{"id":506175,"date":"2026-04-01T00:41:17","date_gmt":"2026-04-01T00:41:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/506175\/"},"modified":"2026-04-01T00:41:17","modified_gmt":"2026-04-01T00:41:17","slug":"rare-tony-wilson-photographs-to-go-on-display-together-for-first-time-at-manchester-hotel-exhibition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/506175\/","title":{"rendered":"Rare Tony Wilson photographs to go on display together for first time at Manchester hotel exhibition"},"content":{"rendered":"

The exhibitions celebrate the legend’s ‘connection with Manchester and the North West’\"Rare<\/p>\n

Rare Tony Wilson photographs are to go on display together for the first time as part of a Manchester exhibition(Image: Paul Wolfgang Webster)<\/p>\n

A free exhibition featuring a series of rare photographs of Tony Wilson<\/a> is set to be displayed at a Manchester hotel.<\/p>\n

Nicknamed Mr Manchester for his impact on the city, Wilson had many strings to his bow including being the founder of The Hacienda<\/a> nightclub, the co-founder of Factory records, and presenting a number of radio and television shows.<\/p>\n

For his work, Wilson, who passed away at the age of 57 in 2007, was also behind the foundations of some of Manchester\u2019s biggest bands, including Joy Division, New Order<\/a>, and Happy Mondays. He was portrayed on screen by Steve Coogan in the 2002 film 24 Hour Party People.<\/p>\n

Get MEN Premium now for just \u00a31 HERE<\/a> \u2013 or get involved in our WhatsApp group by clicking HERE<\/a>. And don’t miss out on our brilliant selection of newsletters HERE.<\/a><\/p>\n

An exhibition featuring a series of portraits of the figurehead taken by acclaimed photographer Paul Wolfgang Webster will now go on public display at The Refuge, situated within the Kimpton Clocktower Hotel on Oxford Road, next month. A limited-edition run of prints will also be available to buy on the opening night.<\/p>\n

Running from April 9 to May 20, the Tony Wilson: A Portrait of Manchester exhibition will consist of a collection of photos shot in 1996 using a Hassleblad 500CM medium format film camera. It will mark the first time that the complete series of photographs will be exhibited together.<\/p>\n

\"Tony<\/p>\n

Tony Wilson earned his Mr Manchester nickname for his impact on the city’s culture and music scenes(Image: Paul Wolfgang Webster)<\/p>\n

Shot in Wilson\u2019s apartment after the pair met to discuss the intention behind the images, the portraits were designed to reflect the Manchester legend\u2019s deep connection to the city. Born in Rochdale<\/a>, Paul Wolfgang Webster has spent decades photographing people and places in his distinctive monochrome style.<\/p>\n

\u201cI felt it was important that the photographs reflected Tony\u2019s connection with Manchester and the North West,\u201d Webster recalled of the series of portraits. \u201cHe was relaxed and enthusiastic from the start, and once the conversation inevitably turned to music we bonded quickly.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The photographs were taken in 1996(Image: Paul Wolfgang Webster)<\/p>\n

\u201cTony was completely at ease in front of the camera and very open to experimenting with different backdrops and settings. It remains one of the most enjoyable photo shoots I\u2019ve ever done.\u201d<\/p>\n

Marc Fink, F&B Director at Kimpton Clocktower, said: \u201cTony Wilson played such a huge part of Manchester\u2019s story, so it\u2019s an honour to hold this exhibition here. There\u2019s something very personal about these photographs and showing them at The Refuge – a space that\u2019s all about bringing people together – makes it even more special. We\u2019re excited to welcome people in and see how they connect with it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tony Wilson: A Portrait of Manchester is at Kimpton Clocktower Hotel from April 9 to May 20.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The exhibitions celebrate the legend’s ‘connection with Manchester and the North West’ Rare Tony Wilson photographs are to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":506176,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[6225,6485,6486,1120,96,177549,111930,2951,86141,30910,58528,177548,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-506175","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arts-and-design","tag-arts","tag-arts-and-design","tag-artsanddesign","tag-design","tag-entertainment","tag-hacienda","tag-manchester-art-galleries","tag-manchester-city-centre","tag-manchester-hotels","tag-new-order","tag-things-to-do-manchester","tag-tony-wilson","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/506175","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=506175"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/506175\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/506176"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=506175"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=506175"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=506175"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}