The legendary Manchester club and music venue, which unleashed the acid house and rave scene, is to be the subject of a new one-off BBC Documentary. The Hacienda: The Club That Changed Britain, will be screened on BBC Two this year and will chart the club’s cultural legacy and feature some of the ‘key players’ in its history.
Timed to coincide with the 40th anniversary of the Manchester clubbing institution, the documentary will combine rare and unseen archive footage, as well as first-hand testimony from those who were involved during the Hacienda’s heyday. The star-filled programme will be produced by Wise Owl Films, a production studio based in Leeds, and has been co-commissioned with BBC Popular Music Television.
Other commissioned programmes announced by the BBC this week include Brickies, which returns for a second series and follows the tradespeople who are laying out a future for themselves, and Villages by The Sea. The three commissions are part of the broadcaster’s plans to increase portrayal of all audiences across the UK.
Head of TV Commissioning for BBC England, Aisling O’Connor, said: “BBC England is growing, developing and expanding its scope to make sure we’re reflecting people in every corner of the country. These new series provide a fantastic range of stories which give voices to communities and people not always seen on screen.
"We are working with even more independent production companies from across England, ensuring that we’re bringing the English landscape, locations and most importantly, people to our channels and iPlayer.”
The Hacienda was at the forefront of music and youth culture in the 80s and early 90s and brought bands including New Order via Tony Wilson’s Factory Records to the fore. Just this week it was announced that a huge rave to celebrate the anniversary milestone would be taking place in the basement car park where it all began.
The party is expected to take place in the car park of the Hacienda apartments on Whitworth Street West, where the original club once stood. A party was held in the same spot back in 2012 to mark the 30th anniversary of the club.
The club’s original co-owner Peter Hook was joined by a host of famous faces linked to the Hacienda from the club’s heyday. The proceeds from this year’s event will be donated directly to charity, as was the case for the event in 2012.
The Hacienda first opened its doors in the former yacht warehouse on May 31, 1982. In recent years, the club has seen a revival of sorts, with club nights taking place across the globe and the Hacienda classical combo of orchestra and DJs has proved extremely popular.
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