astraboy

Well almost
I was in Manchester today. Something within me said I should go to Urbis, Manchesters museum of modern art.
As it turns out, it was one of my better decisions. Until febuary, FAC491 aka Hacienda 25, a celebration of the 25th anniversary of Manchester's (and dare I say it, the UK's) most infamous nightclub is on display on the first floor of the museum.
Urbis - Hacienda 25 The Exhibition: Fac 491
It was on the first floor and as soon as I knew that I was sprinting up the stairs. Even though I never had the pleasure of attending (bit before my time y'see) I have a thoroughly unhealthy obsession with it. Before long I was where I belonged and despite the signs to the contrary, the camera phone was out. This is what it recorded.


I really like this quote. But I like this one better.

This was on the floor as you walked in, who keeps front doors as a souvineer?

Probably the same person who keeps a doormat as a one

As you walked in, this was on the opposite wall, a mind map of all involved in the Hacienda

Here are a few personal highlights:

Stu Allen, Key 103 til I die!

Even better, the legends that are 808 State were in the place

Moving in and a few of the original traffic bollards used in the club were there

As you moved into the exhibition its early days were revealed.
bernard manning was reportedly the first live act at the Hac

This was a great idea. There were no spare clips!

This was my favourite one. Well, if you dont count the one that said:
"I boned the missus in the bogs at the Hac. Twice"

Oh go on then

This was the first time I have ever listened to an acid house mix in a museum

I love this picture

As well as that, my favourite promotional poster.

Difficult to read, but its a letter from a law firm confirming the wording of a contract.
not to mention requesting the removal of the phrase "To the pessimists, **** off"

They had these quotes all over the exhibition, here are some of my favourites




Very cool photo, nice an atmospheric. I get the feeling this was just after the music had stopped.

This is, apparantly, the original clothing of the "Manchester E Posse"

I actually rather liked this hoody, I wonder if I could get a replica made up?

And here is the rest of the display of the promotional clothing.

I knew I would find a poster with someone I knew on it. Boss Drum FTW!

All good things come to an end though, here is what they had to say about it.

You might find the following upsetting, here are the demolition pictures.

Gutted. Quite literally.

Strangely enough, the next thing after the demolition were the original design blueprints.


Also, some of the room designs for the club tours they undertook.

Anyone on here had their head kicked in round the back of the Hac?
this'll look familiar then

Just in case you got lost

There were merchandising displays too. hacienda trainers, complete with their own cat. number!

Wonder what this is?

This'll explain it

These look like they've been through the wars.

This was showing random images of the club in its former glory.

Getting towards the end now, there was a book which former ravers could write their experiences.
here are a few:



This was a dedication to all who contributed to the exhibition.

And most importantly, right at the end...

astraboy.

GC8

Did you walk by the old site Rhod? Its a little sad to see that it is now over-priced 'city living' flats (although Im sure that the estate agents called them apartments!).

Simon

STi-Frenchie

Very interesting. Thanks for sharing that with us.

Funkii Munkii

This is possibly your greatest post ever

Brilliant

Those days are far far away now, but when you sit down and think about them they seem like only yesterday, Happy "Mon" days

















p.s. I can't claim to have read them all

chocolate_o_brian

iTrader: (22)

for a modern raver like me, its fantastic to share in the past memories of where dance music evolved and came from. brilliant. i really wish i was there sometimes, 15 years older than i am now, just to experience it.

phil_wrx

iTrader: (2)

never went in the 80's but went in about 94 it was awesome, grahame park, mike pickering was ace. i went to grahame parks birthday party in ibiza in 96 with angels legend thats was paul taylor

might go and look at that exhibition.

Funkii Munkii

If you had been you wouldn't remeber it now lol

Mogsi

Amen, brought back some very happy memories reading through that post, what a great start to a Monday...

MJW

Great post, takes me back a bit !!

STi wanna Subaru

iTrader: (1)

Good post

for somebody so into the dance scene I'm amazed you've never tried a pill as you say. Surely you must be curious or feeling you're missing out on part of the dance scene?

NACRO

I find the fetishising and deification of the Hacienda a bit sad personally.

That said as someone who went to 'Hot' more than a few times while still an impressionable and seriously underage 'raver'.

PS stiwannasubaru there were plenty of us who didn't take pills then either, mostly because they were 20 quid a piece.

STi wanna Subaru

iTrader: (1)

I'm not saying he should take them. Just that I imagine he must be curious about them and how it feels to be on one.

Jamo

iTrader: (23)

excellent thanks for the rhod

I have the hacienda hoodie but its a different colour, its at my parents ile see if I can find it

J

EXSCOOBY

been there many times in fact i remember going to replace a turntable in the dj box whilst alexander coe was whipping up a storm

i walked round it with the production crew after it closed and was amazed at how many smaller rooms it had it was like a labyrynth
would love to see a floor plan
good post btw *** boy

f1_fan

iTrader: (9)

Went to the exhibition myself a couple of weeks ago and it is fascinating. I still have a FAC51 membership card from 1982

They are thinking of taking the exhibition on tour so all of you not able to see it in Manchester can see it around the country with a bit of luck.

In the exhibition is the video of Madonna performing at The Hacienda in 1984 for the TV programme The Tube. It is funny as I am stood to the right of her and could see myself 24 years ago albeit briefly. BTW she forgot that she performed there when asked recently - it was her first ever appearance in Europe and before she had any hits.

