Barney, Hooky and drummer Stephen Morris went about writing a instrumental groove which could be played before the group walked on stage, now they had reformed, mid-eighties, after the death of Ian Curtis. At this time, the group, with producer Martin Hannett at the helm, were dabbling with blending the alternative guitars with electronic music... the song 'Everything's Gone Green' is a fine example. This direction was met with glee, and partly inspired by their record label, Factory Records. The head, Tony Wilson, after a trip to New York, decided a cold and wet Manchester needed a big apple style disco for the kids so The Hacienda was born.
The nightclub was losing money "hand over fist" as Wilson believed it had a social duty to the people of Manchester to be open seven nights a week. When I researched the Hacienda, and spoke to all the key people involved (which I will delve into in further blogs), there is the consensus the track Blue Monday was made purely for the club. The Hacienda building, a former tea warehouse then boat showroom, was big and open, with high ceilings and vast flat concrete areas. This played awful effects on the music as it caused a awful reverb sound that all bands hated. Blue Monday had the correct beat spacing which played with the reverb, making the track stand out and be considered the Hacienda's perfect record.
The 12" was pressed in a elaborate black sleeve, which had a centimeter's width of primary colours down the left, complete with two holes making the sleeve resemble a computer disc. This proved so expensive and the legend says with every sale the band and label combined would lose 12p. Funnily enough the record went on to become the biggest selling 12" inch record to date. Ouch.
Anyway, the record still lives on inspiring many artists from different generations. This is three examples of the record being covered by other artists in various styles. Enjoy!
Nouvelle Vague
Orgy
Kurd Maverick's Vandalism Remix
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