Hacienda 40

May 1982 – some months before I was born – saw the opening of The Hacienda, a legendary Manchester nightclub. In the late 90s I grew up listening to Kiss 102, a Manchester dance music radio station, and I would hear DJs and advertisers raving about the club, the DJs, the bands and the music. I couldn’t wait to grow up and visit. 

The Haçienda lost its entertainments licence in June 1997, a month before my 15th birthday. 

My plans were, suffice to say, scuppered. As much as I grew up going to some house music clubs, and as much as some were really memorable (Ampersand leaps to mind) none had the legacy that Hacienda sustained. 

12th November ‘22: Many of the (literally) old acts, DJs, singers and promoters banded together for Hacienda 40, a night of old skool house, featuring many of the faces that – I understand – were regulars of the Hacienda scene. 

A good friend of mine managed to get me a ticket, so to the immense operational cavern that is Depot Mayfield we went, making it through the door at the bizarrely early time of 6pm. 

Set times had already began. 4 rooms – Concourse, Plant Room, Archive and Depot – ran concurrent DJ sets, which led to some unfortunate but inevitable clashes, and some walking due to the overall site of the Mayfield setup. The first big name I came across: 808 State in Depot. 

 

 

Over in the Archive, I think: CeCe Rogers told anecdotes of trips to the Hacienda back in the day. He DJ’d alongside A Guy Called Gerald, here playing his most-known hit, Voodoo Ray. 

 

 

Marshall Jefferson also shared these decks. 

 

 

Later, again in what I’m guessing is the Archive, possibly Happy Mondays. 

 

 

This brief, blurry footage definitely is Happy Mondays: 

 

 

In what I’m pretty sure is the Concourse, I found David Morales’s set. He played a lot of music by Frankie Knuckles, legendary house music producer who passed away in 2014. The 2, I gather, were good friends. 

 

 

Also, in this room, I bumped into Nev Johnson, DJ on what was Galaxy 102 in the 90s/00s. Good guy. Back in Depot: Orbital. Loving the Jawa outfits, guys. 

 

 

Loads of people I knew were there, but most of them I only found out later through social media that they’d attended. The place is so large, there was minimal chance of just ‘bumping into’ someone you’d know. Most recognisable faces we found in The Plant Room, a smaller, more intimate area adjacent to the main building with plenty of potted fauna (one was mint). I gather The Plant Room is technically part of food outlet compendium Escape to Freight Island? Also in this room we saw DJ Pierre, pioneer of Chicago acid house, perform a set. Making it home from a massive club just after 1am was a novel experience, but more so seeing some incredible 90s dance music producers with great friends. We should do this more often.