BBC commissions star-filled Haçienda documentary for 40th anniversary

BBC Two is to screen a new one-off documentary about one of the most famous music and night clubs in Britain, Manchester venue The Haçienda.

It’s 40 years since the opening of this legendary Manchester nightclub and music venue which unleashed the acid house and rave scene, brought us bands like New Order via Tony Wilson’s Factory Records and influenced many others including Oasis.

In this new star-filled documentary, we’ll hear from the key ‘players’ in the Haçienda’s history and from club regulars.

The Haçienda was at the forefront of music and youth culture in the 80s and early 90s, an iconic venue further cemented into history in the 2002 film 24 Hour Party People. 

This new documentary will combine rare and unseen archive and first-hand testimony from those who were involved during the Hacienda’s heyday – to tell the story of how the Haçienda changed Britain.

The broadcast date is still to be confirmed.

From 1982 until 1997, the club influenced some of the most exciting and game-changing moments of 20th Century youth culture.

Formerly a yacht warehouse, The Haçienda was founded by Factory Records and New Order, and opened to the public on 21st May 1982.

The Haç was the epicentre of a dynamic music, clubs and bands scene throughout the Eighties and Nineties.

The creative energies – that untouchable atmosphere of hedonistic excess and The Haçienda crowd’s uniquely open mentality – meant that the excitement that lay behind those original, thrilling early days, remains exciting and relevant today.

Named “The Most Famous Club In The World” by Newsweek Magazine, The Haçienda’s influence extended across the globe and came to inspire a generation as well as artists including The Stone Roses, Happy Mondays, Sasha, The Chemical Brothers, Laurent Garnier and many more.

Also celebrating the anniversary is a new book curated and compiled by a team headed up by Rebecca Hook and written by James Anderson, called Haçienda Threads.

The title will feature a wealth of rare and previously unpublished photographs of the club’s everyday ravers, local heroes and international music icons alike, whose collective explorations with fashion and style back in the day have since gone on to influence high profile fashion designers and luxury brands including Raf Simons, Kim Jones, Martine Rose, Versace and Balenciaga, among many others.

The team have been putting out a request to anyone who came to The Haçienda itself, any of its associated club nights, or Haçienda Classical events to submit scanned copies from their personal photograph collections with a view of them being included in the book and, therefore, being a part of the club’s unique history.

The deadline for submission has now been extended until Sunday 15th May – one week before the 40th anniversary of The Hacienda.

To be part of this historical document, you can email any Haçienda memory recollections and/or images to: threads@fac51-thehacienda.com.