The Haçienda
Encyclopedia
Fac 51 Haçienda was a nightclub
and music venue
in Manchester
, England. It became most famous during the "Madchester
" years of the late 1980s and early 1990s, during the 1990s it was labelled the most famous club in the world by Newsweek
magazine. The Haçienda opened in 1982, and despite considerable and persistent financial troubles survived until 1997 – during much of this time the club was mainly supported by record sales from New Order
. The Haçienda is associated with the rise of acid house
and rave
music.
The former warehouse occupied by the club was at 11-13, Whitworth Street West
on the southside of the Rochdale Canal
: the frontage was curved and built of red brick. Before it was turned into a club, the Haçienda was a yacht builder's shop and warehouse before becoming a Bollywood
cinema in the 1970s, showing films to the local Asian community.
Originally conceived by Rob Gretton
, it was largely financed by the record label Factory Records
and the band New Order along with label boss Tony Wilson
. It was located on the corner of Whitworth Street West and Albion Street, close to Castlefield
, in the centre of the city. FAC 51 was its official designation in the Factory catalogue. New Order and Tony Wilson were directors of the club.
Designed by Ben Kelly, upon recommendation by Factory graphic designer Peter Saville, upstairs consisted of a stage, dance area, bar, cloakroom, cafeteria area and balcony with a DJ booth. Downstairs was a cocktail bar called 'The Gay Traitor,' which referred to Anthony Blunt
, a British art historian who spied for the Soviet Union. The two other bars, 'The Kim Philby
' and 'Hicks
,' were named after Blunt's fellow spies. From 1995 onwards, the lower cellar areas of the venue were converted to create the 5th Man, a smaller music venue.
. A hacienda
is a large homestead in a ranch or estate usually in places where Colonial Spanish culture has had architectural influence. Even though the cedilla
is not used in Spanish
, the spelling "Haçienda" was decided on for the club because the cedilla makes the "çi" resemble "51," the club's catalogue number.
A wide portfolio of important 20th century musical acts appeared at the club. The Smiths
performed there three times in 1983. It served as a venue for Madonna
on her first performance in the United Kingdom
, on 27 January 1984. She was invited to appear as part of a one-off, live television broadcast by Channel 4
music programme The Tube
. Madonna performed "Holiday
" whilst at The Haçienda and the performance was described by Norman Cook (perhaps better known as Fatboy Slim) as one that "mesmerised the crowd"."
At one time the venue also included a hairdressing salon. As well as club nights there were regular concerts, including one in which Einstürzende Neubauten
drilled into the walls that surrounded the stage.
In 1986, it became one of the first clubs to start playing house music
, with DJs Mike Pickering
(of Quando Quango
and M People
) and Little Martin (later with Graeme Park) hosting the visionary "Nude" night on Fridays. This night quickly became legendary, and helped to turn around the reputation and fortunes of the Haçienda, which went from making a consistent loss to being full every night of the week by early 1987.
The growth of the 'Madchester
' scene was little to do with the healthy house music
scene in Manchester at the time but it was boosted by the success of the Haçienda's pioneering Ibiza
night, "Hot", an acid house
night hosted by Pickering and Jon DaSilva
in July 1988.
The resulting problems caused the club to close for a short period in early 1991, before reopening with improved security later the same year.
Hacienda DJs made regular and guest appearances on radio and TV shows like Granada TV's Juice, Sunset 102
and BBC Radio 1
. Between 1994 and 1997 Hacienda FM was a weekly show on Manchester dance station Kiss 102
.
Security was frequently a problem, particularly in the club's latter years. There were several shootings inside and outside the club, and relations with the police and licensing authorities became troubled. When local magistrates and police visited the club in 1997 they witnessed a near-fatal assault on a man in the streets outside when 18-year-old Andrew Delahunty was hit over the head from behind with what looked like a metal bar before being pushed into the path of an on-coming car.
Although security failures at the club were one of the contributing factors to the club eventually closing, the most likely cause was finances. The club simply didn't make enough money from the sale of alcohol, and this is mainly down to the fact many patrons instead turned to drug use. As a result the club rarely broke even as clubs rely on the sales of alcohol as the main source of income. Ultimately, the club's long term future was crippled and, with spiralling debts, the Haçienda eventually closed definitively in the summer of 1997.
