So much to answer for ... Tony Wilson, the late spirit of Manchester. Photograph: Christopher Thomond
It's safe to say that Manchester did not love Tony Wilson as unconditionally as Wilson loved his city. The Factory Records founder seemed to revel in the fact that people either loved or hated him in his home environment. Following his death in 2007, Manchester Town Hall lowered its Union Jack to half-mast as a mark of respect. The irony would not have been lost on Wilson. Whenever he used to walk past the building he would invariably be verbally abused by the loafing oafs who gathered daily on the steps outside.
Now it's been announced that Wilson is to be remembered with a 24-hour party in the city in June. Council leader Sir Richard Leese has declared that Wilson was "the epitome of the Mancunian spirit". Never having lived in Manchester, I may not be in the best position to judge. However, given my knowledge and experience of the city, that statement seems bang on the nail. Wilson surely earns the title of Mr Manchester on the strength of his entrepreneurial spirit, his passionate local pride, and the quality that Eric Cantona defined as "independent to the point of rebellion". But, for me, it was Wilson's way of taking himself ridiculously seriously and yet not seriously at all that encapsulates Manchester's righteous sense of itself along with its flair for self-deprecation.
Now that Wilson has passed away, who in the current arts world epitomises that Mancunian spirit? In a 2002 readers poll conducted by Manchester Evening News, The Fall's Mark E Smith was voted Greatest Living Mancunian, polling twice as many votes as his nearest rival, the speedway star Peter Collins. Would you choose Smith over Morrissey, Noel Gallagher, Shaun Ryder, Howard Jacobson, Mike Leigh, Shelagh Delaney, Steve Coogan, Victoria Wood, John Cooper Clarke and even Stuart Hall?
What about other cities? Monica Ali, director Danny Boyle, Damon Gough (AKA Badly Drawn Boy) and Sir Ian McKellen are all Bolton-born but, rightly or wrongly, comedian Peter Kay is pretty much synonymous with the city. Bristol is far less clear cut. Banksy or Justin Lee Collins? Tricky or Gervais sidekick Stephen Merchant?
There was a time when Billy Connolly would have been a shoo-in for Greatest Living Glaswegian, but these days the Big Yin could expect to face fierce competition from Bobby Gillespie, Jerry Sadowitz and James Kelman. Liverpool would seem to belong to Paul McCartney, but it's debatable whether he can really be said to epitomise the spirit of the city more than Ken Dodd, Jimmy McGovern, Margi Clarke and Pete Wylie. Or anyone for Jimmy Tarbuck?
Quite possibly London presents the stiffest competition. Forty years ago, you could have taken your pick from Michael Caine, Ray Davies, David Bailey and Terence Stamp. But those names hardly resonate with contemporary London. Linton Kwesi Johnson, Dizzee Rascal, Jools Holland, Hanif Kureishi, Jah Wobble, Kathy Burke and Timothy Spall are names that might immediately suggest themselves. However, my vote would go to the person who, more than anyone else, encapsulates the spirit of contemporary London in all its multi-racial exuberance. Step forward DJ, musician and film director Don Letts. Any more suggestions?
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