Wednesday evening at New Century Hall was a 90’s time warp of musical nostalgia as fans and former club goers, performers, artist, poets, and industry bods flocked to Manchester’s NOMA district to celebrate the launch of a brand new book ‘The Hacienda: Threads’.
The venue was decked out in black and yellow rugs, and the drinks were flowing as people took their seats in the main hall, set out in the round with a large table centre stage. A large portrait of Tony Wilson adorned the stage, watching over the action as the evening began with a special ‘in conversation with’.
The lucky punters through the door first claimed a seat near the action, whilst for late arrivals it was standing room only as the special guests took their seats round the dinner table. Noel Gallagher, Peter Hook, Alan McGee, And Matthews, Graeme Park, David Hoyle, Greg Wilson, Ian Griffiths and Greg Wilson were the panel invited to share storied from those infamous Hacienda days.
Noel started the chat discussing dodgy 90’s haircuts, and later stating he was once barred from the club, but ultimately saying that the Hacienda experience were some of his most memorable days of his life (he did not mention the reunion as we were not here for that!)
The Threads book is a collection of previously unseen photographs compiled by Rebecca Hook who orchestrated this magical evening. The book is described as ‘The music. The fashion. The nights. The people. The love. These are the threads that came together to make the Haçienda great‘. Being in that room this evening with a significant amount of individuals who made the club undoubtably one of the most famous nightclubs in the history of the UK scene was quite surreal.
The crowd was filled with famous faces from the world of art, music, acting and sports superstars, at one point I did find myself stood next to Gary Neville, (a huge fan of music and of course recently featuring with the band The Reytons in a viral video about joining their band as a bass player).
Tributes were paid to factory records throughout the evening, and of course the night would not be complete without a performance from the Queen of Manchester herself Rowetta. The DJ’s kept the crowd entertained late into the night, no doubt provoking happy memories for all from that magical period that Manchester will never forget.
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