Ghosts of the Haçienda by Michael Eastwood

Ghosts of the Haçienda
by Michael Eastwood

Both the second age of the Haçienda: as epicentre and spearhead of the fledgeling underground dance revolution, and the third age of the Haçienda: as flagship of the eventual and inevitable acceptance of the new dance as mainstream, have both been fully documented ad nauseam.

The first age of the Haçienda, though: venue of choice – via the eclectic booking policy of Mike Pickering (now head of A&R at BMG); sophisticated nightclub – via the cutting edge design of Ben Kelly; and living room of the Manchester underground – via Factory Records' honorary membership scheme, has been largely ignored and forgotten.

The early years of the most famous club in the world were celebrated in 'Ghosts of the Haçienda' – an evening of video and music at One Central Street, Manchester which took place on Monday 21 May 2007.

The Haçienda's role as Manchester's premier alternative concert venue was fully documented by Factory Records' in-house video company IKON FCL. Using state-of-the-then-art broadcast quality JVC video cameras IKON would provide alternative live feed views of the action on-stage via twin Barco video projectors to screens mounted about the club.

Some of this footage was recorded onto U-Matic tape, edited and released by IKON/Factory into the public domain. Most of it, though, was either lost or destroyed.

Ikon& have assembled two hours of found concert footage – from the opening night itself through the first two years of the Haçienda. It was previously shown in 2005 at Barzooka, a small arthouse bar in Blackburn.

Due to popular demand and persistence, Ikon& agreed to a final showing of the footage at the right time: 21 May 2007 was the twenty- fifth anniversary of the club's opening night, and in the right place: One Central Street is the home of one-time Haçienda bar manager Leroy Richardson.

This may well have been the last chance to see the Haçienda in its original form before the 'cease and desist' shutters come down for the last time...

Overleaf: "Floored" (photography by Michael Eastwood)