Legendary Hacienda Club comes to a close

The legendary Hacienda Club was once called the most famous club in the world

January 8, 2001
Web posted at: 2:09 PM EST (1909 GMT)

MANCHESTER, England (CNN) -- The city of Manchester is known primarily as the home of the champion football team Manchester United and the dueling Gallagher brothers of the rock band Oasis.

It's also home to the legendary Hacienda Club, once considered the most popular club on the planet, which was recently closed, torn down and auctioned off. So popular was the club that it was disassembled and its scrap items sold, piece by piece, to museums and club devotees.

Founded in the early '80s by the band New Order, the Hacienda was the birthplace of the acid-house music revolution. At its height, Newsweek magazine dubbed it the most famous club in the world.

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CNN's WorldBeat looks at the history of the Hacienda Club Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)

The club's spectacular success certainly wasn't foretold by it humble beginnings.

New Order members were adept at music, but not at managing. The Hacienda lost money from the moment it opened its doors and continued to operate in the red for its first five years.

Then, for a two-year period beginning in 1986, something happened.

"There were two pieces of technology that came along in the late '80s," said New Order's Peter Hook. "One was the drum machine, which allowed white boys to be nearly as rhythmic as black boys; and the other was the drug ecstasy, which allowed white boys to dance."

Just as the "dancing white boys" trend began to take hold in Europe, black gay clubs in the United States began exporting house music. The two waves, which became known as the acid-house music revolution, collided at the Hacienda Club.

After the Hacienda Club closed, pieces of the building were sold to museums and club devotees

The Smiths, Simple Minds, Echo & The Bunnymen and Divine are just a few of the artists who have performed at the Hacienda.

But, despite their club's success, the fast-and-loose lifestyle of the music world eventually caught up with the club's owners.

"It became a very big drain emotionally and financially," said Anthony Wilson, a former owner. "Worrying to death every time the phone rang, fearing somebody had been shot, poisoned or beat up, you get to the point in your life when you think, `I can't do this anymore.'"

There was another consideration, too. "We're not the greatest businessmen in the world," Wilson said. "And this place stands as a testament to that."

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