Peter Hook's memoir - Rated 
An excellent new view on an already familiar tale. Tony Wilson has given his perspective.
Now Hooky gives us a warts and all run through of the 14 years that most of the money
made by New Order was ploughed into the black hole which was the Hacienda. Essential reading
for all prospective club owners and historians of modern Manchester. He had a lot of fun
but it cost him. Well written and full of anecdotes which I had never heard before.
Facs are stranger than fiction - Rated
If ever there was an illustration of the adage that friendship and business don't mix, this is it. At a time when New Order should have been doing very well, thank you, Hooky was working as a shifter at the Hac for an extra £10 a week. And all because the cavernous white elephant of the Hacienda was swallowing every penny of their earnings. It just goes to show that you can't eat NME front covers.
This is a story of something that couldn't happen now because we've all become too cynical. Opening a club for your contemporaries is one thing; spending vast sums of money on turning it into a venue that nobody in the UK had seen before is another. Then disastrously employing friends rather than people with experience to run it. The Hacienda was the most brilliant, idealogical folly from Day One.
It's a very British story of bloody-mindedness that eventually (almost) paid off - and not just through luck. They could have catered solely to their natural indie rock constituency. Instead they chose to focus on cutting edge dance music - first Electro and Hip-hop, then House. Consequently, the place was practically empty for its first five tears. But what that policy did was to lay the groundwork for what was to come.
My Hacienda years were 1986-1990 - the peak period. As a punter, I must admit that I was unconvinced by house. I preferred my dance music to have a groove and I found the four-to-the-floor beats a little too straight. But then I wasn't doing E's. This book does point out the fallacy that everybody was 'on one'. In fact, you had to know the right shady characters and most attendees were just plain drunk. Personally, when the arty, smartly dressed crowd was replaced by baggy types, I felt the place lost something. But then I never did do populism.
Hooky is shamelessly honest in his revelations - particularly the story of the Helleman's Mayonaisse tub. When he gets to the 'Gunchester' period, I became particularly glad I saw which way the wind was blowing and stopped going. The Situationist manifestos and co-operative management policies began to look rather Utopian when confronted by young idiots with guns out to make a name for themselves.
Maybe the book doesn't quite capture the sheer hedonistic thrill of the period - preferring to publish dry (no pun intended) balance sheets for accountants to shake their heads at. But when I see Peter Hook again, I will buy him a drink. God knows the poor bloke deserves it.
The Viking of Whitworth Street - Rated
"The Hacienda: How Not to Run a Club" is a tale of underground music descending into criminal underworld. I always thought the members of New Order exaggerated their claims of the Hacienda having been a millstone around their necks. It seems I was wrong.
The story: Rob Gretton (the late New Order manager) takes Peter Hook and assorted Hacienda staff on a 15 year long quixotic escapade. Sex and drugs and acid house and all that. What is surprising is that, if Hooky was as trolleyed as he claims to have been, how he actually remembered all this in so much detail.
Funny and shocking in equal parts, the book paints an unexpectedly objective, though negative, picture but without ever resorting to bitterness (commendably). Barney Sumner is sparingly, though respectfully referred to. Stephen Morris and Gillian Gilbert, on the other hand, are barely mentioned at all. Towards the end, as Hook recounts how the magic died, it all gets rather depressing. Thankfully there's no shortage of amusing anecdotes to lift the mood. My favourite is the Sham 69 one (good to know Hooky was a fan too!)
It's not perfect a perfect book - there are a few "Did I Say That?" moments and at least one factual error caused, I would suggest, by sloppy editing as opposed to any lack of knowledge on the author's part.
But it doesn't matter. As Factory books go, this and 24 Hour Party People are in a league of their own. In fact you could base a screenplay on this.
So now that Tony and Hooky have both written great books - over to Bernard?
A rivetting read from start to finish! - Rated 
Fac 51 - The Hacienda - How Not To Run A Club - Peter Hook
The Hacienda - several things spring to mind when the name is mentioned - gangsters , guns, drugs, violence , acid house - we've heard it all before ..... Or have we?
Peter Hook, bass player in Joy Division / New Order and co-owner of the Hacienda candidly tells the story of Manchester's most iconic super club from its inception to its closure .
Hooky gives a unique insight into the heady days of club culture in Manchester. From the Ben Kelly design which went five times over budget, to police interference ,monotonous weekly management meetings and the financial nightmare that the Hacienda became. As if we wouldn't expect any less, Hooky writes the book in his typical trademark tongue in cheek fashion. Hooky's direct, tell it as it is, approach grips the reader from the start to finish. While it becomes clear throughout the book that none of those involved had any idea of how to run a successful club or bar, the excitement felt at being involved in the ever evolving music scene is evident through Hooky's enthusiastic descriptions and anecdotes.
A chapter is devoted to each year the Hacienda was open and includes 16 illustrated pictures of the Hacienda inside and out, posters, flyers and even a rare picture of the enigma, Alan Erasmus. The "What's On" section from each year lists the events that took place every month and will take many people back and jog memories for the ones who had forgotten they were there! Excerpts from the company accounts and committee meetings are also provided for each year, illustrating the costs involved and the difficulties faced financially.
This story is not just Hooky's story, but also the story of the many other people involved in The Hacienda, The Dry Bar and Factory records and how these initially separate enterprises became inextricably linked. We learn not only how the relationships of those involved developed over the years but how the careers of renowned club dj's were launched, such as Hacienda pot collector Laurent Garnier, John Dasilva and Mike Pickering.
In 1997 the doors to the country's most famous club closed forever, but the memory, for those who lived through the highs and lows lives on in this book ,in this story, Hooky's story.
This a great read and highly recommended, not only for the true New Order/ Peter Hook fan but for anyone with an interest in the rise and fall of the Hacienda and the evolvement of the British music and club scene of the 1980's and 1990's.
Steve Smith
www.neworderinfoweb.piczo.com
Memories - Rated
Only arrived today, had quick flick through, very much split into years which is great for ex-Hac goers like me, can't wait to read. Has Hooky's colourful language and humour running through the snippets I read :-)
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