In May of 1982,
Factory Records
co-founder
Tony Wilson
opened The Hacienda, a giant night club and music venue in a former warehouse space in Manchester, England. The Hacienda was one of several key spaces in the early days of Manchester's rave and acid house scenes, and served as a playground for
Wilson
, the
Factory
bands, and all of the other 24-hour party people of its day.
FAC51: The Hacienda 1982
ties in with the 40th Anniversary of the legendary club, collecting a staggering 65 tracks from bands and artists of the period who either played at the venue, had their songs spun by the house DJs, or were otherwise connected with the early-'80s nightlife excitement that The Hacienda embodied. With 65 tracks, we're treated to the ubiquitous and the obscure alike, with songs as emblematic of the era as
Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five
's "The Message" and
Dexy's Midnight Runners
' "Come On Eileen" to lesser-known cuts by
Annette Peacock
,
African Head Charge
Ludus
Josef K
, and more. Timeless
Motown
cuts like
Edwin Starr
's "War" or
the Temptations
' "Ball of Confusion" pepper the other tracks and help convey what might be on the playlist on an average night at The Hacienda shortly after it opened. ~ Fred Thomas