news

Get ready to rave: Hacienda Classical is coming to the big screen

Hacienda Classical, the project that turned dancefloor staples from the 80s and 90s into orchestral masterpieces, is coming to Vue on 12 November – and it promises to be a totally new, totally immersive experience.

By Clare Thorp

As nightclubs go, there are few more iconic than Manchester’s Hacienda. How many others can lay claim to early appearances by The Smiths, The Happy Mondays, The Stone Roses, Oasis and New Order – not to mention hosting Madonna’s first ever UK concert, as well as giving birth to one of the biggest youth culture movements of recent times: euphoric, heart-pumping acid house?

During its glory days in the late 80s and early 90s, hundreds of people lined up every night to get inside the Hacienda. But its influence spread well beyond its sticky dance floors. Rave anthems like "Voodoo Ray" by A Guy Called Gerald and "Ride on Time" by Black Box were played in clubs all over the world, providing the soundtrack to an entire generation’s youth.
Get ready to rave: Hacienda Classical is coming to the big screen
This is rave as you???ve never heard it before.

Nearly 20 years since the superclub shut its doors for the very last time, the songs have been given a new lease of life through Hacienda Classical, the brainchild of New Order bass player Peter Hook and former resident DJs Graeme Park and Mike Pickering. The project, which re-worked the rave tracks into classical masterpieces, toured the country in a series of concerts earlier this year. If you think tunes like "Pacific" by 808 State sound epic in a club, wait until you hear them played on the big screen in Vue’s Dolby surround sound.

 

Filmed over the past year, Hacienda Classical – The Ultimate Rave is an extended documentary that goes behind the scenes of the tour – and most importantly, broadcasts full length versions of tracks including "Blue Monday", "Good Life", "Strings of Life" and "You Got The Love", plus an exclusive Q&A and some special guest appearances (did someone mention Bez?).

 

If you’re worried you won’t be able to hear rave classics without jumping out of your seat and getting your groove on, don’t be. You’re encouraged to dance, sing, and throw your hands up in the air (no judgement on the shapes you throw). It promises to be a totally new, totally immersive experience. So dust off your glow sticks, dig out that tie-dye t-shirt and baggy jeans, and get ready to rave once again.

 

Get times and tickets here.