Tonight the spirit of the Hacienda will be alive once again - as ravers come together to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Manchester superclub. A special event is being held in the basement of the very site where the Hacienda club, hailed the "greatest on Earth" during the 80s and 90s, was first opened on Whitworth Street West back in 1982.
Key figures and DJs that played the venue will return for the 40th anniversary rave for an epic eight hour set. Tickets went on sale for the charity event, but sold out within minutes of going on sale last week.
However, a live stream will be showing the event in its entirety tonight, from 6pm thanks to Stream GM, and the link will go live on this page tonight if you scroll below. The feed is entirely free to watch, but donations are being encourage to support the two charities being supported at the event tonight - 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’ co-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.
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 Graeme Park, Jon Dasilva, Tom Wainwright, DJ Paulette, Aaron Mellor, K Klass who play live, and surprise guests on the night.
The 40th anniversary party is an expanded event since the 2012 30th 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. It boasted 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.
WATCH THE LIVE STREAM VIA STREAMGM HERE FROM 6pm to 2am
From 1984 onwards DJ 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. The club became internationally renowned in the process, and put Manchester firmly on the world culture map.
The set times for the Hacienda anniversary bash have now been confirmed. Here's when to expect DJs playing tonight:-
6pm - 6.45pm - Aaron Mellor
6.45pm - 7.30pm - Hewan Clarke
7.30pm - 8.30pm - K Klass
8.30pm - 9.30pm - Tom Wainwright
9.30pm - 10.30pm - SPECIAL GUEST
11pm - 00.00 - DJ Paulette
00.00 - 01.00 - Graeme Park
1.00 - 2.00 - Jon DaSilva
Organisers of the event 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."
The event also forms part of The Hacienda’s 40th Anniversary celebrations across the year which include Hacienda Classical events at London’s Royal Albert Hall, OVO Hydro Glasgow (June 18) and Castlefield Bowl (July 8). There will also be headline appearances at Retro Festival and Kendal Calling.
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