32 quotes
A Genius's Farewell to the Unworthy
Martin Hannett
Well, goodbye. I mean, we obviously have nothing in common. I'm a genius, you're fucking wankers, you'll never see me again. You don't deserve to see me again.
[On learning how much came out of the music budget to build the Haçienda]
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
Drink Offer Among Friends
Tony Wilson
Can I buy you half a lager?
Rob Gretton
You can buy me a pint.
Ian Curtis
Wilson, ya fucking cunt!
[shouting across the bar]
Tony Wilson
That's original. Your drink's coming. Is he a friend of yours?
[to Rob]
Rob Gretton
Yeah, he's our singer.
Ian Curtis
Out of the way, Steve.
[crossing the bar to approach Tony]
Tony Wilson
Hi, Tony Wilson, pleased to meet you.
Tony Wilson
... Is he gonna hit me? You're quite close to me there.
Ian Curtis
Yeah, I know, I wanna be.
Tony Wilson
Why?
Ian Curtis
Cos you're a cunt, mate.
Tony Wilson
I know, I heard you the first time.
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Critique of Traditional Drumming Techniques
Martin Hannett
Stop that fucking horrible racket, please. (...) Nothing wrong with the drumming as such. It's just people have been playing like that for the past 20,000 years and quite frankly, it's boring me arse off, y'know? Let's try something simpler. Faster, but slower.
[To Stephen Morris, on his drumming]
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
A Bold Expression of Affection
Tony Wilson
I love you! Can you finish me off?
[After Lindsay storms off when catching him with the prostitute; to Lindsay; To the prostitute]
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
The Importance of Band Chemistry
Tony Wilson
Every band needs its own special chemistry. And Bez was a very good chemist.
[About the Happy Mondays, and when Shaun Ryder is introduced to Bez]
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
Critique of New Age Spirituality
Tony Wilson
Energy, energy? You don't know what energy is. That is nothing more than a lot of new age hokum masquerading as spirituality.
[To Lindsay, who's breaking up with him after Ian Curtis's death]
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
Reflections on Music and Memory
Bez
Can I offer anybody like the best drug experience they ever had?
God
It's a pity you didn't sign the Smiths, but you were right about Mick Hucknall. His music's rubbish, and he's a ginger.
God
Tony, you did a good job. Basically you are right: Shaun is the greatest poet since Yeats.
The Real Howard Devoto
I definitely don't remember this happening.
[On his alleged affair with Tony Wilson's wife Lindsay]
John the Postman
Pogo like a bastard!
[singing "Louie, Louie" drunkenly]
Boethius
It's my belief that history is a wheel. "Inconstancy is my very essence" -says the wheel- "Rise up on my spokes if you like, but don't complain when you are cast back down into the depths. Good times pass away, but then so do the bad. Mutability is our tragedy, but it is also our hope. The worst of times, like the best, are always passing away".
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
The Latest Craze Sweeping the Pennines
Tony Wilson
Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it's the latest craze sweeping the Pennines. I've got to be honest with you... right now I'd rather be sweeping the Pennines.
[first lines]
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Anticipation for a Great Event
Tony Wilson
They didn't hand out tickets to the ]. People just turned up, they knew it was a good gig.
[To Peter Saville, about the tickets to the opening night of the Haçienda; [w:Sermon on the Mount|Sermon on the Mount]
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
A Minor Character in My Own Story
Tony Wilson
OK. I should have found time to tell you earlier: I did have children with my second wife, Hilary, and there was a time when I was with Lindsay when that was all I wanted, and no, I've not been the best father in the world; yes, I could have been there, more than I have; and obviously I've got regrets. But this is not a film about me. I am not Prince Hamlet, nor was meant to be. I'm a minor character in my own story. This is a film about the music, and the people who made the music: Ian Curtis, Shaun Ryder, and Martin Hannett.
[On the glossing over of Hilary, his second wife]
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
Confrontation of Power and Physicality
Tony Wilson
You can't threaten me anymore, Martin. You're a big man, but you're out of shape, although you could sit on me.
[To an overweight Martin Hannett, during some sessions with the Happy Mondays]
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
Before Postmodernism Became Fashionable
Tony Wilson
I'm being postmodern, before it was fashionable.
[To the camera, while leaving Granada studios with Yvette Livesey for the first time]
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
Comparing Shaun Ryder to W.B. Yeats
Tony Wilson
You know, I think Shaun Ryder is on a par with W.B. Yeats as a poet.
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
Interpretations of Divine Creation in Dialogue
Tony Wilson
It's says so in the Bible, though, doesn't it? God made man in His own image'.
Rob Gretton
Yeah - but not a specific man.
