Sunday, February 3, 2008

House of the Twenty-Four Hour Party People

In addition to the films Control:The Ian Curtis Film and Joy Division, the latter by Grant Gee, who has also directed Radiohead videos, and the book published a few days ago, Paul Morley’s Joy Division: Piece by Piece, there is another memoir on the way. Bassist Peter Hook will tell about his experiences with Joy Division, New Order, and the legendary Manchester club, Haçienda. (The cedilla was inserted in the Spanish hacienda apparently because “çi” would then resemble the “51” in the club’s nickname “Fac 51”).

Hook’s memoir should be an interesting read, given the history of the Haçienda, which helped launch indie/dance crossover, acid house, rave, and whole “Madchester” music scene that exploded in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The Haçienda closed for good in 1997. Director Michael Winterbottom had to recreate the club in an Ancoats warehouse for 24-Hour Party People.