The Haçienda (41 page)

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Authors: Peter Hook

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My friends rallied round me, God bless them, but when I went back to the Haçienda things had changed.Eighteen months away and everything was different. The atmosphere wasn’t like it used to be – gone was the heaving, sweating mass, hands in the air. Worse, I didn’t recognize anyone again. A whole new crowd had moved in . . .

The violence of Gunchester continued. In April 1995 Terry Farrimond, a doorman at the Haçienda, was shot and killed near his home in Swinton. That summer, the trend for letting guns off during drum ’n’ bass club nights reached a climax when a clubber fired a pump-action shotgun at the PSV. So many bullets were taken from the ceiling that the club flooded the next time it rained. The following month three girls were injured by ricochets, forcing the cancellation of future events.

In June, police mounted raids on the clubs Equinox, Cheerleaders and Home, during which clubbers were searched for drugs and the music stopped. Home continued to be plagued by violence and, after a skirmish between around forty Salford gang members wearing balaclavas and police that took place on the dance floor and elsewhere in the club, owner Tom Bloxham shut up shop for good in September. For the Haçienda the news was almost as grim. Stringent security measures were off-putting for the average law-abiding clubber, yet didn’t seem to prevent the violence. Attendance figures continued to fall as the club struggled to keep up with shifting musical trends. Having missed the trance boat and voluntarily opted out of drum ’n’ bass, neither was it able to capitalize on the emergence of trip hop, a musical genre not suited to the Haçienda’s cavernous space.

Rob, God bless him, always held out hope. He visited the Haçienda almost every night. Being an optimistic, glass-half-full type of person, he was always convinced that the next week would be the one to turn it around. He was always dreaming up some scheme for making it work.

He found the element of risk exciting. A true gambler, he believed that you cured a losing streak by finding enough money to take another stab at it. The Haçienda was his ultimate game of chance.

His enthusiasm was infectious. Well, I thought so, anyway. Which was why I found myself going along with a lot of what he suggested. By now, it was really just us two on the deck of this sinking ship. Tony seemed to lose interest after Factory folded;he was busy trying to get Factory Too off the ground. The other members of New Order had long since turned their backs on the club, and Alan Erasmus was being Alan Erasmus: enigmatic and difficult to pin down.

Just me and Rob, then. It felt like the future of Manchester and the Haçienda completely rested on our shoulders.

Casting about for ideas to help save the club, we began to think again about how it had benefited the city. Think about it: during that post-1989 period further education in Manchester was permanently over-subscribed, we were bringing so much money into the city – millions – yet seeing precious little recognition or support for what we were doing. In those days, of course, the idea of getting council or government support for a club was unheard of, whereas now they’re
chucking money at the Manchester International Festival, for example. But back then, if you weren’t a ballet you were fucked.

Even so, we were adamant that the club should be recognized for what it was – a vital local asset, a boost to the economy, an important tourist attraction. So we applied to the Manchester City Council for a grant to pay for renovations. Ben Kelly was brought in, this time against Tony’s wishes, submitted a design and the 100 per cent grant was finalized. And then the council changed its mind, for some reason and our £150,000 grant got cut in half. By now the deposits had been paid and materials ordered; the scaffolding had even gone up. Somehow, though, we’d made yet another mistake. Our grant, which we’d thought had gone from £150,000 to £75,000, now actually turned out to be £37,500. They weren’t giving us half the original sum – they were giving us quarter.

Guess who had to make up the shortfall?

As if that wasn’t bad enough,our attendance had been virtually cut in half as well. Legally we’d been getting 1600 in each Friday and Saturday (capacity having gone up since we built the basement club), on top of which we’d been sneaking in as many as we could get away with before the place groaned. That lasted until the week that the scaffolding went up.

After that, attendance fell to below 600 and never ever picked back up, though we tried everything to claw it back. Whether people thought we were closing down, or things were changing too much – the death of acid house, perhaps? – I don’t know. We’d spend hours, weeks,at meetings,trying to figure out what had gone wrong.

In the end it was decided that another shake-up might help. Rob was concerned that Ang had lost her edge, so brought Paul Cons back in to book the nights for us. For a while it seemed to be working – Paul got numbers up – but then we discovered that he was allowing a lot of people in for free (though they were at least buying drinks).

