The Hacienda

Fac 51 Ha&ccedil;ienda (also known as simply The Ha&ccedil;ienda) was one of the most well known nightclubs in Manchester during the Madchester years of the late 1980s and early 1990s. Originally conceptualized by Rob Gretton, it was largely financed by the record label Factory Records and the band New Order along with 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.

Designed by Ben Kelly, the Ha&ccedil;ienda opened in 1982 and survived until 1997, despite considerable and persistent financial troubles. During much of this time the club was mainly supported by record sales from New Order. It once served as a venue for Madonna on her first tour of the United Kingdom.

In 1986, it became one of the first clubs outside the US to start playing house music, with DJs Mike Pickering and Graeme Park hosting the 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 boosted by the success of the Haçienda's pioneering Ibiza nights in the summer of 1988 and the launch of the Hot acid house night (hosted by Pickering and Jon Da Silva) in November.

Although peaking in popularity during the rise of the rave era, most of the money ended up circulating to drug dealers and the Ha&ccedil;ienda itself saw very little of the nightly expenditure. Luxury apartments, also named The Ha&ccedil;ienda, have now been built on the site.

Michael Winterbottom's 2002 film 24 Hour Party People starring Steve Coogan as Tony Wilson, tells the story of the Ha&ccedil;ienda. The movie was filmed in 2001, and required reconstructing the Ha&ccedil;ienda in a Manchester warehouse - the reconstruction was itself then briefly used as a nightclub.

External link

 * Pride Of Manchester Hacienda memories by Hacienda DJ Dave Haslam