Original Ravers, the second photo book from the British Culture Archive’s publishing programme, is a collection of portraits of the faces and staff behind Manchester’s iconic Haçienda nightclub. Following the success of Not Going Home – Original Ravers is a celebration of the club culture and fashions of the 1990s.
The Original Ravers portraits—previously unseen and unpublished—have been recently scanned from Peter J Walsh’s extensive archive. They were taken on what many thought would be the last weekend of the club, prior to its voluntary closure in 1991 due to gang trouble.
Peter Walsh – “Paul Cons, the entertainment manager, rang to say The Haçienda was closing. It was a shock. I’d been documenting the rise of Acid House for NME, The Face, and i-D, and as a regular, I knew how central the club was to Manchester and far beyond. I asked to photograph the final nights and got the OK to set up a studio in the basement via the Gay Traitor bar. I found space among old props and barrels, hung a cloth backdrop, and aimed for stark black-and-white portraits—this was 1991, pre-digital photography. On the last Friday and Saturday, I set up early, waited for peak time, and—with my assistant Leslie pulling dancers off the floor—photographed whoever came down, many still in coats in the January cold. Four days later, at the press conference on 30th January, 1991 with Paul Cons and Tony Wilson, the immediate closure was confirmed. None of us knew if the club would ever reopen.”
These portraits are an intimate time capsule of that era. The Haçienda made its mark on the global landscape of club culture, fashion, and youth identity. The loose, unpretentious & baggy fashions worn for freedom of movement were in stark contrast to the strict dress codes of the 1980s nightclubs, and at The Haçienda, anything went. Ecstasy and the rise of club culture broke down barriers and united a generation. It was about the music, the atmosphere, and the shared experience. — Paul Wright, British Culture Archive.
Publish date 23rd September, 2025.
Order Here: https://britishculturearchive.co.uk/product/original-ravers-peter-j-walsh-first-edition/
