Books > Mr Manchester and the Factory Girl by Lindsay Reade < Tony Wilson

Mr Manchester and the Factory Girl by Lindsay Reade; front cover detail
Mr Manchester and the Factory Girl by Lindsay Reade; front cover detail

Synopsis

"This heartfelt and searingly honest memoir details the relationship between legendary music impresario Tony Wilson and his first wife, Lindsay Reade.

"In 2007 Manchester figurehead and music-industry veteran Tony Wilson passed away at the age of fifty-seven, following a battle with cancer. Thirty years earlier, he married his first wife Lindsay Reade, and the couple's passionate, volatile but indelible bond was to endure until the very end, played out against the ever-shifting backdrop of a city whose musical legacy defined generations.

"Here, for the first time, Lindsay tells the full story of her and Tony's marriage, divorce, and subsequent lifelong connection, giving a candid and moving account of two lives lived in the midst of musical and cultural revolution; of two people who went their separate ways but never truly separated.

"Through a frank examination of her own memories and those of the people with whom she shared the experience, Reade details pivotal moments in Manchester's history, from the birth of the seventies punk scene to the founding of Factory Records, from the recording of Joy Division's Unknown Pleasures to her role in the discovery of the Stone Roses, from the opening of the Hacienda and the subsequent emergence of the 'Madchester' scene to the making of 24 Hour Party People.

"A poignant chronicle of love and loss, Mr Manchester and the Factory Girl also presents an incisive portrait of the unique individuals and often fraught relationships that shaped the life of a modern legend."

Book launch

The book was launched on 13 October 2010 during Manchester's annual music festival, In the City, which Tony Wilson founded in 1992. Lindsay Reade was joined by a celebrity panel at FAC 251 The Factory, The Factory Manchester

--

Publisher: Plexus Publishing Ltd
Publication date: October 2010
320 pages; 70 illustrations
ISBN(13): 978-0-85965-456-2

Also by Lindsay Reade: Torn Apart - The Life of Ian Curtis.