Sex, drugs, rock and roll....seem's to be the rock lifestyle, yet when you combine it all in one place during one time, an explosion is bound to happen. Michael Winterbottom's 2002 biopic of legendary Manchester music figure, Tony Wilson, is the story of how not to run a record label, club and yet show how you can have the most fun doing it all. The story is 24 Hour Party People and the scene is Manchester during its "Madchester" days between 1976 and 1992, when Joy Division label manager, Tony Wilson started Factory Records and opened the infamous Hacenda nightclub. It was the era of Joy Division, Inspirational Carpets, New Order, Happy Mondays, A Certain Ratio, Stone Roses and so on, it was a club and place where anything goes - think Studio 54 with a MUCH better soundtrack. The film displays Wilson's life as a TV broadcaster and then running the music scene of the city, played by the brilliant Steve Coogan, 24 Hour Party People is hilarious, interesting, clever and at points heartbreaking as they tell the tale of Ian Curtis taking his own life. The film also features members of the certain bands from the scene as well as an unknown-at-the-time Simon Pegg. Backed by a flawless soundtrack, 24 Hour Party People is a must watch, especially now with Joy Division bassist Peter Hook taking the band's final record, Closer on tour for the first time!
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Movie of the Month - 24 Hour Party People
Sex, drugs, rock and roll....seem's to be the rock lifestyle, yet when you combine it all in one place during one time, an explosion is bound to happen. Michael Winterbottom's 2002 biopic of legendary Manchester music figure, Tony Wilson, is the story of how not to run a record label, club and yet show how you can have the most fun doing it all. The story is 24 Hour Party People and the scene is Manchester during its "Madchester" days between 1976 and 1992, when Joy Division label manager, Tony Wilson started Factory Records and opened the infamous Hacenda nightclub. It was the era of Joy Division, Inspirational Carpets, New Order, Happy Mondays, A Certain Ratio, Stone Roses and so on, it was a club and place where anything goes - think Studio 54 with a MUCH better soundtrack. The film displays Wilson's life as a TV broadcaster and then running the music scene of the city, played by the brilliant Steve Coogan, 24 Hour Party People is hilarious, interesting, clever and at points heartbreaking as they tell the tale of Ian Curtis taking his own life. The film also features members of the certain bands from the scene as well as an unknown-at-the-time Simon Pegg. Backed by a flawless soundtrack, 24 Hour Party People is a must watch, especially now with Joy Division bassist Peter Hook taking the band's final record, Closer on tour for the first time!
