Photographs of The Hacienda, Manchester, 1986 (Pre-Acid House)

In its early years, the Hacienda had a different vibe than the later, well-documented era of acid house and door wars. Few images of Manchester’s clubland from this period exist. The city itself was undergoing a quiet transformation, its crumbling warehouses and fading grandeur providing the backdrop to a melting pot of subcultures, fashions, and music that would ignite a cultural revolution in the years to come.

Elsewhere in Manchester, venues like The Ritz and Rotters clung to the old order: strict dress codes, sticky carpets, and a faint air of faded glamour. The Haçienda, by contrast, felt radical — a cavernous, concrete cathedral where jeans and trainers were welcome, and where the rules of nightlife were quietly being rewritten. It was, even then, a breath of fresh air.

Somewhere for the Misfits

Photographer Andy ‘Beezer’ Beese visited Manchester in 1986 and captured the Haçienda during a time before it became synonymous with Club Culture. The club was open every night and attracted a diverse crowd of punters, including punks, perry boys, goths, and students. Unlike most clubs during that period, there was no dress code. The Haçienda was somewhere for the misfits, a cold and cavernous space that would often feel empty. In its early years, the former yacht showroom turned New York-style warehouse club baffled many Mancunians.

Hewan Clarke

Hewan Clarke, The Haçienda’s original resident DJ, was personally recruited by Tony Wilson, who had first encountered him while he was touring with Factory’s inaugural signing, A Certain Ratio. Already a familiar figure on Manchester’s all-day soul scene alongside Mike Shaft and Colin Curtis, Clarke brought with him a deep knowledge of soul and funk, spinning fresh imports straight from the city’s iconic record shop, Spin Inn.

In those early nights, Clarke learned how to read the room, mixing in crowd-pleasers like Orange Juice, Bowie and Kraftwerk alongside more underground cuts from the States. His sets laid the foundation for what the club would become: a place where the new sounds from Chicago and Detroit could take root and grow.

Clarke left The Haçienda in 1983 to take up a residency at another of Manchester’s legendary venues, Berlin, making way for Greg Wilson. Wilson introduced electro — and brought in the Broken Glass Crew, whom he managed, to perform live, further cementing The Haçienda’s reputation as a place of musical innovation.

"In the early days, most of us took refuge downstairs in the Gay Traitor as the main dance floor was always really cold. There would only be about thirty of us, all wearing heavy overcoats and trying to dance. The DJ box was still on the stage, and you could even get your hair cut downstairs in Swing (The Haçienda's onsite Salon run by Andrew Berry)."

Mark Jordan (Haçienda Regular)

Madonna on The Tube

Before long, the club’s band nights became a major draw, showcasing early performances from the likes of The Smiths and Cocteau Twins — acts that would soon define a generation. In 1984, Madonna famously made her UK live debut here during an episode of The Tube, miming and dancing to Holiday before a bemused and largely indifferent audience.

In many ways, The Haçienda was a fitting stage for her: Madonna had cut her teeth in New York’s club scene — places like Danceteria — which themselves were a key inspiration for what Tony Wilson and Factory were trying to create in Manchester. This connection across the Atlantic underscored what The Haçienda was becoming: not just a local curiosity, but a club with a vision rooted in global culture and possibility.

"Nude night was busy from the off, Mike Pickering and Little Martin would play early house records from Chicago and Detroit, prior to it blowing up with the arrival of ecstasy."

Nude Night

Friday nights started to gain traction with the popular Nude Night launched by Mike Pickering and Martin Prendergast (Little Martin), who both played under the name MP2. The night was pretty much packed from the off; Mike and Martin would play early house tracks from Chicago and Detroit to a clued-up crowd, prior to it blowing up with the arrival of ecstasy and acid house.

Tony Wilson

From Bernard Manning to Acid House, the formative years of the Haçienda were far from ordinary. The following statement from Tony Wilson appeared in a 1982 issue of The Face magazine as part of a review of the opening night:

"For any real form of substantive youth culture to thrive in a city, there has to be a place to go, somewhere to meet. That place, in turn, becomes representative of the city's culture and gains respect and a reputation for the city. Manchester was way ahead of everyone else during the first days of punk. Why? We had a marvellous meeting place called the Electric Circus. Since the Circus closed its doors, there has been Rafters, and after that, The Factory to keep Manchester going. But for the last two years, there has been absolutely nothing of any interest here... The Hacienda had to be built."

Tony Wilson