Cerysmatic.Factory

Praxis XL - A Factory Anniversary Exhibition

2019-09-16T22:09:00.002+01:00

Hot on the heels of Use Hearing Protection FAC 1-50 / 40, The Modernist Society in Manchester presents a brand new exhibition, with 40 examples of Factory's design output celebrating the cultural legacy of Factory Records.

Trevor Johnson, who was responsible for many great Factory record sleeves, both with Johnson/Panas and independently, has curated and designed the exhibition with his brother Craig, also a key member of the Johnson Panas team at the time. Johnson Panas also designed much of the Fac 51 The Haçienda and Fac 201 Dry visual identities.

A unique brand has been created for the exhibition: PRAXIS XL. This is a reference to the philosophy expounded by Anthony Wilson (and The Modernist Society) that praxis was "Doing something because you have the urge to do it, inventing the reasons later."

The exhibition will run until 23 December 2019. More details when we have them.

The Modernist
58 Port Street
Manchester M1 2EQ

See also; modernist-society.org [->]

Meanwhile, those who wish to remind themselves of AHW's praxis theories should reacquaint themselves with Channel 4's 'New Order Play at Home' documentary from 1984 (see below).

FAC 51 The Hacienda T-Shirts.

2010-02-26T00:51:00.000+00:00

Over the years, a huge array of T-Shirts were produced for FAC 51 The Hacienda. Various shirts were made for the individual club nights (even those outside of the Hacienda itself) but there was also an impressive side industry in Staff, Security and even Customer T-Shirts. FAC 201 Dry also had its own birthday night, Staff and Security shirts. A selection is presented here, courtesy of Ang Matthews, ex-Hacienda manager, who takes up the story for Cerysmatic Factory:

"I worked at the Haç, behind the bar, '83 to '84 whilst I was a student: then went back as Assistant Manager '89 to'90: then, after the police court case & we re-opened, I became Manager & Licensee from '91 to '96.

"So, the T-Shirt thing. T-shirts had always been a major part of the Factory artefacts since the Hacienda had opened. The first T-Shirts, the Birthday T-Shirts and the Staff / Security T-shirts were always freebies but then we started selling some from the Haç cloakroom and they did OK. It was then decided to do this 'properly' & sell them from FAC 281 The Area. In true Factory fashion we never made a penny on them. This was a constant question of Wilson's - how come we lost money on our T-Shirts, especially the World in Motion ones - a large part of FAC 301 Factory Conference was taken up debating this. And no, we never came up with the answer.

"It was easy to get sponsorship from the drinks companies for the T-shirts - I'd just ask. The staff were always on at me to get new ones for them. I later found out why, they were selling them on the side. I found this out when I saw more than a few holiday-makers in Pasha, Ibiza wearing staff T-shirts - they told me they'd paid £50 for them off various members of the bar staff.

"Anyway, I got all the T-shirts together and decided to sell them. I love that pic of them all stacked up. Why did I sell them? Well, I didn't see any point in just keeping them in boxes - there were far too many to frame, so to eBay they went. There are 3 T-Shirts I've kept - the Black 'Haç '90 Hoodie', 'The Haçienda Must Be Built' and 'Haç Flowers' - these 3 were my favourites and, for me, epitomise a certain time long ago."

Many thanks to Ang for her memories and to Eastie for photography.

Something for the weekend

2007-11-16T22:00:00.000+00:00

Well, almost. Laurent (of the family) Garnier has given an extensive interview to Miami New Times to promote a rare Florida appearance this evening.

Though Laurent talks about his time in Manchester he neglects to mention his stint as short-order chef in Dry Bar, before running what was effectively The Hacienda Paris and going on to become a well-reknowned international DJ and musician.

Pick up!

Clubbers go down in Haçienda history

2007-05-18T13:40:00.000+01:00

The Museum of Science and Industry (MoSI) is celebrating the 25th anniversary of the opening of the Haçienda nightclub, with a reminiscence event at the former Factory bar, Dry, FAC 201, on Oldham Street in Manchester.

MoSI is appealing for first-hand accounts from regular clubbers at the Haçienda, which will be recorded on the anniversary night. The recording will help give context to the Museum's archive collection of Haçienda material, some of which is currently displayed in the Museum's Collections Centre. The event is free of charge but places are limited, so participants should call MoSI to reserve a ticket.

The Haçienda opened on 21 May 1982 and closed in 1997. The event at Dry Bar, on 21 May, aims to encourage former fans of the Haçienda to share their memories of the iconic Manchester club, which rose to international acclaim and put the city at the centre of Britain's dance culture. Favourite Haçienda tunes will be spinning on the wheels of steel while the microphone is passed around.

Later, fans who want to continue the nostalgia party have the option of free transport to a film night, Ghosts of the Haçienda, at One Central Street, which will celebrate the anniversary by showing films of club action shot by Ikon.