The Haçienda lost its entertainments licence in June 1997, following a final gig on June 15 by Spiritualized
and remained open for a short period as an art gallery before finally going bankrupt and closing for good. After the Haçienda officially closed, it was used as a venue for two free parties organised by the Manchester free party
scene. One of the parties ended in a police siege of the building while the party continued inside. These parties resulted in considerable damage and painted graffiti to the Ben Kelly designed interior.
Following a number of years standing empty, The Whitworth Street West site was purchased from the receivers by Crosby Homes. They chose to demolish the nightclub, and reuse the site for the construction of domestic flats. The iconic name was kept for the new development, with the Hacienda name licensed from Peter Hook
, who owns the Haçienda name and trademark. The nightclub was demolished in 2002 - Crosby Homes had acquired the property some time before that and, on Saturday 25 November 2000, held a charity auction of the various fixtures and fittings from the nightclub. Clubgoers and enthusiasts from across the country attended to snap up memorabilia ranging from the DJ booth box to radiators to emergency exit lights.
The DJ booth was bought by Bobby Langley ex Hacienda DJ and Head of Merchandise for Sony Music London for an un-disclosed fee.
Michael Winterbottom
's 2002 film 24 Hour Party People
starring Steve Coogan
as Tony Wilson, tells the story of the Haçienda. The movie was filmed in 2001, and required reconstructing the Haçienda as a temporary set in a Manchester factory, which was then opened to ticket holders for a night, acting as a full-scale nightclub (except with free bar) as the film shooting took place.
The Manchester exhibition centre Urbis
hosted an exhibition celebrating the 25th anniversary of the club's opening, which ran from mid-July 2007 until mid-February 2008. Peter Hook
and many other of those originally involved contributed or loaned material.
The Manchester Museum of Science and Industry now holds a variety of Hacienda and Factory records artefacts, including the main loading bay doors from the club, and a wide array of posters, fliers and props. Rob Gretton bequeathed his collection of Hacienda memorabilia to
the Museum.
In October 2009, Peter Hook published his book on his time as co-owner of the Hacienda, How Not To Run A Club.
Nightclub
A nightclub is an entertainment venue which usually operates late into the night...
and music venue
Music venue
A music venue is any location used for a concert or musical performance. Music venues range in size and location, from an outdoor bandshell or bandstand or a concert hall to an indoor sports stadium. Typically, different types of venues host different genres of music...
in Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, England. It became most famous during the "Madchester
Madchester
Madchester was a music scene that developed in Manchester, England, towards the end of the 1980s and into the early 1990s. The music that emerged from the scene mixed alternative rock, psychedelic rock and dance music...
" years of the late 1980s and early 1990s, during the 1990s it was labelled the most famous club in the world by Newsweek
Newsweek
Newsweek is an American weekly news magazine published in New York City. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally. It is the second-largest news weekly magazine in the U.S., having trailed Time in circulation and advertising revenue for most of its existence...
magazine. The Haçienda opened in 1982, and despite considerable and persistent financial troubles survived until 1997 – during much of this time the club was mainly supported by record sales from New Order
New Order
New Order are an English rock band formed in 1980 by Bernard Sumner , Peter Hook and Stephen Morris...
. The Haçienda is associated with the rise of acid house
Acid house
Acid house is a sub-genre of house music that emphasizes a repetitive, hypnotic and trance-like style, often with samples or spoken lines rather than sung lyrics. Acid house's core electronic squelch sounds were developed around the mid-1980s, particularly by DJs from Chicago who experimented with...
and rave
Rave
Rave, rave dance, and rave party are parties that originated mostly from acid house parties, which featured fast-paced electronic music and light shows. At these parties people dance and socialize to dance music played by disc jockeys and occasionally live performers...
music.
Creation
Whitworth Street
Whitworth Street is a street in Manchester, England. It runs between London Road and Oxford Street . West of Oxford Street it becomes Whitworth Street West which then goes as far as Deansgate . It was opened in 1899 and is lined with many large and grand warehouses. It is named after the engineer...
on the southside of the Rochdale Canal
Rochdale Canal
The Rochdale Canal is a navigable "broad" canal in northern England, part of the connected system of the canals of Great Britain. The "Rochdale" in its name refers to the town of Rochdale, Greater Manchester, through which the canal passes....
: the frontage was curved and built of red brick. Before it was turned into a club, the Haçienda was a yacht builder's shop and warehouse before becoming a Bollywood
Bollywood
Bollywood is the informal term popularly used for the Hindi-language film industry based in Mumbai , Maharashtra, India. The term is often incorrectly used to refer to the whole of Indian cinema; it is only a part of the total Indian film industry, which includes other production centers producing...
cinema in the 1970s, showing films to the local Asian community.
