Hacienda:Threads book

Not sure if there's been a, um, thread about this already but i stumbled across this new book in a local bookshop at the weekend. Was previously unaware of it. Think it was on sale at £35, so not cheap. But it's a bloody big book. Rebecca Hook put it together. Hundreds of powerfully evocative photos taken in the Hacienda back in the day, a lot of which i'd never seen. I didn't buy but may do at some point.

https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-hacienda-threads/rebecca-hook/peter-hook/9781802797688

Fotz wrote: Not sure if there's been a, um, thread about this already

You mean this thread about Threads?

Perhaps putting it in Music For Pleasure was a bit niche of me. I was aware that it was expensive so haven't rushed to seek it out. Looks like it's about £30 on Amazon now. Haven't seen/heard much fuss about it. Maybe everyone has had their fill of this nostalgic stuff now? If it drops to £15 then I'll start sniffing around.

^Ah, thanks D. Missed your original thread. Yes i kind of got tired of all the nostalgia stuff a long time ago but surprisingly i was quite blown away by a lot of the photos in this new book. Cracking pics.

I have to be honest, the JD/NO collector/amateur historian part of me has me wanting to pick this book up.

However, I really don't have more than a passing interest in the Haç as a 'dance music venue'. Rave culture does nothing for me.

Although I'm sure there may be some bits about the club as a 'live music venue' (which i am interested in), it looks like it's more likely to be about acid house, 'Nude'/'Temperance' etc. nights, rather than the bands that performed there in the early to mid-80s.

Maybe if the price drops a bit, I'll take a punt.

^ Yes, from what i saw when flicking through in the shop it's mainly photos from the club nights. That does interest me though as i did get to a couple there back in the day and was into clubbing a fair bit in general in that era. Not sure there's many photos of bands and such there from before the Madchester period, which is a bit dissapointing. Think i only spotted one solitary, small, pic of Barney during a New Order gig there in 83.. A section of the book is a lot of scans of Newspaper front pages running headlines about the goings on, for good and bad of the place. But yeah, i too may try wait to see if i spot the book cheaper in price.

Well i succumbed and blew £35 on a copy from a local book shop . Got home and discovered it's actually signed by Rebecca Hook and Hooky.

There is a fair bit covering those early years before the House , Acid and Madchester era. More than i'd first thought when i'd flicked through in the shop last weekend.Various pieces with conversation between the usual and not so usual suspects. A lot of photos of nights, punters, flyers, tales and more from the early years. The book focuses a lot on the people that went- many photos were contributed by punters.

New Order related - there's a scan of a Factory press release for the world premiere at the club on Friday 26th August 1983 of the video to Confusion. And in a later page a photo of an art installation at the club in 1986 of a pile around one of the dancefloor pillars consisting of thousands of unsold copies of Confusion 12". Think i may have read abouth that before somewhere.

Thanks Fotz. Reassuring that there is some coverage of the early years.

Nice that they both signed it too!

Well, from saying that I'd probably wait for a price-drop before I bought it, I went ahead and ordered a copy (apparently it's signed by both too). One for the collection more than reading material for me, I think.

I think it's Hooky in the book that points out that once the dance scene took off from 88 onwards , that was all the Hacienda focused on.Sad in a way. Before that there was of course all manner of stuff. Not just bands but stand up, art installations, fashion shows you name it. Even Vera Duckworth one night.

A small error in the book is in a piece about The Tube at the Hacienda and Madonna's appearance it says it was July 1984. I at first thought oh they made a small mistake with the month. But later , again , it goes on about being "filmed in the afternoon" on a blazing hot July day. Erm, nope. It was live at teatime one Friday in January 84. I remember watching live. And a quick Google will confirm it was January 84, not July.

Kind Regards A. Pedant

Fotz wrote:

A small error in the book is in a piece about The Tube at the Hacienda and Madonna's appearance it says it was July 1984. I at first thought oh they made a small mistake with the month. But later , again , it goes on about being "filmed in the afternoon" on a blazing hot July day. Erm, nope. It was live at teatime one Friday in January 84. I remember watching live. And a quick Google will confirm it was January 84, not July.

Kind Regards A. Pedant

Weird. You could understand if it was just a typo and they meant January, not July, but to mention the temperature…?

Fotz wrote: Well i succumbed and blew £35 on a copy from a local book shop . Got home and discovered it's actually signed by Rebecca Hook and Hooky.

perspexorange wrote: Well, from saying that I'd probably wait for a price-drop before I bought it, I went ahead and ordered a copy (apparently it's signed by both too).

I've heard it's harder and more expensive to get an unsigned copy...

perspexorange wrote:

Fotz wrote:

A small error in the book is in a piece about The Tube at the Hacienda and Madonna's appearance it says it was July 1984. I at first thought oh they made a small mistake with the month. But later , again , it goes on about being "filmed in the afternoon" on a blazing hot July day. Erm, nope. It was live at teatime one Friday in January 84. I remember watching live. And a quick Google will confirm it was January 84, not July.

Kind Regards A. Pedant

Weird. You could understand if it was just a typo and they meant January, not July, but to mention the temperature…?

It tells how the club was bathed in sunshine coming through the windows in the roof! Weird.