Happy Mondays buying drugs

Tony Wilson's cancer is under control - which is good news - but he believes its down to a drug called Sutent. That's bad news, because until its given formal approval, it's down to individual health authorities if they want to fund it or not. And Wilson's local health authority don't pay.

So for the next eighteen months, Wilson is having to fund the £3,500 a month cost of the drug himself. Music industry friends - including the Mondays - are rallying round:

Mr Wilson said his friends had been very generous and he was lucky to have the fund, "but some people needing these drugs are cashing in their life savings, some are selling their homes".

Nathan McGough, the former manager of the Mondays, teamed up with Elliot Rashman, the band's current manager, to set up the fund after they heard about Mr Wilson's plight.

Now, there's a cause worth supporting. Wilson is probably the only bloke who hasn't made a fortune out of the Manchester music scene - or, at least, the only person who should have done who didn't.