Originally conceived by Rob Gretton
Rob Gretton
Rob Gretton was the manager of Joy Division and New Order. He was also a partner in Factory Records, proprietor of the Rob's Records label and a co-founder along with Tony Wilson of The Haçienda nightclub in Manchester, England. In 1977, Gretton became a leading figure in the Manchester punk...
, it was largely financed by the record label Factory Records
Factory Records
Factory Records was a Manchester based British independent record label, started in 1978 by Tony Wilson and Alan Erasmus, which featured several prominent musical acts on its roster such as Joy Division, New Order, A Certain Ratio, The Durutti Column, Happy Mondays, Northside and James and...
and the band New Order along with label boss Tony Wilson
Tony Wilson
Anthony Howard Wilson, commonly known as Tony Wilson , was an English record label owner, radio presenter, TV show host, nightclub manager, impresario and journalist for Granada Television and the BBC....
. It was located on the corner of Whitworth Street West and Albion Street, close to Castlefield
Castlefield
Castlefield is an inner city area of Manchester, in North West England. The conservation area which bears its name is bounded by the River Irwell, Quay Street, Deansgate and the Chester Road. It was the site of the Roman era fort of Mamucium or Mancunium which gave its name to Manchester...
, in the centre of the city. FAC 51 was its official designation in the Factory catalogue. New Order and Tony Wilson were directors of the club.
Designed by Ben Kelly, upon recommendation by Factory graphic designer Peter Saville, upstairs consisted of a stage, dance area, bar, cloakroom, cafeteria area and balcony with a DJ booth. Downstairs was a cocktail bar called 'The Gay Traitor,' which referred to Anthony Blunt
Anthony Blunt
Anthony Frederick Blunt , was a British art historian who was exposed as a Soviet spy late in his life.Blunt was Professor of the History of Art at the University of London, director of the Courtauld Institute of Art, Surveyor of the King's Pictures and London...
, a British art historian who spied for the Soviet Union. The two other bars, 'The Kim Philby
Kim Philby
Harold Adrian Russell "Kim" Philby was a high-ranking member of British intelligence who worked as a spy for and later defected to the Soviet Union...
' and 'Hicks
Guy Burgess
Guy Francis De Moncy Burgess was a British-born intelligence officer and double agent, who worked for the Soviet Union. He was part of the Cambridge Five spy ring that betrayed Western secrets to the Soviets before and during the Cold War...
,' were named after Blunt's fellow spies. From 1995 onwards, the lower cellar areas of the venue were converted to create the 5th Man, a smaller music venue.
Name
The name comes from a slogan of the radical group Situationist International: "The Hacienda Must Be Built", from Formulary for a New Urbanism by Ivan ChtcheglovIvan Chtcheglov
Ivan Vladimirovitch Chtcheglov, was a French political theorist, activist and poet, born in Paris to Ukrainian father and French mother.-Family background:...
. A hacienda
Hacienda
Hacienda is a Spanish word for an estate. Some haciendas were plantations, mines, or even business factories. Many haciendas combined these productive activities...
is a large homestead in a ranch or estate usually in places where Colonial Spanish culture has had architectural influence. Even though the cedilla
Cedilla
A cedilla , also known as cedilha or cédille, is a hook added under certain letters as a diacritical mark to modify their pronunciation.-Origin:...
is not used in Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
, the spelling "Haçienda" was decided on for the club because the cedilla makes the "çi" resemble "51," the club's catalogue number.
History
The Smiths
The Smiths were an English alternative rock band, formed in Manchester in 1982. Based on the song writing partnership of Morrissey and Johnny Marr , the band also included Andy Rourke and Mike Joyce...
performed there three times in 1983. It served as a venue for Madonna
Madonna (entertainer)
Madonna is an American singer-songwriter, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977 to pursue a career in modern dance. After performing in the music groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her debut album in 1983...
on her first performance in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, on 27 January 1984. She was invited to appear as part of a one-off, live television broadcast by Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
music programme The Tube
The Tube (TV series)
The Tube was an innovative United Kingdom pop/rock music television programme, which ran for five seasons, from 5 November 1982 until 1987...
. Madonna performed "Holiday
Holiday (Madonna song)
"Holiday" is a song by American singer Madonna from her self-titled debut album. Released on September 7, 1983 by Sire Records, it later appeared remixed on the 1987 remix compilation You Can Dance and the 1990 greatest hits compilation The Immaculate Collection, and in its original form on the...
