lead singer of the alternative rock band The Stone Roses, which broke up in 1996 but are confirmed to reunite in 2012. Since the break-up of the Stone Roses he has led a successful solo career. His latest studio album My Way was released on 28 September 2009.

Biography[link]

Early life[link]

Brown was born in Warrington, England in 1963.^[6] His father, George, was a joiner and his mother Jean worked as a receptionist in a paper factory.^[6] When he was 5, Brown's family, including a brother and sister, moved to Timperley, Altrincham.^[7] He was educated at Park Road County Primary Infant and Junior School and then Altrincham Grammar School for Boys.^[7] His interest in music was inspired by the punk movement, specifically the bands Sex Pistols, The Clash and Manchester band Slaughter & The Dogs.^[8] Brown and original Stone Roses bassist Pete Garner attended the recording of the Clash single "Bankrobber" in Manchester.^[9]

Stone Roses[link]

Brown's music career began in 1980, playing bass guitar in band with John Squire and Simon Wolstencroft.^[10] They eventually became The Patrol, with Andy Couzens on vocals. The band soon split up, with Brown selling his bass to buy a scooter.^[11] Brown moved to Hulme, and attended northern soul "all-nighters" across the north of England in the early 1980s as the scene faded. Around this time, Brown met soul legend Geno Washington, who told him, "You should be a star".^[12] In 1983 Brown joined The Waterfront, the band that would evolve into The Stone Roses, as co-vocalist.^[13]

The Stone Roses rose to prominence in the late 1980s and early 1990s, with their debut album voted the best British album of all time in 2004.^[14] The band's second album, Second Coming, received a mixed reaction, and after several changes of line-up, the band split up in October 1996.

On 17 October 2011, Brown alluded to a Stone Roses reunion via text message, saying: "We are going to rule the world again. It's happening."^[15] On the following day, a reunion was announced for the band with performances planned for June 2012 in Manchester.^[16][17] In a press conference interview, the members of the Stone Roses have said that a new album is planned.^[18]

On 2 December 2011 Ian Brown and John Squire performed together live for the first time since 1995. They joined Mick Jones from The Clash, The Farm and Pete Wylie at the Manchester Ritz in in aid of the Justice for Hillsborough campaign. They performed "Elizabeth My Dear" as a duo before being joined by Mick Jones and The Farm for renditions of the Clash’s "Bankrobber" and "Armagideon Time" with Ian Brown taking on lead vocals for the three songs.

Solo career[link]

After a break from music in Morocco, Brown established his solo career with the debut solo single "My Star", which was released in the UK on 12 January 1998.^[19] The debut album Unfinished Monkey Business followed on 2 February 1998. The album was produced and financed by Brown, and featured ex-Roses members Mani, Nigel Ipinson, Aziz Ibrahim and Robbie Maddix.^[20] The album sold over 300,000 copies.^[21]

Brown toured in Summer 1998 with a band that included Ibrahim, Inder Mathura (percussion), Simon Moore (drums), and Sylvan Richardson (bass), including performances at the Glastonbury Festival and the V Festival.^[22] Brown was arrested after a flight back from his live show in Paris, and later sentenced to four months in prison for using threatening behaviour towards an airline stewardess and captain, a charge which he denied, causing his tour to be rescheduled.^[23][24] His bandmate Aziz Ibrahim condemned the sentence, saying that Brown was "just being cheeky".^[25] While in Strangeways Prison, Brown wrote the lyrics for "Free My Way", "So Many Soldiers", and "Set My Baby Free".^[26] He was released on parole after two months.

His second album, Golden Greats, was released by Polydor Records 1999. It featured more electronic instrumentation and earned high critical acclaim. For his third studio album, Music of the Spheres, Brown sought outside production help for the first time, hiring the services of songwriter and producer Dave McCracken who would go on to become a regular collaborator. He toured the US for the first time as a solo artist in support of the album.^[27]

Brown's fourth solo album, Solarized, was released in the UK on 13 September 2004, and was the first to be released under the revived Polydor imprint Fiction Records. When his new Fiction A&R Jim Chancellor was asked in HitQuarters what contribution he makes to Brown's records he said, "There's not as much to do. Ian is very much the master of his own records."^[28]

Since the break-up of the Stone Roses in 1996, Brown has released six solo albums and fourteen UK Top 40 singles.^[29] He has sold out seven UK tours, and appeared three times at the Glastonbury Festival, including headlining The Other Stage in 2005.^[30] He has appeared five times at V Festival since 1998 along with regular appearances at T in the Park and Oxegen festivals, and played the Move festival in 2002 at Lancashire Cricket Ground.^[31] and two tour of AUSTRALIA IN 2006 AND 2008

Ian Brown at the Witnness festival in Ireland in 2002. Note: he is wearing a bucket-hat with Irish rock band Aslan's logo.

