a tribute to FAC 51:THE HACIENDA July 1, 2006

Ryan Ginger

The Haçienda was the product of Manchester - its people, its mood and its time. From an initial idea by Rob Gretton (manager of Joy Division), and the TV broadcaster and music entrepreneur Tony Wilson, the nightclub was set up as a then "alternative" platform and venue for new bands, many of whom had found difficulty in performing due to a broad antipathy to their music, largely on account of its subversive qualities.
Bands like New Order and Joy Division got their first breaks at the club after it opened in 1982. It differed enormously from other more conventional discos. It was part of the Factory Communications organisation (FAC51) and included Tony Wilson (chairman, promoter, shareholder of Haçienda, and Granada Television presenter), Howard Jones (part-founder and manager of the club), Rob Gretton (Director and shareholder of the Haçienda) and others involved in local music. It reflected local new trends in music and dancing - Acid House, Indie, punkish, wild and weird, encompassing gay and lesbian nights, it soon developed a devoted northern club culture following.
Anthony Wilson had started the Factory Records Label in 1978, and it was his success in local music promotion which led to an association with and the concept of the new club. Factory's first record catalogue number had been FAC 1 and this name was assigned to the Haçienda - "FAC51".
Albums were distinctively impersonally packaged, and promoted groups like the Happy Mondays, New Order, Joy Division, Durutti Column and others.

The Haçienda closed in 1999, having failed to outlive the 1990s, and the building went up for auction in December 2000 - the end of an era, and a boom time for Manchester music.