A
BRAND NEW LIVE & INDIE CLUB....
Located
At The Factory Records Head Office, Manchester, England
OPENS
TO MANCHESTER & THE WORLD ON FEBRUARY 5TH 2010
Redeveloped, recrafted and
entirely redesigned for the start of a new decade, Factory Records infamous
central Manchester offices reopens as a nightclub, FAC251 “The Factory”, mixing
live bands, indie and dance influences across three different floors for
Manchester’s and the UK’s gig and club goers.
A joint venture between New Order
and Joy Division’s Peter Hook and established club operators Tokyo Industries (15
venues across the UK including the award winning Digital in Newcastle and
Brighton and the Tokyo Mansion Party venues), Tokyo Industries managing
director Aaron Mellor is a long time Factory Records afficianado and friend of
the family, having began his club career on the Haçienda dancefloor & later
DJ’ing at Stonelove at The Haçienda in the mid Nineties.
Conversations between Aaron and
Hooky began years ago about creating a new Manchester live and indie venue with
an emphasis on new and creative talent in a site in the city's Northern
Quarter, but licensing difficulties sidelined that project. The recession
forced the former Factory Head Office back to the market late last year, and the
idea seemed just too perfect to miss.
Original Factory architect Ben
Kelly was also recruited to resurrect and completely recast the building to
suit its new purpose as a live, rock & roll venue that draws on the legacy
of the past but updates the original Factory ethos for contemporary bands,
promoters, DJ’s and of course the people!
The Factory mantra “give
something back”, FAC251 takes on these past influences and brings them to a new
generation, providing a creative space for Manchester’s latest musical talents
in an effort to recreate the music community which surrounded the original
Factory project.
Manchester has become a prime
destination for bands and musicians from all across the world, FAC251 will showcase
the very best local, national and international live talent along with upfront
and creative club nights that celebrate the past while embracing the future, as
The Factory will become a rite of passage for bands, DJ’s and Manchester’s
creative pulse.
With an open-minded and inclusive
attitude to its booking policy, FAC251 will provide a forum for all types of band
and club styles, be they traditional indie, electronica, rock, acoustic or
anything else besides, and intimacy and top-rate production and sound seem set
to put the venue on the map as one of the coolest gig venues in the UK and
beyond
Architect Ben Kelly has revisited
his original designs for the building and created three separate club environments, allowing for a
variety of music styles on any given evening. The ground floor now forms the
main live space of the club, “The Bassment”, forming a gritty and atmospheric
space for live band performances.
The first floor, “The Loft” the
label’s old office space, has become a separate dance-floor, with the feel of a
VIP section, and fittings to match. The DJ is cantilevered and plays from above
the venue’s reception area.
The second floor, the third
FAC251 environment, is “The Boardroom”, unchanged from its original design, an
oasis of minimalist design chic at the top of the club.
Saved from oblivion by the new
club, the building has been vastly improved as The Factory with Funktion One Sound-systems
in place across all floors whilst the design, furniture and ambiance are all in
tune with the quality which is inherent in all Factory projects.
As the reconstruction of the
venue nears completion, a weekly video blog of the project in its final stages
will be uploaded each week to the venue’s website at www.factorymanchester.com
and across its social networking sites. Kevin Cummins is documenting the
progress of the club as its official photographer.
So begins a whole new adventure
for Manchester’s bands, promoters and crowd, it couldn’t happen again......could
it?
The Opening Weekend – Friday 5th
/ Saturday 6th February
Friday 5th February – Peter Hook’s
The Light
A one-off performance by “Peter
Hook’s “The Light”, a Manchester supergroup put together specially for the occasion
featuring Mani (Stone Roses), Rowetta (Happy Mondays), Howard Marks and other
special guests, performing rare Joy Division and New Order tracks, and a hits
retrospective from Hookys previous bands Monaco, Revenge, NewOrder, Joy
Division and the first ever debut of his new material with FREEBASS.
Tickets for this momentous event are priced at £22.50 and limited to 400. A link will be mailed out to subscribers to the Factory Manchester mailing list from the website and to its friends on Facebook.
Saturday 6th February – Stonelove
/ Haçienda Presents
A club event allowing Manchester’s
clubbing cognoscenti an opportunity to check out the three separate arenas. Original
Haçienda indie club Stonelove returns to Manchester to begin its weekly
residency downstairs, whilst Room 2 hosts a soundtrack of 70s New York City
Funk & 80s Electro Pop. The Boardroom is handed back to the original
Rockstars as FAC51 The Haçienda begins its Saturday night residency “Haçienda
Presents” at The Factory, taking over the board room with a selection of
Mancunian rock legends supervised by Hooky and pals alongside a roster of new
DJ talents.
A full roster for future events
at The Factory will be announced over the coming weeks.
THE FACTORY, 112 – 118 PRINCESS
STREET, MANCHESTER. ENGLAND. M1 7EN.
T: 0161 27 27 251
www.factorymanchester.com
Factory 251 is co-owned by Peter
Hook & Tokyo Industries and has been redesigned by Ben Kelly, the original designer of Fac 51
The Hacienda and Dry 201. All sound systems have been designed & commissioned personally by
Tony Andrews at Funktion One.