Brown had a cameo role in the 2004 film Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban'.^[32]

For the 2005/6 season, Brown was the shirt sponsor of London Commercial Division football team Chiswick Homefields, the players wearing an 'IB – The Greatest' logo on their chests.^[33]. Brown is a life-long supporter of Manchester United and is a season ticket holder ^[34].

At the 2006 NME awards, Brown was presented with the "Godlike Genius" award and in 2007 was given the Q "Legend" Award.^[35][36]

In September 2007, Brown released his fifth studio album, The World is Yours. The album represented a more political approach in his music, particularly the anti-war track "Illegal Attacks", which featured Sinéad O'Connor. The album also featured former Smith bassist Andy Rourke and Paul Ryder of Happy Mondays.^[37]and Steve Jones and Paul Cook of the Sex Pistols

My Way, his sixth solo album, was released in September 2009.^[38] It was recorded at London's Battery Studios with producer Dave McCracken; the first single, "Stellify", was released 21 September 2009. Brown played Manchester Arena for the 3rd time in Dec 2009 and in 2010 made his 3rd appearance in Moscow and 2nd in Beijing China Since turning solo in 1998 Brown has played shows in 45 countries

Brown has collaborated several times with UNKLE, appearing on "Be There" in 1999 and on "Reign" on the 2003 album Never, Never, Land, which was also released as a single.^[39]

Awards and achievements[link]

Brown has won numerous awards in his career, in recognition of his work as a solo artist and his work with The Stone Roses. The awards he has won are as follows:

The Stone Roses

• 1997 The Stone Roses reached No. 5 in The Guardian's 100 Best Albums Ever poll
• 1998 The Stone Roses reached No. 4 in Q magazine's 100 Best Albums Ever poll
• 2004 The Stone Roses reached No. 1 in The Observer's 100 Best British Albums Ever poll
• 2006 The Stone Roses reached No. 1 in the NME writers 100 Best British Albums Ever poll
• 2006 The Stone Roses reached No. 7 in NME fans 100 Best Albums Ever poll

Solo

• 2002 Muso Awards Best Single ("Whispers")
• 2002 NME Awards Best Solo Artist^[40]
• 2006 NME Awards Godlike Genius Award^[35]
• 2007 Q Awards Legend Award^[36]
• 1999, 2000,^[41] 2002,^[42] 2006,^[43] 2009^[44] – nominated for Best British Solo Artist at the Brit Awards

Discography[link]

In the UK Ian Brown as a Solo Artist and with The Stone Roses has sold over a Certified 1.7 Million Albums

Albums[link]

Singles[link]

Notes[link]

References[link]

• Larkin, Colin (ed.) (1998) The Virgin Encyclopedia of Indie & New Wave, Virgin Books, ISBN 0-7535-0231-3
• Robb, John (2001) The Stone Roses and the Resurrection of British Pop, Random House, ISBN 0-09-187887-X

External links[link]

• Official website
• Don't Stop / Stone Roses
• The Definitive Ian Brown Discography

Steve Coogan
Holding a producer credit for The 1 Second Film in January 2005
Born	Stephen John Coogan (1965-10-14) 14 October 1965 (age 46) Middleton, Lancashire, England
Occupation	Actor, stand-up comedian, writer, producer
Spouse	Caroline Hickman (m. 2002–2005; divorced)
Relatives	Brendan Coogan, Martin Coogan (brothers)

Stephen John "Steve" Coogan (born 14 October 1965) is a BAFTA-winning English actor, comedian, writer, impressionist and producer. Born in Middleton, Lancashire, he began his career as a stand-up comedian and impressionist, working as a voice artist throughout the 1980s on satirical puppet show Spitting Image. In the early 1990s, Coogan began creating original comic characters which he presented in stage shows, this led to him winning the 1992 Perrier Award at the Edinburgh Fringe, for his show with long-time collaborator John Thomson. The most prominent characters he developed at this time were Paul Calf, a stereotypical lower class Mancunian and his sister the promiscuous Pauline (played by Coogan in drag).

