“It’s necessary for any period to build its cathedrals…” Manchester’s The Haçienda opened on this day in 1982
Legendary Manchester club The Haçienda opened on this day (21 May) in 1982, creating a legacy that would go on to shape dance music forever.
Taking its name from a slogan by Situationist International, The Hacienda Must Be Built, the Whitworth Street venue was designed by Ben Kelly, working alongside Factory Records graphic guru Peter Saville.
A few months after its opening, in January 1983, the BBC sent along a camera crew to capture the influence then then-fledgling venue had on the north of England city.
“One of the things that interests me about the process of the design is finding materials that would be in a totally different environment, and taking them out of that context and putting them into a new context,” Kelly explains.
“When you eventually put all the elements together, you hopefully establish a new language of materials that says something new and different.”
The segment also features a young Factory Records boss Tony Wilson, resolute in his decision to invest in a nightclub as Factory’s next venture.
“It’s necessary for any period to build its cathedrals,” he explains. “It’s necessary for any youth culture to have a sense of place.”
Happy birthday to The Haçienda… and RIP Tony Wilson.
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