Legendary Manchester club The Hacienda is turning 40 this month, and to celebrate there will be a huge party in the car park beneath the apartments where the original club once stood.
Whitworth Street West might now be home to a series of neat magnolia two beds, but – if its walls could talk – they would still speak of hazy all-nighters, sweatbox dancefloors, and the thumping basslines of the early acid house scene where it all began.
Planned to mark 40 years to the day the club first opened its doors, the 40th anniversary party is set to take place on 21 May.
The Hacienda, once a ship building warehouse, then a nightclub, is now flats for Manchester’s city dwellers. / Image: Flickr
The event sees a host of the Hacienda’s finest residents return to the building with Graeme Park, DJ Paulette, Jon Dasilva, Tom Wainwright, Hewan Clarke, Aaron Mellor. K Klass live and surprise guests all coming along for the anniversary party.
The entire eight hour event is to be broadcast live by StreamGM and supports The Christie charity and Legacy Of War Foundation – Ukraine, Factory Founder Alan Erasmus’s appointed charity for his recent humanitarian mission to Ukraine.
All proceeds from the event will be donated to charity, as was the case when a similar event was held at the same location in 2012 to mark the 30th anniversary.
According to reports in the Manchester Evening News, letters signed by organisers including Peter Hook and James Masters have already been sent out to residents of the Hacienda apartments to let them know of the 40th-anniversary plans – and invite them to join in.
The letter reads: “The Hacienda is revered as part of both Manchester’s and the UK’s musical history, returning to the original site of the club for the 40th anniversary will be very special for everyone, undoubtedly enhancing the reputation of the building.
“As you might be aware, FAC251 The Hacienda celebrates the 40th anniversary in May 2022, having opened its doors in May 1982 to create the legacy which has given the apartments their unique heritage and history.
“Some might remember or may even have attended the event which we did for the 30th anniversary in 2012 which was much praised and this event will be generally similar to our previous event in the car park. All proceeds from the event are to be donated directly to charities.”
The letter continues to say they hope residents will be “enthusiastic about the event” and apply for tickets to attend, adding: “It will generate worldwide attention and media on the building and be a great event for all concerned.”
Tickets go on pre-sale Thursday 12 May 10am with a general sale Friday 13 May 10am, both at at www.fac51-thehacienda.com.
‘Dazzling’ Victorian silver sculpture goes on public display in Greater Manchester after fears it was lost
Emily Sergeant
A long-lost masterpiece of Victorian silverwork has been saved and is now on display to the public in Greater Manchester.
Anyone taking a trip over to the National Trust’s historic Dunham Massey property, on the border of Greater Manchester into Cheshire, this summer will get to see the ‘dazzling’ sculpture called Stags in Bradgate Park – which was commissioned by a former owner in a defiant gesture to the society that shunned him.
The dramatic sculpture of two rutting Red Deer stags, commissioned in 1855 by George Harry Grey, 7th Earl of Stamford, was said to be an ‘act of love and rebellion’.
It also serves as a symbol of ‘locking horns’ with the society that ostracised him over his marriage to a woman considered ‘beneath him’.
“This isn’t just silver – it’s a story,” says James Rothwell, who is the National Trust‘s curator for decorative arts.
“A story of a man who fell in love with a woman that society deemed unworthy. When the Earl married Catherine Cox, whose colourful past was said to have included performing in a circus, Victorian high society was scandalised. Even Queen Victoria shunned the couple at the opera and local gentry at the horse races in Cheshire turned their backs on them.”
Modelled by Alfred Brown and crafted by royal goldsmiths Hunt & Roskell, Stags in Bradgate Park is a meticulously-detailed depiction of nature, and was considered a ‘sensation’ in its day.
Showing the rutting deer positioned on a rocky outcrop with gnarled hollow oaks, it graced the pages of the Illustrated London News, was exhibited at the London International Exhibition of 1862, and at the Paris Exposition Universelle of 1867 – both of which were events that drew millions of visitors.
A ‘dazzling’ Victorian silver sculpture has gone on public display in Greater Manchester / Credit: Joe Wainwright | James Dobson (via Supplied)
The silver centrepiece was the celebrity art of its time, paraded through streets and admired by the public like no other.
Gradually over the years, some of the Earl of Stamford’s silver collection has been re-acquired for Dunham Massey, and this particular world-renowned sculpture, thought to be lost for decades and feared to have been melted down, has miraculously survived with its ‘dramatic’ central component being all that is left.
“The sculpture is not only a technical marvel, with its lifelike depiction of Bradgate Park’s rugged landscape and wildlife, but also a dramatic human story key to the history of Dunham Massey,” added Emma Campagnaro, who is the Property Curator at Dunham Massey.
“It speaks of nature, of craftsmanship, and of a couple who chose each other over status and what others thought of them.”
The sculpture has now gone on display at Dunham Massey from Thursday 26 June.
Featured Image – James Dobson (via Supplied)
News
Lewis Capaldi announces MASSIVE comeback gig in Manchester this year
Thomas Melia
Everyone’s favourite Scottish ballad-maker, Lewis Capaldi, is heading out on tour across the UK, including a massive Manchester date.
Scottish singer-songwriter Lewis Capaldi is ready to tug at our heartstrings again right in front of our eyes as he announces a new UK arena tour.
This huge announcement comes right after his surprise set at the UK’s biggest music event of the year, Glastonbury, where he made a heroic return to the Pyramid Stage just two years after being forced to pull out.
Capaldi is known for writing some of the most notable and emotive hits of the late 2010s and early 2020s, including a long list of anthems such as ‘Someone You Loved’, ‘Bruises’ and ‘Before You Go’.
His monster of a hit ‘Someone You Loved’ has surpassed 3.9 billion views and is the UK’s most-streamed song of all time, so it is safe to say that his presence has been well and truly missed.
To many fans’ delight, the singer has stepped back into the spotlight and is ready to sing his heart out live at a variety of arenas across the UK, including Co-op Live right here in Manchester.
Now, in a post on his official Instagram account announcing this upcoming UK and Ireland arena tour, it’s good to see the Scottish powerhouse hasn’t lost his wit and charm as he jokes, “About time I got back to work.”
These shows are set to be in high demand as the singer has also revealed these upcoming dates, “Will be my only shows in the UK, Ireland or Europe this year! Would love to see ya there.”
On the back of his glorious Glasto return, Capaldi has dropped a huge heart-wrencher titled ‘Survive’ which offers more insight into the struggles and challenges the singer has been facing.
There is no confirmation of whether this new single marks the launch of a bigger project or not, but we can’t wait to scream his hits at the top of our lungs, regardless of when he pays Manchester a visit later this year.
Georgina Pellant -
6th May 2022 