Working with Chris Morris, Patrick Marber and Armando Iannucci for On the Hour and The Day Today, Coogan developed his most popular and most developed character; Alan Partridge, a socially awkward and politically incorrect regional media personality, who developed to feature in his own eponymous television series, Knowing Me Knowing You with Alan Partridge and I'm Alan Partridge, which were well received and were nominated for five BAFTAs in total. Outside the UK, Coogan is better known for his roles in films including 24 Hour Party People, The Wind in the Willows, Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, Night at the Museum, Tropic Thunder, Hamlet 2, A Cock and Bull Story, The Trip and The Other Guys.

On 22 November 2011, Coogan, along with Hugh Grant, gave evidence to the Leveson Inquiry on phone hacking, favouring regulation of the press.

Early life[link]

Coogan is one of seven children born to Kathleen (née Coonan), a housewife, and Anthony Coogan, an IBM engineer.^[1][2][3] He was born in his parents' house and brought up in Alkrington,^[4][5] a suburb of Middleton, north of Manchester, in an Irish working class family.^[6] Coogan was brought up as a Roman Catholic.^[7][8][9] He had a happy childhood growing up with four brothers and two sisters, and in addition his parents fostered children on a short-term basis, sometimes accommodating two or three foster children at a time.^[4] Coogan had a talent for impersonation, and wanted to go to drama school, despite being advised by a teacher that it could lead to a precarious profession.^[4]

He went to five interviews for drama school in London, and then – after gaining confidence by joining a theatre company in Manchester called New Music – gained a place at the Manchester Metropolitan School of Theatre.^[4] Coogan's brother Martin was the vocalist and wrote the music for The Mock Turtles,^[4] a successful indie rock band in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Career[link]

Coogan started out as a comic and mimic in Ipswich, as well as doing voice-over work for adverts and impressions on Spitting Image. In 1988, he did impressions of Prince Charles which featured on the Urban label release "Don't Believe the Hype" by acid house artist Mista E. The impressions were also used as jingles in 1988-89 on the BBC Radio 1 FM Friday night dance music show Jeff Young's Big Beat. In 1993 Coogan starred alongside Caroline Aherne and John Thomson in a one-off Granada TV sketch show The Dead Good Show.

Alan Partridge[link]

Coogan collaborated with Chris Morris and Armando Iannucci, amongst others, on the Radio 4 comedy show On the Hour, where he helped give birth to his most famous creation, Alan Partridge. Alan went on to have his own radio show, as well as appearing on TV in The Day Today and his own chat show, Knowing Me Knowing You with Alan Partridge. In 1997, he returned with the sitcom I'm Alan Partridge, which was followed by a second series in 2002. Partridge was part of Coogan's 2008 stand-up tour, and an Alan Partridge film is in production and will be released in 2013.^[10]

Other TV roles[link]

Paul Calf first began as a character named 'Duncan Disorderly' in Coogan's early stand-up routines. Calf first came to wider public notice in 1993, with several appearances on Saturday Zoo, a late-night variety show presented by Jonathan Ross on Channel 4. Paul has appeared in two video diaries, an episode of Coogan's Run, and in various stand-up performances. He is an unemployed Manchester wastrel with a particular hatred of students. His catchphrase is "Bag o' shite". Paul lives in a council house in the fictional town of Ottle with his mother and his sister, Pauline Calf (also played by Coogan). His father died some time before the first video diary was made. For a long time he was obsessed with getting back together with his ex-girlfriend, Julie. Paul's best friend is "Fat" Bob (played by John Thomson), a car mechanic who eventually married Pauline. Paul supports Manchester City and is very partial to Wagon Wheels. He wears Burton suits, sports a bleached mullet and drives a Ford Cortina.

Other Coogan creations include Tommy Saxondale, Duncan Thicket and Portuguese Eurovision winner Tony Ferrino. Duncan Thicket has appeared in a tour of live shows. Other TV shows he has starred in include Coogan's Run, Dr. Terrible's House of Horrible, Monkey Trousers and Saxondale. Coogan has provided voices for the animated series I Am Not an Animal and Bob and Margaret, the one-off BBC2 comedy about sheep Combat Sheep, two Christmas specials starring Robbie the Reindeer, and an episode of the BBC Radio Four spoof sci-fi series Nebulous.

During the 1989 series of The Krypton Factor, Coogan was invited to participate in a series of mini-films for the observation round.

He starred in BBC2's The Private Life of Samuel Pepys in 2003, and Cruise of the Gods in 2002. In 2006, he had a cameo in the Little Britain Christmas special as a pilot taking Lou and Andy to Disneyland. In 2007, Coogan played a psychiatrist on HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm, and in 2008, starred in the BBC1 drama Sunshine.

