Mancunian icon Tony Wilson, who died of cancer in 2007, is best known to the world as the man who founded Factory Records, the seminal label that housed such great acts as Joy Division, New Order and Happy Mondays. For many, he's remembered as one of the most important music moguls of the past 30 years, with his Manchester nightclub the Haçienda even playing a pivotal role in the rise of rave music in the 1990s.
One of the impresario's earliest discoveries was Vini Reilly, whose atmospheric post-punk outfit the Durutti Column were signed to Factory between 1978 and 1990. Now, Reilly is preparing to release A Paean to Wilson, an instrumental Durutti Column album dedicated to the late label boss.
In an interview with NME, Reilly discussed the inspiration for the album, stating, "Towards the end of his illness, I sent him an instrumental track and he loved it, so I decided that the right thing to do was carry on."
As for the reasoning behind making the album entirely instrumental, Reilly explained, "Over the years we worked on many albums together and the one thing that Tony and I always argued about was that he thought that I should make music and write rather than sing."
The album is a two-disc set and is scheduled to be released on January 24 in the UK to coincide with the 32nd anniversary of Factory Records. We're guessing it will be "good music to chill out to."
One of the impresario's earliest discoveries was Vini Reilly, whose atmospheric post-punk outfit the Durutti Column were signed to Factory between 1978 and 1990. Now, Reilly is preparing to release A Paean to Wilson, an instrumental Durutti Column album dedicated to the late label boss.
In an interview with NME, Reilly discussed the inspiration for the album, stating, "Towards the end of his illness, I sent him an instrumental track and he loved it, so I decided that the right thing to do was carry on."
As for the reasoning behind making the album entirely instrumental, Reilly explained, "Over the years we worked on many albums together and the one thing that Tony and I always argued about was that he thought that I should make music and write rather than sing."
The album is a two-disc set and is scheduled to be released on January 24 in the UK to coincide with the 32nd anniversary of Factory Records. We're guessing it will be "good music to chill out to."