Ang,meanwhile,being convinced that she’d done everything possible to combat the violence and keep the club open, was so annoyed about being sidelined by Paul that she tendered her resignation. We refused to accept it.

Rob was most adamant: to him, Ang represented the most important link to the club’s past.She was the longest-serving member of staff and he valued her knowledge and experience; he liked the fact that he
was able to show her a flyer for a gig and she’d know in what year it had taken place. She was a demon at the Haçienda pub quiz, Ang was. The younger employees just didn’t have that – they knew fuck all compared to her.

‘Don’t over-react,’ Rob said. ‘If you’re fed up, what about doing days and we’ll find somebody else to work nights?’

So Ang took on the daytime shift but soon got bored. She needed more, so we reached a compromise: she’d work at Dry and Leroy would come back to run the Haçienda. She hated Dry, though. She didn’t love bars the way she did clubs. They’re two very different animals.

In the meantime the renovations continued: we added coloured bricks to the exterior, plus beautiful customized stained-glass windows. The windows were about twenty-five feet high and came in twelve sections. They cost £32,000, and they were beautiful. Trouble was, they were only visible only if you climbed down the derelict canal towpath at the back of the building and looked up; you couldn’t view them from inside the club – they weren’t even lit. Also, because they were placed above the kitchen, they soon gained a disgusting coating of fat that completely obscured them. I had them removed and put into storage by Peter Burke, the guy who installed them, when the building was sold.

When I went to the club nowadays – which was much more rarely than I did previously – I found it had changed too much. The world had moved on.

I’d go alone there alone before, knowing there’d be loads of mates there; I’d be at home as soon as I arrived. But now I felt distanced from the punters – they were strangers. It was rare to run into someone I knew. Ang, Leroy and I would stand in our corner, look around and realize that between us we didn’t know anybody. I missed the old camaraderie. We’d lost so many mates to drug overdoses, police activity or simply burnout; a fair few had wised up and were enjoying family life; the violence scared many away, too. You can’t blame them for that – we’d have legged it too if we hadn’t owned the gaff.

It was the same at Dry. Whereas I’d once loved the sense of community, really I now connected only with the older members of the staff, like Andy and Amanda, who had been there for years. I’d still be there seven nights a week, though. You can’t own a pub and not go, can you?

Many of us who’d spent the late 1980s and early 1990s off our faces now came crashing down to Earth.I’d behaved like a pig in shit,lording it up at the Haç,treating it like party central.Not any more.

Luckily I met my wife, Becky, around this time. We were introduced by a friend of mine, Francis, who ran the Brassiere Saint Pierre, and his girlfriend, Victoria. We hit it off and we’ve been together ever since.

She’d been to the Haçienda a few times herself, but we didn’t spend much time there as a couple. On the odd occasion we did go there were so many problems it was ridiculous – there was no chance of having a good time. Also, she cottoned on pretty quickly that Rob took advantage of my good nature (or stupidity, whichever you fancy).

Rob was at our wedding party,on 5 December 1996,and once he was pissed dragged me round and round the garden, trying to persuade me to give him more cash for the Haçienda, while Becky (inside the house, watching us through the window) shouted to Ang, ‘I’ve got to get out there! I’ve got to get out there before he gives all our money away.’

The missus was kicking off; I knew the end was near.

The club had tried to raise money but couldn’t. The economy was still weak and property prices were low, so we still didn’t have the equity to remortgage the place.We couldn’t borrow anything and we couldn’t earn enough to pay off all the debts.

We were at the limit of our overdraft. Not a good position to be in. I was funding the Haçienda and had been for the last two years; it was costing me seven grand a month because Rob was skint. He had tax problems, too; he’d put everything into the club. He kept moaning to me: ‘If only New Order would tour . . .’ but I was the only one who would even consider it.

It was at around this time that my accountant asked me a loaded question: ‘What are you doing the Haçienda for, your wallet or your ego?’

He’d hit the nail on the head. When I thought about it I realized it was my ego: I liked the power that having the club gave me. I’m sure everybody would have,even though it had never turned a profit since the day it opened. Heaven or hell, it was my own private playground.