In 2010, he reunited with actor Rob Brydon and director Michael Winterbottom (both of whom he had worked with on the 2006 film A Cock and Bull Story (see Film Roles below)), for the partially improvised BBC2 sitcom The Trip, in which he and Brydon do a tour of northern restaurants, which he is writing up for the Observer. The Trip was nominated for a 2011 Television BAFTA for Best Situation Comedy, and Coogan won Best Male Performance in a Comedy Role.^[11]

He provided the voices of Philip Masterson-Bowie (a horse) and Mark Andrews (a sparrow) for animated comedy series I Am Not an Animal.^[12] He was also the voice of Satan on Neighbors from Hell.

In December 2011, Coogan voiced Roger Mellie and Tracey Tunstall of the Fat Slags in three Viz Comedy Blaps for Channel 4.^[13] He voiced a cruise-ship director in a April 2012 episode of The Simpsons.

Film roles[link]

Michael Winterbottom, Steve Coogan, and Rob Brydon at the Ryerson Theatre in Toronto for the screening of Tristram Shandy (14 September 2005)

Notable film roles include Factory Records boss Tony Wilson in the film 24 Hour Party People, Mole in Terry Jones' The Wind in the Willows, Phileas Fogg in a comical version of Jules Verne's Around the World in 80 Days from Disney, with Jackie Chan, Ambassador Mercy in Marie Antoinette, Bruce Tick in Sweet Revenge, and Octavius in Night at the Museum. He has also played himself three times on screen. First, in one of the vignettes of Jim Jarmusch's 2003 film Coffee and Cigarettes, alongside Alfred Molina. Second, in 2006 Coogan starred with Rob Brydon in Michael Winterbottom's A Cock and Bull Story, a self-referential film of the "unfilmable" self-referential novel Tristram Shandy by Laurence Sterne. In the film, Coogan plays a fictional, womanizing version of himself. Thirdly he played himself in the 2010 film The Trip. He worked again with director Winterbottom in King of Soho, about '50s porn-king Paul Raymond.

The first film, which he co-wrote with Henry Normal, was The Parole Officer. He also acted in this alongside Ben Miller and Lena Headey. Coogan has an uncredited cameo in Hot Fuzz, scripted by Shaun of the Dead writers Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright. He stars as a failed actor turned high school drama teacher in the 2008 film Hamlet 2 and had a role in Tropic Thunder, playing the inexperienced director. In 2009, he also starred as a lying reporter in What Goes Up with Olivia Thirlby, Molly Shannon and Hilary Duff. Also recently, he appeared in Finding Amanda alongside Brittany Snow and Matthew Broderick, returned as Octavius in Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian, and played Hades in Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief.

Achievements[link]

Coogan's show Steve Coogan in character with John Thomson was winner of the Perrier Award for best show at the 1992 Edinburgh Fringe. He has won numerous awards for his work in TV including British Comedy Awards, BAFTAs and The South Bank Show award for comedy. In 2003, he was listed in The Observer as one of the 50 funniest acts in British comedy. In 2005, a poll to find the Comedians' Comedian saw him being voted amongst the top 20 greatest comedy acts ever by fellow comedians and comedy insiders.

Stand-up comedy comeback tour[link]

In March 2008, it was confirmed that Coogan would return to doing stand-up comedy as part of his first stand-up tour in ten years. The tour, named "Steve Coogan as Alan Partridge and other less successful characters", saw the return of some of his old characters including Paul Calf and Alan Partridge.^[14] Reviews of the opening night were mixed.^[15] and such reviews continued as the tour progressed.^[16][17] Much of the criticism focused on the apparent unrehearsed quality and nervous stage presence of Coogan's performance. Chortle comedy guide wrote "Steve Coogan’s stage comeback after ten years is most definitely a show of two halves: the superlative Alan Partridge plus a collection of characters that are not only less successful, but woefully less funny."^[18]

Production work[link]

Coogan, along with writing partner Henry Normal, founded Baby Cow Productions in 1999. Together they are the executive producers for such shows as The Mighty Boosh, starring Noel Fielding and Julian Barratt, Nighty Night, starring Julia Davis, Marion and Geoff, starring Rob Brydon, "Gavin and Stacey" starring Ruth Jones, James Corden, Joanna Page, Mathew Horne and Rob Brydon, and Human Remains, starring Davis and Brydon. Baby Cow Productions' latest^[when?] venture is Where Are the Joneses, an online sitcom which uses wiki technology to allow the audience to upload scripts and storyline ideas.^[19]