Fixtures and fittings from the HACIENDA nightclub were auctioned off on Saturday (November 25), putting a full stop on the story of MADCHESTER in front of its heroes – including PETER HOOK and BERNARD SUMNER of NEW ORDER, and M PEOPLE’s MIKE PICKERING.
The auction, which took place at the Richard Conrad building in Manchester, saw a total of 69 lots sold in aid of the Greater Manchester Community Foundation charity.
Attending were an array of Madchester heroes, which also included legendary Hacienda DJs Graeme Park and Bobby Langley, and founder Tony Wilson.
Of the lots, the most expensive sale was the triptych of paintings from the club’s walls. The eventual sale went to Pickering for £3,200. He told NME.COM he wanted them because his wife painted them. He said: “She did all the set for that, that’s where I met her. Most of us met our wives there, made our children there.”
He continued: “There’s been a lot of bargains here. I think that it’s good that it’s reached a resolve at the end of the story you know, and the people involved have got a bit to take with them, which is also fantastic.”
The biggest surprise of the day came when the most coveted lot, the DJ booth only managed to fetch £1,100. Rumours that Sasha wanted to buy it proved unfounded after it was sold to DJ and designer Bobby Langley, who had manned the decks during the club’s glory days.
Speaking to NME.COM following the sale, he said: “It’s really weird at the moment. It looks really weird taking it out of the Hacienda. I’m gonna keep it in Manchester, take it out to Glastonbury maybe, put wheels on it, take it to Ibiza over the sea!”
Tony Wilson was also glad that the booth will stay in Manchester, telling NME.COM: “I’m glad Bobby’s got it. It’s absolutely fantastic. He’ll just have to find somewhere to put it. It’ll be interesting to find somewhere, physically. That’s the whole point, this place has to come down, it has to move on. It’s rock’n’roll, it has to move on, but where it goes to I don’t really know.”
New Order and Monaco bass player Peter Hook, a director of the Hacienda had a go at leading the bidding, and took the opportunity to pay tribute to Rob Gretton, New Order’s manager and mentor, who died suddenly last year. He later told NME.COM: “I didn’t even know how I’d feel and it really surprised me how emotional it was. It’s just weird thinking of Rob Gretton not being here and this place still being here, it’s very very odd. But I enjoyed it. It was nice to see everybody. It just shows that it did create something that was very strong indeed.”
Other notable sales were the famous ‘Budweiser’ bar, which sold for just £50, and the four video game panels, which only fetched £20.
The total figure raised will be confirmed later today. The Hacienda closed in 1997 after 15 years. The building is now in the process of being demolished to make way for city centre apartments.