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A Humorous Admission of Mistake
Rob Gretton
You've dropped a bollock, haven't you?
Tony Wilson
Yes, I've dropped a bollock. I've dropped a big massive hairy bollock.
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
Confidence in Leadership and Identity
Tony Wilson
I am not a lump of hash. I'm in charge of Factory Records. I think.
[After a stoned Martin Hannett tries to set fire to him]
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Symbolism and Reality in Storytelling
Tony Wilson
You’re gonna be seeing a lot more of that sort of thing in the film. All of that actually did happen. Obviously, it’s symbolic. It works on both levels. I don’t want to tell you too much, don’t want to spoil the film. But I’ll just say, "Icarus." OK? If you know what I mean, great. If you don’t, doesn’t matter. But you should probably read more.
[First address to camera; after his hang-gliding news report]
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
Critique of London Records' Name
Tony Wilson
What's wrong with London Records?
Rob Gretton
The name, for a start.
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
The Birth of Rave Culture in Madchester
Tony Wilson
And tonight something equally epoch-making is taking place. See? They're applauding the DJ. Not the music, not the musician, not the creator, but the medium. This is it. The birth of rave culture. The beatification of the beat. The dance age. This is the moment when even the white man starts dancing. Welcome to Madchester.
[At a gig at the Haçienda]
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
Unseen Scene from 24 Hour Party People
Tony Wilson
This scene didn't actually make it to the final cut. I'm sure it'll be on the DVD.
[About a scene involving Vini Reilly]
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Different Perspectives on Madness
Roger Ames
Tony, you're fucking mad.
Tony Wilson
Well, that is a point of view.
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The Nature of Factory Records Explained
Tony Wilson
Factory Records are not actually a company. We are an experiment in human nature. You're labouring under the misapprehension that we actually have a deal with, er, with our, our bands. That we have any kind of a contract, er, at all, and I'm afraid we, er, we don't because that's, er, that's the sum total of the paperwork to do with Factory Records, deal with, er, their various bands.
[To Roger Ames, explaining Factory's vision]
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
Recording Silence in Music Production
Tony Wilson
Martin, what are you doing?
Martin Hannett
Recording... silence.
Tony Wilson
You're recording silence?
Martin Hannett
Now, I'm recording Tony fucking Wilson!
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
The Freedom of Having Nothing to Sell
Tony Wilson
I have protected myself from ever having to sell out by having nothing to sell out.
[To Roger Ames, explaining his'' raison d'etre ''for running Factory as he had been doing]
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24 Hour Party People - Tony Wilson
Tony Wilson
Welcome to the Wheel of Fortune. There it is, the wheel that throughout the centuries has been used as a symbol for the vicissitudes of life. Boethius himself in his great work The Consolation of Philosophy compares history to a great wheel, hoisting us up, then dropping us down again. "Inconsistency is my very essence" -says the wheel- "Raise yourself up on my spokes if you wish, but don't complain when you plunge back down" Now spin the wheel.
[Whilst hosting 'Wheel of Fortune']
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
Perspectives on Intimacy and Experience
Tony Wilson
I only got a blowjob. That's full penetration.
[When catching Lindsay having sex with Howard Devoto out of spite]
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
The Thrill and Risk of Manchester's Haçienda
Tony Wilson
It was like being on a fantastic fairground ride, centrifugal forces throwing us wider and wider. But it's all right, because there's this brilliant machine at the center that's going to bring us back down to earth. That was Manchester. That is the Haçienda. Now imagine the machine breaks. For a while, it's even better, because you're really flying; but then, you're fucked, because nobody beats gravity.
[About the music scene surrounding the Haçienda]
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
Frustration and Humor in Waiting
Martin Hannett
I'm still waiting, and it's very fucking boring! I'm gonna stick Bez's maracas up his fucking jacksie!
[To the members of the Happy Mondays]
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Jazz: A Haven for the Untalented
Tony Wilson
Jazz is the last refuge of the untalented. Jazz musicians enjoy themselves more than anyone listening to them does.
[to his friends, about A Certain Ratio's surprising move to another genre]
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Warning About Potential Danger
Tony Wilson
You really ought to be careful with that, Shaun. You could take somebody's eye out.
[after Shaun Ryder fires a gun in his general direction]
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Perception vs. Reality in Relationships
Tony Wilson
It's not what it looks like, love!
[When caught receiving an act of oral sex from a prostitute by his wife Lindsay]
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Civic Pride and Its Flaws in Manchester
Tony Wilson
Most of all, I love Manchester. The crumbling warehouses, the railway arches, the cheap abundant drugs. That's what did it in the end. Not the money, not the music, not even the guns. That is my heroic flaw: my excess of civic pride.
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.