Tickets for a huge 40th anniversary rave celebrating the Hacienda on the site of the original Manc superclub are to go on sale to the general public. The party is to be held as a charity event in the basement car park of the apartment building that now sits on the Whitworth Street site.
As the MEN revealed last week, the homecoming charity event will take place 40 years to the very day that the iconic club first opened its doors to revellers in the city centre, on Saturday May 21. Now full details of “Fac51 The Hacienda 40 th Birthday Party Pt 1” have been revealed.
Taking place in the same location as the hallowed dancefloor itself, the event will see a gallery of the Hacienda ’s finest past residents come together on the night. That will include from the earliest days of the club DJs Hewan Clarke and then Graeme Park, Jon Dasilva, Tom Wainwright, DJ Paulette, Aaron Mellor, K Klass who play live, and surprise guests on the night.
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Given the expected interest in the 40 th party, and limited capacity, the epic eight hour event is also to be broadcast live by Greater Manchester’s multi-award winning cultural and music streaming organisation Stream GM. It will be available to watch at www.streamgm.co.uk and their Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube channels, enabling a worldwide audience to tune in and share in the celebrations.
All profits from the event and audience donations are to be donated to two nominated charities, The Christie hospital charity and The Legacy of War Foundation. The Christie charity has long been one of The Hacienda’s supported charities, while Factory Records’ founder Alan Erasmus' recent mission to Ukraine was in conjunction with and fundraised for Legacy of War Foundation, and so the event continues that support of the charity.
Tickets for the event go on pre-sale from 10AM on Thursday May 12, with the general sale following at 10AM on Friday May 13.
The event also forms part of The Hacienda’s 40 th Anniversary celebrations across the year which include Hacienda Classical events at London’s Royal Albert Hall (13 th May), OVO Hydro Glasgow (18 th June) and Castlefield Bowl (8 th July). There will also be headline appearances at Retro Festival and Kendal Calling.
The 40 th anniversary party is an expanded event since the 2012 30 th anniversary in the car park which went down in history as one of the legendary Hac nights. In the ten years since, the influence and legacy of The Hacienda has been amplified with events including multiple concerts at Castlefield Bowl and The Royal Albert Hall, opening Glastonbury Festival’s Pyramid Stage and live streams with StreamGM, attracting millions of viewers during the 2020 lockdowns.
From a disused yacht showroom transformed by Ben Kelly in 1982 financed by Factory Records and New Order, The Hacienda was initially the epicentre for Manchester’s live band scene with seminal gigs from bands such as The Smiths, The Stone Roses, James, New Order, The Fall, Primal Scream, Pet Shop Boys, and even international artists such as Madonna and Nick Cave.
From 1984 onwards Mike Pickering’s Nude night set the club on course for the emerging dance sounds of the mid to late 80s which then collided with the “Madchester” scene to create one of the most defining and energetic cultural movements of the late 20 th century, as the club became internationally renowned in the process.
Organisers today said: "Inspiring countless artists, a city, and the world at large, The Hacienda may have closed its individually numbered doors in June 1997 but through countless events, media, and cultural references, in many ways The Hacienda and its unique soul that characterised those halcyon times has never actually left us.
"The Hacienda 40 th Birthday Party Pt 1” looks to commemorate and celebrate all of this as The Hacienda’s looks forward to who knows, another 40 years? Thanks must go to the following for all their assistance and co-operation with the event: The Hacienda Apartments (its owners, residents, and staff), Living City Asset Management, StreamGM, Homestead Properties, Tokyo Industries, Wigwam Sound, and all those lending their assistance."
How to get tickets
A pre-sale for the event goes live 10AM Thursday May 12 here at www.fac51-thehacienda.com where you can sign up for access to the pre-sale.
General sale 10AM Friday May 13 from the same site.
How to watch live
The entire eight-hour event is to be broadcast live by StreamGM at www.StreamGM.co.uk and across their Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube platforms on Saturday, May 21.
The live broadcast is entirely free to watch but audience donations are suggested and will go to The Christie charity and Legacy of War Foundation.
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