We just sank deeper into debt. Although there were customers who remained loyal to the club, and many more who were drawn by its reputation, the culture had shifted. People were going to bars instead
of clubs. There was no admission charge and they had those late-night licences we had fought so hard for.

Everything special about the Haçienda was in the past,buried under years of violence.

 
 
JANUARY
Friday 7th
A Man Called Adam
(attendance 600)
Saturday 8th
(attendance 797)
Friday 14th
Derrick May
(attendance 1145; 44 tickets sold at Dry)
Saturday 15th
ROB’S FORTY-FIRST BIRTHDAY PARTY Prime
Time DJs – Andy Robinson & Nadine Andrews
Friday 21st
(attendance 977; 29 tickets sold at Dry)
Saturday 22nd
(attendance 1576; 71 tickets sold at Dry)
Wednesday 26th
FLESH
(attendance 1277)
Friday 28th
Kevin Saunderson
(attendance 857; 24 tickets sold at Dry)
Saturday 29th
(attendance 1633; 112 tickets sold at Dry)
 
 
FEBRUARY
Friday 4th
NORTHERN EXPOSURE Sasha, John Digweed
(attendance 1794)
Saturday 5th
(attendance 1458; 138 tickets sold at Dry)
Friday 11th
INDIA
(attendance 620)
Saturday 12th
(attendance 1404; 147 tickets sold at Dry)
Monday 14th
PASSION
(private party) (attendance 1170)
Wednesday 16th
TRANSFORM
(attendance 452)
Friday 18th
Daniele Davoli; DJ Power
(attendance 801)
Saturday 19th
(attendance 1636; 163 tickets sold at Dry)
 
 
MARCH
Wednesday 2nd
LUVDUP PRESENTS JOLLY ROGERING AT THE HAÇIENDA Adrian & Mark; Terry Farley & Pete Heller; Those Salty Sea Dogs; Moonboots; McCready; 6 Golden Nuggets
(‘swashbuckling fun’)
Friday 4th
Robert Owens; Allister Whitehead; Tim Lennox
Friday 11th
CREAMY SHINE! Dave Seaman; Paul Bleasdale; James Barton; Allister Whitehead; Tim Lennox
Friday 18th
CHICAGO SHINE! Farley ‘Jackmaster’ Funk; Felix Da Housecat; Allister Whitehead; Tim Lennox
Thursday 24th
FOUNDATION
Friday 25th
Derrick May; Allister Whitehead; Tim Lennox
 
 
MAY
Tuesday 10th
PRIVATE PARTY
Wednesday 11th
PRIVATE PARTY
Wednesday 18th
TRANSFORM
Friday 20th
THE TWELFTH BIRTHDAY PARTY, PART I
John Digweed; Sasha
Set-list (John Digweed): Nush – ‘U Girls’, Hed Boys – ‘Girls + Boys’, Rebound – ‘Make It Funky’, Memphisto – ‘State of Mind’, Bump – ‘House Stompin’’ (Ramp Stompin’ Mix), E-Lustrious – ‘In Your Dance’ (Bivouac Mix), Praxis feat. Kathy Brown – ‘Turn Me Out’ (Delormes UK Club Mix), Anna Din – ‘Angel’, Taiko – ‘Echo Drop’ (Original Hard Mix), Ascension – ‘Move to the Music’, Sound of One – ‘As I Am’, Positive Science – ‘Soul Feel Free’, Liberty City – ‘If You Really Love Someone’ (Original Mix)
Set-list (Sasha): Sasha – ‘Higher Ground’ (Brothers in Rhythm Mix), Paz Pooba – ‘Hold Me Tight’, Sandee – ‘Notice Me’ (Afro Morning Mix), SLP – ‘Supernova’ (Trance Mix), Underworld – ‘Dark & Long’, Funtopia feat. Jimi Polo – ‘Do You Wanna Know’, Asli Tanriverdi – ‘Eastern Lover’, Jody Watley – ‘Ecstasy’ (Morales Nocturnal Mix), Techno Bert – ‘Neue Dimensionen’, F Machine – ‘Lost in America’, Jump – ‘No Rich Fat Daddy’, Fly Baby – ‘Fiesta’ (Way Out West Mix)
Saturday 21st
THE TWELFTH BIRTHDAY PARTY, PART II Joe Roberts
Monday 30th
BANK HOLIDAY SPECIAL DJ Pierre
 
