Media Release: May 2007
Haçienda 25 The Exhibition Fac 491
19 July 2007 – 17 February 2008 at Urbis, Manchester
Urbis celebrates the legendary nightclub that changed Manchester
25 years on from the opening of The Haçienda, which maintains its title as the most talked about club in Manchester some 10 years after it closed, Urbis will give visitors the opportunity to step back in time and literally walk through the original, world famous Fac 51 doors, with a major exhibition exploring the origins, life and legacy of the club which undeniably played a huge part in defining modern Manchester‟s identity and prompted the city‟s economic boom.
The exhibition includes the first ever showing of the complete collection of The Haçienda‟s iconic „Birthday Posters‟, along with many rare, unique and previously unseen items from the personal collections of Tony Wilson, Peter Hook, Ben Kelly and Rob Gretton. Unaired video of The Haçienda, including fashion shows possibly the earliest acid house footage and an early recording of the 1st Birthday party, complemented by contributions from Peter Saville, Hillegonda Rietveld, Jon Savage, Ang Matthews, Paul Cons, Leroy Richardson, Andy Spinoza, Bob Dickinson and Mikey Eastwood.
Visitors are invited to explore the ideals and ideas which came together to make The Haçienda possible and have the opportunity to re-live the experience of the world‟s first coolest club from lighting designs by The Haçienda technical crew, original scratch videos produced by Claude Bessy and Swivel and a specially selected soundtrack compiled by a guest musical advisor.
Speaking about the The Haçienda exhibition, Vaughan Allen, Chief Executive of Urbis noted: “The Haçienda changed Manchester forever. It did 25 years ago what Myspace does today, bringing together creative people to create something new. There is no creative substitute for people just sharing ideas and if Manchester is to flourish as a twenty-first century world city, with a distinguishable identity of its own, it needs to continue providing places and spaces which give people from all walks of life the opportunity to produce as well as consume – a role The Haçienda fulfilled to the extreme during its lifetime. That‟s exactly what Urbis is about. This exhibition is a timely reminder that many share the view that „The Haçienda Must Be Built‟.”
The Haçienda coincides with the Manchester International Festival.
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For more information please contact Shona Galletly or Rebecca Wood at Anita Morris Associates on 01943 603311 or email [email protected] [email protected]
Notes to Editors: 1) The exhibition also contains a sneak preview of the exclusive Adidas‟ Y3 Hacienda trainer, designed by Peter Saville and Ben Kelly to commemorate the club‟s 25th anniversary
2) Haçienda „Fac‟ts ▪The Haçienda was opened on May 21 1982 by Bernard Manning, who in his opening speech complained about the sound system and didn‟t stay to collect his fee. ▪ Madonna gave one of her first UK club performances at The Haçienda as part of the tube visits the Hacienda on Friday 27th January 1984
▪ Significant band appearances: Culture Club (19.06.82) Echo & the Bunnymen (14.07.82) Birthday Party (24.02.83); Eurhythmics (03.03.83) The Smiths (06.0683) The Fall (27.07.83) Frankie goes to Hollywood (19.11.83) The Smiths/James (24.11.83) Cocteau Twins (08.12.83) The Cramps (23.05.84) Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds (25.04.85), Stone Roses (15.08.85) Creation Records Night - Primal Scream/Meat Whiplash/Weather Prophets (23.10.85) New Order (26.06.82, 26.01.83, 20.07.83, 16.07.85, 13.10.86, 10.07.87)
2) Urbis, Cathedral Gardens, Manchester M4 3BG. Open Sun – Wed 10am – 6pm and Thurs to Sat 10am – 8pm Entry to Urbis is free. Tel: 0161 605 8200 [email protected] | www.urbis.org.uk
4)Urbis examines, explains and celebrates city life through the experiences and cultures of the people living there. It is about city lives, city voices and city people. With four floors of evolving displays, dedicated to the modern and future city, and an ambitious events programme, Urbis is about covering what‟s new, original, and interesting about city life, and covering it first.
5) The £30m construction and development of Urbis was managed by Manchester City Council Special Projects Team and funded as part of the £42m Manchester Millennium Quarter by the Millennium Commission, the European Regional Development Fund, Manchester City Council and the Department of Local Government, Transport and the Regions (DLTR) and the Northwest Development Agency.
6) URBIS Winner Large Visitor Attraction of the Year Manchester Tourism awards 2007