The Haçienda
Madchester was an alternative rock genre that developed in Manchester towards the end of the 1980s and into the early 1990s. The music that emerged from the scene mixed indie rock, psychedelic rock and dance music. Artists associated with the scene included The Stone Roses, the Happy Mondays, the Inspiral Carpets, 808 State, James, The Charlatans, A Guy Called Gerald and others. At that time, The Haçienda was a major catalyst for the distinctive musical ethos in the city that was called the ‘Second Summer of Love’.
Halluçienda poster, Julian Morey 1991
The Haçienda opened in May 1982, for the first few years of its life it played predominantly indie music – and was mainly empty – but gradually began featuring more disco, hip-hop and electro; in this respect, the club enjoyed a relationship of mutual influence with its part-owners New Order as the band became immersed in the New York club scene. In 1986, The Haçienda became the first club in the UK to take house music seriously with the opening of Nude night on Fridays. The night quickly became legendary, and helped to turn around the reputation and fortunes of the club, which went from making a consistent loss to being full every night of the week by early 1987.
Fac 242 Happy Mondays Madchester Rave On 1989
The Happy Mondays were formed in Salford in 1985 and were signed to Factory Records. In October 1988 they released the single Wrote for Luck, Fac 212, which, although commercially not a hit, was recognised as a significant record nationally within the indie and dance communities respectively. By the following November, Madchester seemed to have conquered the consciousness of the country, with four of the defining singles of the movement being released: Move by the Inspiral Carpets, Pacific by 808 State, the Madchester Rave On EP, Fac 242, by the Happy Mondays and Fools Gold/What the World is Waiting For by The Stone Roses. The Happy Mondays record, featuring the lead track Hallelujah!, featured the term ‘Madchester’ on its sleeve, which was designed by Central Station Design.
Fac 232 Happy Mondays Wrote for Luck 1989
The Madchester scene was groundbreaking in the way it brought together dance music and alternative rock. In the 1990s, this became a commonplace formula, found frequently in even the most commercial music. Although not totally a Factory phenomena, the roots of the scene in The Haçienda, the dominance of the scene by Factory band the Happy Mondays, and the visual identity created by Factory designers Central Station – which became ubiquitous on t-shirts the UK over – put Factory at the centre of this brief-lived scene that re-invigorated the fortunes of both Manchester and Factory Records.