Jan Hargreaves, Senior Archivist at MoSI said: "The Haçienda is an important part of Manchester's identity, and attracted international attention on the dance scene through its championing of Chicago House and later as a focal point for the 'Madchester' scene. We have a number of collection items from the club, such as flyers, posters and copies of Ben Kelly's building design plans, but we wanted to capture some of the essence about why it became so successful. The best way to do that is to speak to the people who were part of that scene and add their voices to our collections. Please do come along and help us to put clubbers' stories of the Haçienda down in history. It should be a fun event, with a chance to catch up with old friends, listen to some favourite tunes and share memories of one of Manchester's most well-loved institutions."

Participants at MoSI's Haçienda Memories event at Dry will receive a complimentary drink, snacks, and optional transport to the Ghosts of the Haçienda event, at One Central Street. Ghosts is a ticketed event and tickets priced 5.00 GBP (3.00 GBP concs) can be obtained from Ticketline.

Haçienda-related items from the Museum's Factory Communications archive include guest lists, details of records played, building design plans, posters, flyers and membership cards. Items from the collection are on public display from 3 May to 29 June in the MoSI Collections Centre.

To attend MoSI's Haçienda memories event at Dry Bar, please contact Sallyann Browning on Tel: 0161 606 0112 to reserve your place. Event runs from 6-8.30pm, 21 May at Dry Bar, Oldham Street, Manchester. Complimentary drinks and snacks will be available, and transport is available to the Ghosts of the Haçienda event at One Central Street at 9pm.

'Grand Designs' on Ben Kelly

2005-01-17T03:51:00.000+00:00

The latest issue of 'Grand Designs' magazine (an offshoot of the successful Channel 4 television programme) has a feature on Ben Kelly, the designer of Fac 51 The Hacienda, Fac 201 Dry and the Fac 251 Factory HQ.

Ben Kelly website revamp

2004-11-25T13:43:00.000+00:00

Ben Kelly's website has been fully revamped to include a comprehensive portfolio of all his work including Fac 51 The Hacienda, Fac 201 Dry, Fac 251 Factory HQ, an apartment for Peter Saville and Tony Wilson's Manchester loft.

Factory at the crossroads

2004-11-17T22:20:00.000+00:00

The 'New Factory', the Fac 251 headquarters building that Factory commissioned at One Charles Street in Manchester was quite an architectural landmark. Ben Kelly (also the designer of Fac 51 The Hacienda and Fac 201 Dry) and "co-designer" Elena Massucco brought on the style. In this excerpt from a City Life magazine article on the building (and also the Siemens building in West Didsbury), Elena Massucco explains some of the philosophy behind its design, in particular "the slot" (the front door, the exterior of which can be glimpsed in this photo of The Wendys): "there was originally a door there, and we just wanted to make an impressive gesture at the crossroads, bringing the building out into the outside world: it would tie it up for us." The slot allows you, on entering the building, to see up to the first and second floors, and vice versa. "It was important for the first floor (the office level) to have a feeling of people going in and out - they don't have to be cut off".

Drink Leningrad Dry

2003-12-21T19:48:00.000+00:00

Congratulations to City Life magazine on their 20th Birthday! Their commemorative issue (with Noel Gallagher cover) features various retrospective articles and awards including The Citizen's 'Two Decades of Mischief'. He mused in December 1991 that "the increasingly hirsute Anthony H Wilson is thinking of expanding the Factory empire by getting into Eastern Europe. One of his ideas is to open a Dry Bar in Leningrad, just one of Manchester's seven twin cities."

The same issue also speculates on the best Manchester single from the same 20-year period. Factory entries include Joy Division's 'Love Will Tear Us Apart', New Order's 'Blue Monday' and Happy Mondays' 24 Hour Party People. You can vote for your favourite at www.citylife.co.uk.

Finally, in clubbing, 'Wet' a Hacienda event at a swimming pool in Hathersage Road baths in November 1988 is lovingly remembered.

That's enough City Life / Factory reminiscences.

Pills 'N' Thrills and Bellyaches

2003-10-01T13:17:00.000+01:00

Check out BBC Radio 2 tonight for a new documentary series by Stuart Maconie which is a "tribute to the sound of Manchester during the late Eighties when the Stone Roses and Happy Mondays got the scene going".

Maconie goes back to the mid-Seventies and the Sex Pistols too. Fac afficionados will fondly remember Maconie's contribution to the seminal Madchester: The Sound of the North documentary by Granada Television in which he, James Brown (then both with the NME) and Pete Walsh took a tour round Dry 201 in Oldham Street, Manchester.

Design Council

2003-09-12T18:08:00.000+01:00

The Design Council's offices [revised link] for which Ben Kelly was the architect are open to the public as part of London Open House Weekend on 20/21 September. This is an opportunity to explore buildings which are not normally open to everyone.

Ben Kelly is also the architect of Fac 51 The Haçienda, Dry 201 and the Fac 251 Factory HQ.

In the movie 24 Hour Party People, Ben Kelly is portrayed in a very small cameo by Trevor Johnson (fellow Factory designer of Johnson/Panas fame). Thanks to Andrew James for the tip-off about this event.