House party!
The story of iconic Manchester nightclub and music venue The Hacienda
Manchester’s music venue The Hacienda became famous in the 1980s and 1990s for its pivotal role in the acid-house and rave scene. But the story of the nightclub, partly bankrolled by local band New Order, was to end in financial failure and acrimony.
BBC2’S documentary chronicles the venue’s rise and fall with contributions from members of
New Order, club regulars including Oasis’ Noel Gallagher and those who worked there.
Conceived by Rob Gretton, manager of New Order, the club was financed by the band, their label Factory Records and the label’s owner, Tony Wilson. It was set up to emulate American clubs New Order had visited while in New York.
‘They were big spaces with multiple floors,’ says drummer Stephen Morris. ‘There was nothing like it over here.’
Scene-setter
The Hacienda opened on 21 May 1982. The Smiths played there and Madonna did her first UK gig there, but the club was empty most nights.
Its fortunes changed in 1986 when The Hacienda became one of the first
British clubs to play house music, and the rave scene was born.
But when the UK’S first ecstasyrelated death occurred at the club in 1989 and violence caused problems, police clamped down and The Hacienda shut in 1997.
The closure came at a great cost to New Order, who had put millions into it, and it badly affected the relationship between band members.
‘It does make me sad because we were friends,’ says Morris.
‘And we’re not any more.’