Originally from Scotland but brought up in the East Midlands in the early 80s, Graeme Park found himself being asked to cover Mike Pickering at the Hacienda and that’s how he ended up staying there, and eventually became one of the most notorious and influential DJ's on the 90s Acid House scene.
“The rave scene ultimately kind of democratised everything for everyone, and nobody cared who you were or what your background was.”
Our current generation has club nights open until four, five, 6am, but in the late eighties and the early nineties, there was no such thing. Graeme goes on to tell me that this generation is used to having bars playing music until midnight or 2am and some clubs not closing until the early morning, but back then - pubs didn’t have DJs, pubs closed at eleven, and clubs opened at ten and closed at two. But people still wanted to party once the clubs had closed and kicked them out - and that is where rave comes in…
“The Hacienda 1988 was the first time I had ever been a club where there was loads of different types of people, you’ve got a barrister dancing next to bricklayers, dancing next to a hairdresser, dancing next to teachers and dancing next to football hooligans, it was a real mix of people because as everyone subsequently found out - everyone was taking this little magic pill…”
The Hacienda was a famous nightclub and live music venue centered on Whitworth Street, Manchester in the 80s and 90s - it ran for fifteen years, opening in 1982 and closing in 1997. The Hacienda was a legendary venue and eventually became the centre for rave music in Manchester. it was one of the most famous music venues at the time, and when Mike Pickering and Graeme Park began to hold their ‘Nude’ club nights on a Friday night the Hacienda was reaching its prime - selling out 2000 capacity every Friday night.
“The thing about the Hacienda, people would show up thinking you had to be dressed smart and be told no you’re too smart, you don’t have to dress up to get in here. And I think house music and the rave scene ultimately kind of democratised everything for everyone, and nobody cared who you were or what your background was, and because dance music and house music has always borrowed from other stuff it just had such a massive appeal. With house music you’ve got so many different genres and so many different styles, and people just loved it.”
The Hacienda attracted people from all walks of life to unify, and ecstasy helped that to happen. “It (rave) was all about everyone getting on with everyone else, MDMA just made everyone just love each other and music was all about peace, love, and harmony. Just listen to the lyrics to things like 'Promised Land' and 'Someday' by CeCe Rogers.”
So if the Hacienda was on the rise, why did it shut down? There were various contributing factors, but the main one being finances. Graeme says, “ The Hacienda closed in 1997 because they ran out of money, they didn’t pay anyone which is bizarre when you think how 2000 people were in there every week. But it was really badly run that’s why, and then it was knocked down in 2002.”
However regardless of the fact the Hacienda no longer stands as a building, it is still living in music, through the Hacienda Classical albums and the Hacienda club nights, “Even though the bricks and water are gone, the Hacienda still exists as a club band, we’re currently getting ready for our fourth year of Hacienda Classical where we perform with an orchestra, which is amazing.”
The Hacienda club nights are also hosted, but often get mistaken by the older crowd who think it will be a re-make of the old Hacienda days, Graeme imitates a Mancunian accent saying “What’s all this music ? You didn’t used to play that at the Hacienda?” he continues to say “Well, where have you been for the past thirty years? They just get all misty eye and go ‘Oh Hacienda night’ but it’s not, that’s why we made Hacienda Classical because as a DJ you’ve got to move forward and play new stuff or else it’s boring.”
He expands further, “The idea of Hacienda Classical is to keep people who used to got to the Hacienda that don’t necessarily go clubbing anymore, let them hear the tunes they wanna hear with a twist, with an orchestra; and when it comes to club nights, people that haven’t been to the Hacienda - they just want to party. They don’t care if a tune is brand new or old, they just want to party. Do you know what I mean?”
The tabloid press created a sense of moral panic when the rave scene began, they pictured it to be this rebellious anti-establishment drug-lord fueled scene, when that was far from from the truth. Graeme goes on to state, “It was a euphoric scene that was more akin to the late sixties hippy movement than it was to the subversive punk rock movement the government was so worried about, or the establishment was so worried about.”
However the Government wasn’t so concerned with the drug culture side of things, they were more concerned with the fact they weren’t profiting off these huge parties that were making money. “The reason they ultimately got shut down is because, if people are making money that the government aren’t making any of, then of course they’re getting shut down. Like illegal raves don’t pay tax on anything, they don’t pay a duty.” He goes on to expand, “Plus the fact, clubs and drugs have always gone hand in hand, and if you have illegal parties then obviously there’s going to be lots of people taking drugs there.”
The Entertainments (Increased Penalties) Act 1990, otherwise known as The Acid House Bill was an act that got implemented to attempt prevent illegal raves by heightening punishments for those organising parties without licences. Then later on in 1994, the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act was implemented in an effort to stop rave, it clarifies that events featuring music that's “characterised by the emission of a succession of repetitive beats” gives the police the power to shut it down. They could also detain anyone they believed to be en route to an illegal rave, they were also given the right to stop vehicles travelling in a convoy of more than four cars and could even confiscate sound systems as well.
“But how do you stop thousands of people, all you know, happy, smiling people, how do you stop them all converging on a field in the middle of nowhere? You just can’t.”
Rave still hasn’t stopped, “If you fast forward to the 21st century, there are lots of legal warehouse parties that really do evoke the spirit of the late 80s/ early 90s, like the Warehouse Project in Manchester. That is... they’re brilliant. And you feel, although they’re paying their taxes and they’re paying their alcohol duty and everything, when you’ve actually been to the Warehouse party or you’re at the Warehouse party in Manchester, it does actually feel like it did in the 80s - it feels a bit naughty and it feels as though it might be illegal, even though it’s not.”
Thirty-five years later and Graeme Park finds himself still DJing, pursuing his passion and the Hacienda lives on.
The Hacienda Classical tour dates are below:
Saturday 08 June 2019 - Open Air Theatre, Scarborough, UK
Thursday 13 June 2019 – Sunday 16 June 2019 - Isle of Wight Festival 2019 / Seaclose Park, Newport (Isle of Wight), UK
Saturday 15 June 2019 / Bedgebury National Pinetum & Forest, Goudhurst, UK
Sunday 16 June 2019 / Westonbirt Arboretum, Tetbury, UK
Saturday 06 July 2019 / Royal Albert Hall, London, UK
Saturday 13 July 2019 - Sounds of the City - Castlefield Bowl, Manchester, UK
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