" whilst at The Haçienda and the performance was described by Norman Cook (perhaps better known as Fatboy Slim) as one that "mesmerised the crowd"."
At one time the venue also included a hairdressing salon. As well as club nights there were regular concerts, including one in which Einstürzende Neubauten
Einstürzende Neubauten
Einstürzende Neubauten is a German post-industrial band, originally from West Berlin, formed in 1980. The group currently comprises Blixa Bargeld , Alexander Hacke , N.U...
drilled into the walls that surrounded the stage.
In 1986, it became one of the first clubs to start playing house music
House music
House music is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in Chicago, Illinois, United States in the early 1980s. It was initially popularized in mid-1980s discothèques catering to the African-American, Latino American, and gay communities; first in Chicago circa 1984, then in other...
, with DJs Mike Pickering
Mike Pickering
Michael "Duncan" Pickering has DJed at The Haçienda's infamous "Nude" and "Hot" nights and later "Shine". He worked for Factory Records where he signed Happy Mondays, To Hell With Burgundy and James amongst others...
(of Quando Quango
Quando Quango
Quando Quango was a British, Manchester based new wave and dance project, formed by The Haçienda DJ and Factory Records A&R man Mike Pickering, Hillegonda Rietveld and Reinier Rietveld. Their unique sound influenced the underground dance music scenes in New York and Chicago in the 1980s...
and M People
M People
M People are a British house music act from Manchester, who formed in 1990 and achieved success throughout most of the 1990s. The name M People is from the initials of Mike Pickering, who formed the group.-Career:...
) and Little Martin (later with Graeme Park) hosting the visionary "Nude" night on Fridays. This night quickly became legendary, and helped to turn around the reputation and fortunes of the Haçienda, which went from making a consistent loss to being full every night of the week by early 1987.
Acid house and Rave
Madchester
Madchester was a music scene that developed in Manchester, England, towards the end of the 1980s and into the early 1990s. The music that emerged from the scene mixed alternative rock, psychedelic rock and dance music...
' scene was little to do with the healthy house music
House music
House music is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in Chicago, Illinois, United States in the early 1980s. It was initially popularized in mid-1980s discothèques catering to the African-American, Latino American, and gay communities; first in Chicago circa 1984, then in other...
scene in Manchester at the time but it was boosted by the success of the Haçienda's pioneering Ibiza
Ibiza
Ibiza or Eivissa is a Spanish island in the Mediterranean Sea 79 km off the coast of the city of Valencia in Spain. It is the third largest of the Balearic Islands, an autonomous community of Spain. With Formentera, it is one of the two Pine Islands or Pityuses. Its largest cities are Ibiza...
night, "Hot", an acid house
Acid house
Acid house is a sub-genre of house music that emphasizes a repetitive, hypnotic and trance-like style, often with samples or spoken lines rather than sung lyrics. Acid house's core electronic squelch sounds were developed around the mid-1980s, particularly by DJs from Chicago who experimented with...
night hosted by Pickering and Jon DaSilva
Jon DaSilva
Jon Dasilva is a producer and DJ. He has had releases on labels such as Soma and Deconstruction. He is also well known for his time as a resident DJ at The Haçienda. While there, he mentored Sasha in the early 1990s.-External links:*Official Website**...
in July 1988.
The resulting problems caused the club to close for a short period in early 1991, before reopening with improved security later the same year.
Hacienda DJs made regular and guest appearances on radio and TV shows like Granada TV's Juice, Sunset 102
Sunset 102
Sunset 102 was the first of a new type of station licensed by The Independent Broadcasting Authority back in 1989.-History:Manchester dance station Sunset 102 went into liquidation in October 1993...
and BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
. Between 1994 and 1997 Hacienda FM was a weekly show on Manchester dance station Kiss 102
Kiss 102
-History:The frequency was originally issued to Sunset 102 Radio - The Kickin FM but that suffered some financial problems. In May 1993, the Radio Authority made a decision to prematurely terminate Sunset's licence, apparently accusing the station of providing inaccurate information about its...
.
Security was frequently a problem, particularly in the club's latter years. There were several shootings inside and outside the club, and relations with the police and licensing authorities became troubled. When local magistrates and police visited the club in 1997 they witnessed a near-fatal assault on a man in the streets outside when 18-year-old Andrew Delahunty was hit over the head from behind with what looked like a metal bar before being pushed into the path of an on-coming car.
