The Haçienda, Whitworth Street West, M1 5DA
The Haçienda, Whitworth Street West, M1 5DA
The Haçienda, formerly a yacht showroom, stood on the corner of Whitworth Street West and Albion Street. Run by Factory Records, it opened its doors in May 1982, coincidentally the same month Johnny turned up unnanounced at Morrissey's door. In its early days, well before it became known the world over, both Morrissey and Johnny Marr used to frequent the club.
The Smiths played their third gig at The Haçienda on 4th February 1983 supporting jazz-funk outfit 52nd Street. This gig, like the other two that would follow, was recorded, they’re all well worth watching as they demonstrate how the group evolved during 1983.
Morrissey has, for the first time, a bunch of flowers in his hand for the opening number and looks perfectly at home on the stage. Johnny, playing a red Gretsch Super Axe guitar, is sporting an impressive quiff. It was this guitar that Johnny wrote most of The Smiths’ earliest songs on and was used to record ‘Hand in Glove’ as it was the only guitar he owned at the time. Johnny also supplies some backing vocals to ‘What Difference Does it Make?’ and ‘The Hand That Rocks the Cradle’.
Morrissey introduces ‘Handsome Devil’ with the words “The only thing to be in 1983 is handsome”. It was this version of ‘Handsome Devil’ that became the b-side of their debut single ‘Hand in Glove’.
Watching the footage it’s hard to believe that this was only their third gig. I think it’s fair to say that most groups are still mastering starting and finishing songs at the same time at that point in their development. The Smiths however looked and sounded like the finished article which is testament to the amount of work and rehearsal time that they had put in. An indication that everyone involved was taking things very seriously.
Just five months later, on the 6th of July, The Smiths appeared again at the Haçienda, this time as headliners. Being top of the bill meant that the stage had better lighting and the recording was a bit more professional with a camera face on to the stage rather than just one in the wings. Morrissey displays early signs that he knows how to work a camera.
Morrissey’s bunch of flowers was larger than before but still didn’t manage to survive the opening number, ‘You’ve Got Everything Now’. Petals were strewn across the stage, something that would soon be a very familiar sight. Johnny Marr had moved onto playing a black Rickenbacker 330 and had lost the quiff. He no longer had a microphone so a decision must have been made to ditch the backing vocals.
They played a ten song set, there weren’t any fillers, every song would either end up on the first album or as a b-side on a single.
Their final gig at the Haçienda on the 24th of November was a significant day for The Smiths. They had travelled down to London for their first of many appearances on ‘Top of the Pops’. For many people, seeing The Smiths on TV for the first time performing ‘This Charming Man’ would be a life-changing moment. As well as this they were also booked to play The Haçienda on the same night. Rough Trade offered to pay for a helicopter to ferry the group back to Manchester to ensure they arrived back in time. However nobody had confirmed whether Morrissey would be up for it. He wasn’t, so they travelled back on a train from Euston.
By the time they arrived back in Manchester they were running well behind time. The support, James, had been on and finished their set. As they approached the venue they were met by a large crowd trying to get into the venue which was now packed to the rafters. With hardly any time to gather their thoughts they arrived on the stage, welcomed as returning local heroes.
Morrissey, wearing a selection of beads and a brooch had an even larger bunch of flowers and Johnny Marr was now sporting a Brian Jones hairstyle. The crowd were pushed up against the front of the stage and arms were outstretched in the hope of touching Morrissey’s hand. The set was now fourteen songs long although that did include ‘Hand in Glove’ and ‘This Charming Man’ being played twice. The group looked relaxed in the middle of the raucous crowd. Even when Morrissey was nearly pulled into the crowd on a number of occasions they behaved as if this was an everyday occurrence, which it soon would be.
Looking at the audience down the front you can sense the utter devotion some people had for the group, even though at this point they’d only released a couple of singles and completed a number of radio sessions.
Morrissey would make one more appearance at the Haçienda when he was interviewed by Tony Fletcher for The Tube in January 1984. He was asked about the debut album, Morrissey replied “I really do expect the highest critical praise for it”.
The Haçienda was closed in 1997 and was eventually demolished in 2002. An apartment block took its place called ‘Haçienda Apartments’. While you’re at this location go round to the rear of the block to the Rochdale Canal towpath, there you’ll find a Haçienda timeline commemorating various groups who played at the venue. The year 1983 is represented by The Smiths. The photo below was taken a few years ago, last time I looked the area was covered in graffiti, hopefully it's been cleaned up.
I only went to the Haçienda once, it was during the 1988 Smiths Convention. For the music press devouring indie fan, The Haçienda was one of those places that I’d read a lot about. So come ten o’clock, I was in the queue with a large number of other Smiths fans waiting to step inside the famous building. Thursday night was ‘Temperance Club’ night aimed at the indie / student crowd so it was right up our street. Inside it was stark, industrial and felt more like a place of work (a factory?) rather than a nightclub. I’ve got a vivid recollection of what it looked and felt like but sadly can’t recall any of the music.
At one point a rumour swept through the club that Morrissey was outside in a white VW Golf. I’ve no idea if this actually occurred but it does appear from doing a bit of research, that both Mike Joyce and Andy Rourke were there that evening and were in the DJ booth. This, let’s face it, very important bit of information passed me by so I’m afraid I missed the opportunity to meet them.
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