Tony Wilson
Director of Factory Records. Genius. Wanker. Nothing in between.

Rob Gretton
Joy Division and New Order Manager, and Director of Factory Records. Haçienda was his brainchild.

Alan Erasmus
Factory Company Director and friend of Wilson.

Bernard Manning
Overweight. Not pretty. Not funny.

Some people say the opening night of the Haçienda was empty. That's crap. The opening night was packed; it was the next five years that were empty. Sometimes it was better that way. Better empty for the art when the only art was the look and the sound was well down the list.
It's fair to say that the opening night crew - Manchester's finest, half a hundred Londoners who knew what was going on plus a scattering of celebs from Leeds, Liverpool and Leith - got in the way of the dˇcor. Too many people to get a full-on view of those wonderful pale blue walls, of the serried banks of gelled fluorescents on carefully chosen surfaces. Couldn't see the concreted-in cat's eyes, the forty-seven of them that lined the dance floor, for all them fuckers dancing. Good night, though. Alan took a back seat. Being anywhere, stationary, for more than ninety seconds had become a problem for Alan. St Vitus' dance, Wilson's mother might have called it. He was here, he was there and he was sort of never really anywhere, driven to the next thing which then became the past thing. Doing normal stuff was becoming a rarity. So Gretton and Wilson weren't too worried when he rang to put his forty-three friends on the door and inconclusive about when he himself would put in an appearance.
Opening night was crazy. This piece of industrial fantasy street was perfect for parties. Nooks and crannies, a narrative of space, taking you to the balcony via Ben's joke post-modernist arch, up and down the corridor that took you behind the games room to the basement cocktail bar. There, that dates you. Cocktail bars. Early eighties, mate. Shame they had a comeback in the late nineties.
It would have been nice if the invited guests had said 'Oh' when the very special guest came out on stage to declare the club officially open. The special guest was Bernard Manning - a large, obscene, allegedly racist comedian who had a national reputation for being the most obnoxious and politically incorrect laffmeister on the planet.
He had been chosen 'cause this was the Haçienda and the guys had decided to wake a few buggers up. Manning was a semi-national institution. Would take the piss out of anything and had developed a reputation with the liberal middle classes as a racist. For the uninitiated, he made Archie Bunker look like Ghandi.
The emergence of Bernard into this swirling arena of hip had the desired effect. Thirty seconds' high-pitched booing, yelling, profanity and abuse. The attendees were shocked and angry. They screamed at the big man on the little stage.
After an eternity...
'Why don't you shut the fuck up?' said Manning.
That trebled the abuse volume levels.
'Fuck you,' said Bernard, entering into the spirit of it all.
'Fuuuuuuuuckkkkkk youuu,' they screamed back.
'Bloody shit PA,' said the man from the Embassy Club.
Sidestage, Hooky put his head in his hands. 'Bernard Manning is taking the piss out of our sound system. This can't be happening.'
Mr Manning took another ten seconds on the chin. He used to give it, so he took it. If you ever went to his club in north Manchester, there was one rule: never go to the toilet. The man will kill you. Kill you.
So he took it and then, with an imperial 'Fuck you all', wandered off stage.
Gretton and Wilson were pleased. An event. This was Manchester.
Afterwards, in the basement party, Wilson offered Manning a white envelope.
'What the fuck's that?'
'Three hundred pounds, Mr Manning. Your fee.'
'Fuck the fee. I didn't do anything. Keep it.'
This was Manchester.

From 24 Hour Party People, by Tony Wilson.
Click here to buy a copy

Paul Mason
Mike Pickering
Paul Cons
The Hacienda Must Be Rebuilt
Can You Feel It?
Interview with the Freaky Dancer
Top Tune - Mike Pickering  

The Haçienda Must Be Built, Jon Savage (1992)
 

From Joy Division to New Order, Mick Middles

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