The Haçienda was an iconic Manchester nightclub that became famous during the Madchester years of the 1980s and early 1990s
Creation
The Haçienda was opened on 21 May 1982, when the comedian Bernard Manning remarked to the audience, "I've played some s**t-holes during my time, but this is really something."His jokes did not go down well with the crowd and he returned his fee.
A wide range of musical acts appeared at the club. One of the earliest was the German EBM band Liaisons Dangereuses, which played there on 7 July 1982.
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.
You may also like to read
Greater Manchester's Favourite Song
Back To Gigs: Tell us about your favourite experiences
House music
In 1986, it became one of the first British clubs to start playing house music, with DJs Hewan Clarke, Greg Wilson and later Mike Pickering and Little Martin 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
The growth of the 'Madchester' scene had 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.
However, drug use became a problem.On 14 July 1989, the UK's first ecstasy-related death occurred at the club; 16-year-old Clare Leighton collapsed and died after her boyfriend gave her an ecstasy tablet.
The resulting problems caused the club to close for a short period in early 1991, before reopening with increased security later the same year.
Eventual closure
Security failures at the club were one of the contributing factors to the club eventually closing, it was also argued that the most likely cause was its finances. The club simply did not make enough money from the sale of alcohol, and this was mainly because many patrons instead turned to drug use. As a result, the club rarely broke even as alcohol sales are the main source of income for nightclubs.
Ultimately, the club's long-term future was crippled and, with spiralling debts, The Haçienda eventually closed definitively in the summer of 1997. Peter Hook stated in 2009 that The Haçienda lost up to £18 million in its final years
You may also like
Legacy
Its ultimate legacy was huge. It was instrumental in the careers of Happy Mondays, Oasis, The Stone Roses, 808 State, Chemical Brothers and Sub Sub.
24 Hour Party People is a 2002 British comedy-drama film that looks at this era of music and culture.
The film begins with the punk rock era of the late 1970s and moves through the 1980s into the rave and DJ culture and the "Madchester" scene of the late 1980s and early 1990s.
It stars Steve Coogan as Tony Wilson. The video below contains a clip from the film.
Comments
Post a Comment