Memorial for Wilson.

Manchester City Council considers memorial to Tony Wilson

Manchester City Council is considering how it will commemorate Tony Wilson's life and achievements in his home city, following talks with his family.

With In The City confirming last week that it will continue without its co-founder and guiding influence, Manchester council leader Sir Richard Leese says Wilson's family has been consulted and a number of proposals are being mulled over.

Leese says these must conform to two basic requirements. "The memorial should have permanence and relevance to what he was trying to achieve," he says, suggesting that the council will not be rushed into making a quick decision. "We want to give his family time and space to grieve and, when it is the appropriate time after the funeral, we will sit down and discuss it further."

He adds that he and his colleagues will further consult the Wilson family and his close friends. "Part of the nature of Tony was that lots of people had an opinion about him."

Some of the ideas that have been mooted include a charity concert, a statue in a prominent place in Manchester and renaming various buildings or streets, including the city's airport and Whitworth Street, where the Factory club Hacienda was sited. One close colleague of Wilson says he believes some of these ideas, especially the statue, are not particularly appropriate. "I'm not sure that's what ...