The Haçienda changed music for fifteen years — and lost money every one

The Haçienda opened on 21 May 1982 in a former yacht showroom on Whitworth Street West, Manchester, and was given its own entry in the Factory Records catalogue: FAC 51. Owned by Factory and New Order, it hosted Madonna's first UK television performance in 1984, then became the crucible of acid house and the Madchester scene — the club that defined a city's music.

The fame never turned into takings. The floor was full but the bar stayed quiet — ecstasy-era crowds did not drink — and the club haemorrhaged money, subsidised by New Order's record royalties: roughly £6 million of the band's earnings went in, and Peter Hook later estimated total losses at up to £18 million. Factory Records went bankrupt in 1992, yet the club kept running on debt and reputation.

By 1997 the debts were unmanageable and the licence went with them: the final night came on 28 June 1997, and the company folded soon after. The fixtures were auctioned in 2000 and the building demolished in 2002 — replaced by apartments that kept the name, The Haçienda.