Although security failures at the club were one of the contributing factors to the club eventually closing, the most likely cause was finances. The club simply didn't make enough money from the sale of alcohol, and this is mainly down to the fact many patrons instead turned to drug use. As a result the club rarely broke even as clubs rely on the sales of alcohol as the main source of income. Ultimately, the club's long term future was crippled and, with spiralling debts, the Haçienda eventually closed definitively in the summer of 1997.
Legacy
Spiritualized
Spiritualized are an English space rock band formed in 1990 in Rugby, Warwickshire by Jason Pierce after the demise of his previous outfit, space-rockers Spacemen 3...
and remained open for a short period as an art gallery before finally going bankrupt and closing for good. After the Haçienda officially closed, it was used as a venue for two free parties organised by the Manchester free party
Free party
A free party is a party "free" from the restrictions of the legal club scene, similar to the free festival movement. It typically involves a sound system playing electronic dance music from late at night until the time when the organisers decide to go home. A free party can be composed of just one...
scene. One of the parties ended in a police siege of the building while the party continued inside. These parties resulted in considerable damage and painted graffiti to the Ben Kelly designed interior.
Following a number of years standing empty, The Whitworth Street West site was purchased from the receivers by Crosby Homes. They chose to demolish the nightclub, and reuse the site for the construction of domestic flats. The iconic name was kept for the new development, with the Hacienda name licensed from Peter Hook
Peter Hook
Peter Hook is an English bass player, musician and author.He was a co-founder of the post-punk band Joy Division along with Bernard Sumner in the mid-1970s. Following the death of lead singer Ian Curtis, the band reformed as New Order, and Hook played bass with them throughout their career until...
, who owns the Haçienda name and trademark. The nightclub was demolished in 2002 - Crosby Homes had acquired the property some time before that and, on Saturday 25 November 2000, held a charity auction of the various fixtures and fittings from the nightclub. Clubgoers and enthusiasts from across the country attended to snap up memorabilia ranging from the DJ booth box to radiators to emergency exit lights.
The DJ booth was bought by Bobby Langley ex Hacienda DJ and Head of Merchandise for Sony Music London for an un-disclosed fee.
Michael Winterbottom
Michael Winterbottom
Michael Winterbottom is a prolific English filmmaker who has directed seventeen feature films in the past fifteen years. He began his career working in British television before moving into features...
's 2002 film 24 Hour Party People
24 Hour Party People
24 Hour Party People is a 2002 British film about Manchester's popular music community from 1976 to 1992, and specifically about Factory Records. It was written by Frank Cottrell Boyce and directed by Michael Winterbottom...
starring Steve Coogan
Steve Coogan
Stephen John "Steve" Coogan is a British comedian, actor, writer and producer. Born in Manchester, he began his career as a standup comedian and impressionist, working as a voice artist throughout the 1980s on satirical puppet show Spitting Image. In the early nineties, Coogan began creating...
as Tony Wilson, tells the story of the Haçienda. The movie was filmed in 2001, and required reconstructing the Haçienda as a temporary set in a Manchester factory, which was then opened to ticket holders for a night, acting as a full-scale nightclub (except with free bar) as the film shooting took place.
The Manchester exhibition centre Urbis
Urbis
Urbis is an exhibition centre located in Manchester, England. From 2002 to 2010, the centre hosted changing exhibits on popular culture topics including urban living, art, music, fashion, photography and videogames alongside talks, gigs and special events....
hosted an exhibition celebrating the 25th anniversary of the club's opening, which ran from mid-July 2007 until mid-February 2008. Peter Hook
Peter Hook
Peter Hook is an English bass player, musician and author.He was a co-founder of the post-punk band Joy Division along with Bernard Sumner in the mid-1970s. Following the death of lead singer Ian Curtis, the band reformed as New Order, and Hook played bass with them throughout their career until...
and many other of those originally involved contributed or loaned material.
The Manchester Museum of Science and Industry now holds a variety of Hacienda and Factory records artefacts, including the main loading bay doors from the club, and a wide array of posters, fliers and props. Rob Gretton bequeathed his collection of Hacienda memorabilia to
the Museum.
In October 2009, Peter Hook published his book on his time as co-owner of the Hacienda, How Not To Run A Club.
External links
- Pride Of Manchester Haçienda memories by Haçienda DJ Dave Haslam
- Fantazia.org.uk - Profile on the club & more on rave
- Ben Kelly Design - gallery of interior photos of the Haçienda
- Fantazia.org.uk - Fantazia/Haçienda flyer from 1992
- The Haçienda Story
