Tony Wilson

I hate English kids rapping - complete crap.

You either make money, or you make history.

I don't mind the fact that people hate me. Nobody likes anyone who's been on the telly as long as I have.

There is no celebrity quite as powerful as the local, homegrown celebrity.

The special relationship between the region and a regional celebrity means that people feel that they have a special investment in you.

I'm a minor player in my own life story.

Maybe the worst thing is not caring what people think. That came from my mother. She was the biggest influence on my life.

My public image is none of my business.

Even though the hero of emo is Morrissey, the great song of emo is 'Love Will Tear Us Apart.' An emo soundtrack would introduce Joy Division's music to a whole new generation.

Factory Records would not have existed and my life would not have been what it was without Joy Division.

Richard Branson once said: 'Tony's very good at selling bands and he's very good at making television programmes. But he'll never be great at either, until he decides which one he wants to do.' I entirely accept that. That doesn't matter to me very much. I like the irony of the two lives.

I am very much an only child, meaning I am self-reliant, egocentric, sociable. I had my mother, father, and an uncle who lived with us, all doting on me.