Anthony (Tony) Wilson 1950 - 2007 R.I.P

Anthony (Tony) Wilson had a massive ego, a little learning and prodigous energy. He undoubtedly had an enormous effect on some aspects of what passes for popular culture in Madchester.

He was an insufferable child who never grew up and was, remarkably, allowed extensive freedom - for which he can thank the very liberal minded Granada management under the Bernstein family who loved his undoubted in dustrial sized chutzpah and throwing grit into the artworks from time to time - "You don't sharpen an axe without making sparks "etc., and other tiresome pieces of Jewish schmaltz.

He was no cultural colossus, and beyond the very narrow world of clubland was disregarded , not least because he was such a rude cunt. There will however be massive media coverage and encomiums from the semi literate pop literati whose few brains have not been too addled by drink or drugs who will allowed by the confused controllers of TV to wallow self indulgently in a dismal past, trying desperately to recall the parties, the booze and the birds.

BBC2 Newsnight have just shown a clip - which will be shown again and again of the notorious incident on a late night Granada TV show in 1990 when Kendo Nagasaki the masked "Wrestler" - "brutal, silent and with a hint of Samurai savagery " as the playbills said - who was, in a plot contrived by Wilson , who was presenting the show , unmasked live on TV by Big Daddy.

The absurd, masked, Nagasaki , claiming to be the resurrection of a Samurai , was actually a 6 foot 2 inch 18 stone labourer from Stoke called Peter Thornley. Unmasked publicly, on cue , he went apeshit, as required and ended up throwing the attending make up artist, slim, gorgeous, talented, luscious, 8 stone Lois Richardson into a fire extinguisher on the studio wall.

Lois was always a first choice of Sir Laurence Olivier (and Lord Patel) and did all the make up on "Jewel in the Crown" on location in India which presented massive challenges due to heat, humidity and continuity. As a result of this stupid and authorised stunt she was lucky to survive, had her back and many bones broken, was in hospital for nearly a year and to this day still has major problems walking. It ended her career.

Granada tried to blame Nagasaki but the broadcasting union Bectu (to their eternal credit) took up the case and after seven years , the judge accepted that Nagasaki had done as instructed and Granada shelled out £375.000.

Tony Wilson never lifted a finger to help her case and persisted in the lie that the whole thing was not a set up.

Nagasaki was famously portrayed by Peter Blake who had some infantile idea about being Nagasaki.