What hasn't already been written about the Haçienda?
The building once housed a yacht builder's shop and warehouse, until on May 21st, 1982 the Haçienda club opened. It was run by the Factory Records label with New Order. The club was given the Factory Records catalogue number FAC51.
Most locals will agree that, generally, the club was fairly quiet in its first few years, although it held some tremendous concerts. Madonna’s first UK performance was in the Haçienda on 27 January 1984 (for the great television show The Tube). The Smiths played the Haçienda three times in 1983. Once, after a Top of the Pops appearance they had to speed back up the M6 motorway from the BBC London studios to play at the club.
In 1986 Mike Pickering started Nude night, playing early house records imported from the US. Its popularity grew and the club became synonymous with the UK's late 1980s to mid 1990s dance culture, playing house, acid house and techno to heaving dance floors, as the drug ecstasy became more widely available, and more popular, across the UK.
Nights such as Hot and Void kept the place sold-out, as did the monthly Flesh night which quickly became one of the countries most popular LGBTQ+ club nights.
You had to arrive early to get in on Friday and Saturday nights - and people did, with queues trailing right around the corner to the bridge.
Top: Kevin Cummins' publicity shot of Madonna, January 1984.
Bottom: The Haçienda gets demolished. A view inside, with the balcony right (and DJ booth), and the dance floor at ground-level.
