Cuttings

Hacienda: Fac to life. . . Manchester’s leading club reopens: first night fun - PETER WALSH NEW ORDER, HAPPY MONDAYS, THE FARM and 808 STATE were among the revellers at The Hacienda’s re-opening last Friday, as police were called to eject a number of ticketless people who attempted to gain entry to the club. Management representatives called for assistance when around 20 youths brushed through the queue, confronting security guards on the door. An estimated five police vans, three cars and at least 20 uniformed officers congregated outside the club deterring any further incidents. No arrests were made. The club, dogged by problems since the dancefloor death of a 16-year-old girl from an Ecstasy overdose, closed in February due to the escalation of gang violence in the city. It had just celebrated retaining its licence after a sustained effort by Manchester police to have it revoked. Co-owner ANTHONY WILSON had stated then the club would be consigned to the history books. “That’s one...

PILLARS OF THE ESTABLISHMENT • THE HACIENDA - New Order-owned, endlessly filmed and world renowned - is Britain's most famous club. Now the local police want it closed, claiming it to be the focus of Manchester drug culture. Here, JAMES BROWN talks to PETER HOOK, TONY WILSON, club manager PAUL  MASON and James' TIM BOOTH  about the crucible of Manc's musical might.  Pics: KEVIN CUMMINS It would make a cracking pulp best-seller. A nightclub owned by pop stars and a television celebrity fights for its licence and reputation against a police force who've fingered it as a drugs den. Whilst the pop group record with World Cup heroes, an under-age girl takes Ecstasy at the club and later dies. Meantime the culture is leapt upon by Corporate America keen to exploit it. Against them they have the most God-fearing and hard-hitting Chief Constable in the land, On their side they have Ken Dodd's lawyer! It's hot. It's young. It's controversial. It's ...

The agony and the ecstasy  https://www.theguardian.com/books/2009/sep/27/hacienda-peter-hook Walking through today's regenerated and gentrified Manchester, it's almost impossible to recall how dark and depressing the city was in the late 70s. The home of the industrial revolution was at a low ebb and the only people who believed any kind of revolution was now possible were the romantic idealists behind Factory Records. Emboldened by the spirit of punk and an excess of civic pride, Factory's founders, in particular Tony Wilson and Robert Gretton, believed in Manchester more than they believed in themselves. The Haçienda club, launched in 1982, was the physical realisation of their vision; Wilson found the name in an essay by French theorist Ivan Chtcheglov entitled "Formulary for a New Urbanism" ("We are bored in the city, everybody is bored, there is no longer any temple to the sun... you'll never see the Haçienda. It doesn't exist. The ...