 
JUNE
Wednesday 1st
JOLLY ROGER John DaSilva
Thursday 2nd
The Charlatans
Friday 3rd
SHINE! Ce Ce Rogers
Tuesday 7th
AMBIDEXTROUS
Friday 10th
IBIZA SHINE! Alex P; Paul Hudson
Tuesday 14th
AMBIDEXTROUS
Wednesday 15th
TRANSFORM Pollen
Friday 17th
SHINE! Angel
Tuesday 21st
AMBIDEXTROUS Cygnus Loop
Wednesday 22nd
Graham
Thursday 23rd
Fred the Cellar Man
Friday 24th
SHINE!
Tuesday 28th
AMBIDEXTROUS
Wednesday 29th
FLESH
Thursday 30th
HOTTER
 
 
JULY
Friday 1st
SHINE!
Saturday 2nd
Paul Hudson
Monday 4th
STUDENT NIGHT
Tuesday 5th
AMBIDEXTROUS the Grind
Thursday 7th
Carleen Anderson; Corduroy; Freak Power
Friday 8th
SHINE! Cream; John DaSilva
Tuesday 12th
AMBIDEXTROUS
Thursday 14th
COCKTAIL BAR PARTY
Friday 15th
SHINE! Marshall Jefferson
Tuesday 19th
AMBIDEXTROUS Strange Brew
(sponsored by Robs Records)
Thursday 21st
TRANSFORM Richie Hawtin
Friday 22nd
SHINE!
Saturday 23rd
LOVE 2 INFINITY Paul Hudson
Monday 25th
COCKTAIL BAR PARTY
Tuesday 26th
AMBIDEXTROUS
Wednesday 27th
FLESH
Thursday 28th
HOTTER
Friday 29th
SHINE!
 
 
AUGUST
Tuesday 2nd
AMBIDEXTROUS
Friday 5th
SHINE!
Tuesday 9th
AMBIDEXTROUS
Friday 12th
SHINE! Paul ‘Trouble’ Anderson
Tuesday 16th
AMBIDEXTROUS
Thursday 18th
TRANSFORM
Friday 19th
SHINE!
Tuesday 23rd
AMBIDEXTROUS
Thursday 25th
HAÇIENDA CLASSICS: THE LAST FROM THE
PAST Jon DaSilva; John McCready
Friday 26th
SHINE!
Sunday 28th
FLESH
Monday 29th
SHINE! BANK HOLIDAY Michael Watford; DJ Disciple
Tuesday 30th
AMBIDEXTROUS
 
 
SEPTEMBER
Friday 2nd
SHINE!
Monday 5th
Oasis; the Creation
Friday 9th
SHINE!
Friday 16th
SHINE!
Sunday 18th
IN THE CITY
(music convention tie-in)
Monday 19th
IN THE CITY
(music convention tie-in)
Tuesday 20th
IN THE CITY
(music convention tie-in)
Wednesday 21st
IN THE CITY
(music convention tie-in)
Thursday 22nd
MC Teabag; Punishment Farm
Friday 23rd
SHINE! Kenny Carpenter
Wednesday 28th
FLESH
Thursday 29th
POLLEN
Friday 30th
SHINE!
 
 
DECEMBER
Saturday 17th
Sasha
Set-list: Duke – ‘So in Love With You’ (Pizzaman 5 a.m. Dub), Sharon Nelson – ‘Down that Road’, Sade – ‘Pearls’ (Remix), Prince – ‘Most Beautiful Girl in the World’ (Marvin & Hornbostel Remix), BT – ‘Nocturnal Transmission’, SLP – ‘Supernova’ (Aquarius Mix), Buzzin’ Cuzzins & Romanthony – ‘Let Me Show You Love’ (Bad Yard Club Mix), Histerya – ‘Love Nation’ (Joy & Kaya Remix), Tenth Chapter – ‘Prologue’ (Atlas 1st Addition Mix)

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