Loved the place from its inception as mainly a gigging club right up to when it was the best club in Manchester.... nah the country.... nah the world (courtesy of Peter Hook ).

Astraboy I don't know how well you know Manchester but if you look at the interior of the Hacienda, all muted grey, light wood, brushed aluminium and steel rope ballustrades and then walk round modern Manchester and see all the 'new' apartments/flats ... many of them feature .... muted greys, light woods, brushed aluminium and steel rope ballustrades And this was conceived in 1982!!!

As they said and still say 'The Hacienda must be built'

Did you know Tony Wilson's coffin was FAC 501?

j4ckos mate

We used to go to fridays, and the valley lodge more than town, also quaffers in stockport and bredbury hall. Was never into the madchester thing too much tbh, town in the late 80's early 90's was full of drugged mongs and violence i was thought, its a much better place now.

we used to meet up at j4ckos house, then go in the heald green and then the valley lodge, it too has fond memories for us.
i quite like the stones roses and all that type of music now though but i didnt then.

i can remember listening to 808 state in j4ckos mk1 capri thinking what a load of donkeyspunk, but now i like it,
if you havent been to manchester in ages for a night out, its superb now.
i thoroughly recommend it, the manchester bomb did give the placea kick up the backside. and its much better now.

Steve Whitehorn

iTrader: (13)

Those were the days
Good post

rik1471

I have a piece of the original Hacienda dance floor (before it was lifted up and replaced in the early 90's).

rik1471

If I were a betting man, I'd wager a bet on astraboy having tried something of the class A variety.

I've seen the pictures - the eyes don't lie.

mrtheedge2u2

Problem with The Hac was that it was 'run' by a well known group of doormen etc who were more than happy to let fists fly and basically enforce their law.... the final nail in the coffin was when an attempted murder took place just outside in full front of the police and inspectorate who were also there.

billythekid

You aint wrong, back in those days the door men were often well known heads who used their "job" on the door for various wrongs. As such they became a massive target as everyone knew XY&Z worked the door at such and such a place. I remember in the mid 90's a well known Manchester door man being taken out by a sniper...

These days the bad boys still run the doors but they dont stand there any more!

Never went to the HAC myself as we went out in Bury... which was rubbish, and by the time I could get into Manchester it was all over and it had closed down.

J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

Yeah, I wanted to go into town and you lot always wanted to go to Quaffers, I did go to the Hacienda once as a 16 year old, my mate Ian was mates with New Order and that girl from Swing Out Sister (Random I know), all I remember is being sat there, hammered next to a big speaker with "White Lines" by Grandmaster Flash blasting out and wanting my bed. Never went again, another lad from school ended up managing it for a time, chap called Anton Razak. Remember going to a party and looking up and Bernard Sumner was there, he was going out with my mates sister and was picking her up to go out, cant blame them, house full of bladdered teenagers.

Our clubbing was usually definitely in the Paul Calf style, Quaffers was very much in the seventies,it was great if you wanted to shark accounts clerks from Stockport, in the middle of the evening they cleared the stage for a presentation that usually involved some bird on a hen night being ritually embarassed, the stage used to open up to the theme from Thunderbirds. Quaffers was very old fashioned but served a purpose, the Bouncer was a bit like Jimmy Saville on steroids and it was owned by a local gangster called Dougie Flood who also owned Bredbury Hall. Bredbury Hall is still there but Quaffers is now a Tescos. It was good as later on the used to do Roast Beef butties and stuff, expensive but really nice.

Friday's was somewhere in between the Manchester clubs and the old Chicken and a Basket type places like Quaffers, thats still there

The Valley lodge was good as at a push you could walk home, good for Air Hostesses, well it would be if we were pilots not oik's in Capri's wearing Burton suits. we usually ended up crashing someones works do or if we didnt get in for some reason (usually what happened the week before) we used to go into the hotel and down through the kitchen, unless we got spotted and kicked out. Its now a conference centre, it got done up and ruined as they got up themselves and stopped anyone going in unless they were.

There was also Smokies in Oldham in which J4ckos mate snogged one of the oldest women I have ever seen.

used to go in 42 Street quite a bit but generally most of the places in Manchester are just lost in a bit of a blur.

J4ckos mate has retired from going out and my missus has retired me from going out.

Funkii Munkii

so have a lot of us one way or another

Chip Sengravy

And you must never let him forget it!

A lad I used to work with nailed a Dot Cotton lookalike in a bus shelter on Southsea seafront. Much ribbing for evermore!

gtijames

great piccies mate,two of my great regrets from my youth is that i never got to the hacienda at its peak and secondly i turned down tickets to see the stone roses at spike island.
think i might did out my copy of 24 hour party people later.i ve still got a box full of fac products in the attic they will never be chucked out or sold.

angrynorth

Ahh, memories of better times.

We don't really have many unique bars or clubs these days. It's such a shame that Manchester's current nightlife is now anonymous and very typical of any other developed city.

About the only good thing left was the Dpercussion street party but that is now finished for good thanks to lack of funding. We need another Tony Wilson to come along and sort it out.

J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

AB, cheers, it makes more sense now I can see the photos, bloody Websense whips them out at work.

Jamie

spot on i never did get my **** in there ...........good thread ab

Rob Walker

One of my mates is one of the guys who wrote the Hacienda fanzine, Freaky Dancing..
Manchester District Music Archive - fanzine, The Hacienda - 1989
YouTube - Knock-A-Door Run On Tony Wilsons Place

eClaire

Absolutely brilliant AB I really really enjoyed that