New Order — The Hacienda (FAC 51), Manchester

New Order were the primary force behind The Hacienda (FAC 51), the legendary Factory Records nightclub that opened at 11-13 Whitworth Street West in Manchester on May 21, 1982. After the death of Joy Division's Ian Curtis in 1980, the remaining members — Bernard Sumner, Peter Hook, Stephen Morris, and later Gillian Gilbert — reformed as New Order and used earnings from their music to co-fund The Hacienda with Factory Records' Tony Wilson. The club became the incubator of Madchester and acid house in the late 1980s, hosting nights that helped define British club culture for a generation.

New Order themselves underwent a profound transformation through their association with The Hacienda. Their synthesis of post-punk guitar with synthesisers and electronic beats — crystallised on "Blue Monday" (1983), the best-selling 12-inch single of all time — directly reflected what was being heard and felt on the club's dance floor. "Blue Monday" was famously so expensive to manufacture that Factory Records reportedly lost money on every copy sold. The song's influence on electronic music is incalculable.

The Hacienda closed in 1997, unable to recover financially after years of problems. The building was demolished and replaced by the Hacienda Apartments, which retain the name and original FAC 51 branding on their facade. A commemorative plaque marks the site. New Order continue to perform and record decades later, and their body of work — from Power, Corruption and Lies (1983) to Music Complete (2015) — remains foundational to electronic and alternative music.