As FAC51 The Hacienda rounds off a huge year of 40th-anniversary celebrations, the team behind Hacienda Classical has announced it will be making a return to Castlefield Bowl in 2023.
The live party, which sees a full orchestra perform reworked renditions of iconic club classics, will mark a huge return to the open-air amphitheater as it returns to the Castlefield ‘Sounds Of The City’ event for its seventh year.
The annual homecoming is one of the city’s events of the year as The Hacienda’s crowd, DJ Graeme Park, Manchester Camerata, and special guests come together for what is now becoming a legendary Manchester party.
Image: FAC51 The Hacienda
Image: FAC51 The Hacienda
Sold out year after year, Hacienda Classical sees Tim Crooks lead the collective of artists and musicians on stage in performing well-known favourites and new versions of club classics all mixed continuously into one non-stop set.
All of its Castlefield events have previously fully sold out, and next year is likely to be no different with tickets going on sale this Friday 4 November at 9am.
ADVERTISEMENT
The announcement coincides with BBC2’s transmission of the much-awaited documentary The Hacienda: The Club That Shook Britain, set to air this Saturday 5 November 2022 at 10.15pm.
This unique documentary tells the incredible story of a revolution that rose up from within the walls and dancefloor of a former shipbuilding warehouse.
It will chart The Hacienda’s cultural legacy and combine rare and unseen archive footage with first-hand insightful testimony from those involved during The Hacienda’s heyday, some of the key players in the club’s history and famous regulars.
Speaking on Hacienda Classical’s return to Castlefield for the seventh year, Peter Hook commented: “I’m so happy to be coming back to ‘Sounds of The City’ in 2023. I can’t believe this will be our seventh year! Amazing! Without a doubt The Hacienda and its crowd know just how to light this city up and party like there’s no tomorrow. Tony and Rob would be so proud.”
Graeme Park added: “Seven appearances at Castlefield Bowl? Really? This show is always very, very special and I really can’t wait to return for another epic evening in July.”
2022 marks four decades since FAC51 The Hacienda first flung open its doors back in 1982, transforming the run-down Central Manchester yacht showroom into what has become one of the most iconic and influential nightclubs in history.
Considered the UK’s cathedral of house music and then epicentre of the “Madchester” scene, The Hacienda continues to inspire generations new and old, producing world class events that remain true to the ethos and integrity that guided the original club.
ADVERTISEMENT
Tickets for the 2023 Castlefield Bowl show will go on sale this Friday at 9am and can be purchased here.
Feature image – FAC51 The Hacienda
News
Pat Regan at the Fairfield Social Club – a brilliantly unhinged evening of standup comedy
Clementine Hall
There’s a particular kind of chaos that only Pat Regan can deliver, and the recently re-recognised Fairfield Social Club got the full force of it last night.
Making his Manchester debut as part of the ‘A Lovely Time’ series at the equally as lovely Fairfield Social Club, the New York comic, writer, and podcast host arrived with the energy of someone who had already lived through three emotional breakdowns before breakfast and somehow still had the worst to come.
Known for his work on HBO’s Hacks and the cult-favourite podcast Seek Treatment with fellow comic Catherine Cohen, Regan’s stand-up feels less like your traditional comedy set and more like being trapped in the world’s funniest group chat.
The perfectly intimate room beneath Fairfield’s railway arches was packed with adoring fans who were immediately on side as Regan launched into stories about traumatic trips to Paris, Grindr dates, massage tables and having crushes at the gym.
The audience was in the palm of his slightly sweaty hands (don’t worry, he’ll be fine with me saying so), laughing at every awkward punchline and self-deprecating anecdote.
The material is nothing groundbreaking, but this is what makes it so deeply hilarious; never before has shopping for the perfect pair of jeans been so serious and unserious at the same time.
There was laughter rolling through the venue for virtually the entire set, and after an hour of never-ending quips and jokes, we were left wanting more.
And the best part is, it won’t be long until we get more from this place, and it’s no wonder they’re starting to get the hosting plaudits they deserve.
It’s safe to say Fairfield Social Club has become one of Manchester’s most exciting homes for alternative comedy, and this felt like exactly the sort of booking that justifies its growing reputation.
By the time Regan left the stage, the audience looked equal parts exhausted and delighted. An absolutely classy evening indeed.
Find out about what else is on at the Fairfield Social Club HERE.
First-ever JD Wetherspoon pub to open at Manchester Airport
Danny Jones
In news that we feel many Mancs and travellers all-round have been waiting on for a long time, the well-known British chain, JD Wetherspoon, will be opening its first-ever pub at Manchester Airport.
That’s right: soon that first airport pint of the holiday could actually be a relatively cheap one.
While Wetherspoons are no strangers to popping up in terminals across the UK and Ireland, they’ve never done so here in Manchester despite having three, yes THREE, in Gatwick alone.
Not for much longer, though, as soon T2 will be lending more than 3,000 square feet of its prime leisure and retail real estate to a new Greater Manchester ‘Spoons’.
Posting on social media, the airport wrote: “Wetherspoon comes to Manchester Airport this September! The pub will be located in the Terminal 2 Departures lounge and will have more than 300 seats.
“This will become the final major food and drink venue to open its doors as part of our decade-long £1.3bn transformation of Terminal 2. It will be named ‘The Belle Vue’, in a nod to Manchester’s historic showground [now a sports complex and leisure hub].
“It was a focal point for social life in the city from the Victorian period up until 2020, when the final event was held at Belle Vue stadium. The design of the pub is inspired by the history of Belle Vue and the sporting culture of the North West of England. We look forward to welcoming you all in September!”
While a lot of money has been pumped into T2’s refurb as a whole over the past few years, it remains unclear just how much this particular new addition will cost; we do know that great sums were set aside for the launch of the Great Northern Market last year.
The inaugural Manchester Airport Spoons is just the latest in a series of major renovations.
As mentioned, the company already operate several up and down the country – 10 airport pubs, to be specific – but this will be the first in the North West.
Speaking on the news, JD Wetherspoon chief executive John Hutson said in a statement: “We are looking forward to opening at Manchester Airport. We believe our new pub will prove popular with travellers of all ages and be an asset to the new terminal.”
With Manchester Airport adding a dozen new routes to its roster this summer, you can expect to see even more people flying in and out than ever – no doubt having already polished off a cut-price pint or two beforehand.
The Manc Audio -
1st November 2022 
