Factory, the Haçienda and Madchester Quiz

Answer: Tony Wilson

Tony Wilson - or Anthony H. Wilson when he was reporting for Granada - founded Factory Records in a house in Didsbury, south Manchester, in 1978. In '24 Hour Party People', a 2002 film chronicling the rise and fall of Madchester, he was played by comedian Steve 'Alan Partridge' Coogan, and also had a cameo. He was inspired to start his own label by Rabid Records, a Manchester punk label. Factory was also the name of a club where acts on the label played; the label released a double sampler LP featuring bands who had played there in 1978.

The Haçienda (the unusual spelling was so that the ç and i together would resemble the number 51, the club's catalogue number) was a former warehouse near the Whitworth Canal in Manchester city centre, and opened as a club in 1982. Both Wilson and the members of New Order, who co-owned the club, helped finance it, and in its nascent years, it had trouble making money due to low drinks prices and entry fees. It featured bars named after British spies, and even a hairdressing salon at one point. The Smiths were among the Manchester bands who played there in its days as a gig venue.

As for the other Factory co-founders, Peter Saville was a designer who worked on many of the sleeves for Factory Records compilations and albums by bands such as Joy Division; Rob Gretton, who came up with the idea for the Haçienda, was Joy Division's manager, and went on to manage New Order; and Martin Hannett was a producer who worked with various Manchester bands.

Answer: Oasis

The Gallagher brothers would still have been at school back then! In fact, Oasis didn't form until 1991. Joy Division's albums 'Closer' and 'Unknown Pleasures', along with the compilation albums 'Still' and 'Substance' and many of their singles, were released on Factory Records.

After the death of frontman Ian Curtis, the three surviving members formed New Order with keyboardist Gillian Gilbert. A Certain Ratio released several singles and albums on Factory Records until they signed to A&M in 1987, and also spent a period of time on Rob Gretton's own label, Rob's Records. James were only signed to Factory Records for a brief time, as were the Wirral's Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, who released a one-off single called 'Electricity' on the label.

Answer: Sandpaper

The Durutti Column, founded by Vini Reilly, were one of the first bands that Tony Wilson signed to Factory Records, and played at the Factory club. They took their name from the Durruti Column, a anarchist military unit in the Spanish Civil War, and their 1980 debut 'The Return of the Durutti Column' was named after a Situationist poster featuring said phrase.

Inspired by the Situationist book 'Mémoires' by Guy Debord and Asger Jorn, which had a sandpaper cover, the sleeves were made out of sandpaper, and were assembled by members of fellow Factory groups Joy Division and A Certain Ratio (Ian Curtis glued the sleeves together).

The band apparently hoped that the LP cover would destroy record collections! It wasn't a very practical choice of material as it scratched the records inside, but fortunately for fans, later versions designed by Peter Horsfall came in a conventional printed sleeve.

Answer: True

Madonna did, in fact, play the Haçienda when she was just starting out, on 27th January 1984. She was on the same bill as the Factory Allstars, a supergroup of members from Factory Records bands. 'The Tube', an '80s music programme, was filming a segment at the Haçienda and it was Madonna's first UK performance, albeit a short one.

She performed two songs, her debut single 'Holiday' and 'Burning Up'. According to David Connor, who was in the audience, she mimed and was supposed to be sticking around for the club night, but left early, along with her entourage.

Other members of the audience included Smiths frontman Morrissey and DJ Norman Cook.

Answer: Acid house

Acid house originated among DJs in Chicago in the mid-'80s, and its trademark features were deep basslines and squelchy keyboard sounds made by Roland synthesisers. It crossed over into Europe, including the UK, and was symbolised by a yellow smiley face.

The origins of the name are unclear; some claim it's a drugs reference (and LSD did indeed feature at acid house nights and raves), while others say it comes from Phuture's 'Acid Tracks', which was played at a drug where psychedelic drugs were popular. One Manchester club which featured acid house nights was the Thunderdome, a former bingo hall in Miles Platting, in the north of Manchester, and as acid house was popular with football hooligans, the club was a rare place where Manchester United and Manchester City fans could congregate together.

The Happy Mondays and 808 State were frequent visitors there. The Thunderdome was also less picky than the Haçienda about who it allowed in, and on a darker note, was popular with the Mancunian criminal underworld.

As well as Manchester, acid house was also popular on the club scene in London, where the 'Second Summer of Love' was taking place.

Answer: The loose-fitting clothes worn by the musicians and their fans

The Happy Mondays' 'Kinky Afro' features the line 'you run around and groove like a baggy', and they themselves were one of the bands associated with the 'baggy' genre, which got its name from the big sweatshirts, flares and other loose clothes worn by the bands.

The Stone Roses also popularised the fishing hat, which was often worn by drummer Alan 'Reni' Wren. Tie-dye, football shirts and Joe Bloggs clothes were also popular with baggy bands and their fans. Music-wise, baggy incorporated psychedelia, funk and acid house into guitar music; the Happy Mondays even had club DJ Paul Oakenfold produce their third album, 'Pills 'n' Thrills and Bellyaches'. Outside Manchester, there was London's Flowered Up, Liverpool's Real People, and Blur and the Charlatans' early material also had a baggy sound.

Answer: Voodoo Ray

'Voodoo Ray' was an acid house track, the first to be released in the UK, and on completing the test pressing, Gerald Simpson first took it to a club called Legends, and then to the Haçienda to be played. Greg Wilson, one of the resident DJs at the Haçienda, credits Simpson with introducing acid house to the club, rather than the other way round. Simpson recalled in a 'Guardian' interview that the house scene in Manchester in the late '80s was very small and records were expensive as they were imported from America, and he felt it was cheaper to make them himself. 'Voodoo Ray' contains an example of comedian Peter Cook saying 'voodoo rage' during a 'Derek & Clive' sketch, but it came out sounding like 'voodoo ray' because of the lack of memory on Simpson's recording equipment and the sample subsequently being cut short.

Answer: Ecstasy

Ecstasy, or MDMA, was a psychoactive drug popular with fans of dance music and ravers due to its ability to induce euphoria, hence the 'Second Summer of Love', when the rave and acid house scenes were at their peak in the late '80s. However, the Haçienda got into trouble when 16-year-old Claire Leighton died of an internal haemorrhage after taking a tablet in the club, given to her by her boyfriend, who had bought it from a dealer there.

She was the first person to die as a result of taking Ecstasy in the UK, although doctors said that her reaction to the drug was a rare one. Nevertheless, the police applied for the Haçienda to be closed for a year, although Manchester City Council argued for it to be kept open.

The purchasing of drugs also had a negative effect on the club's finances, as punters would take drugs rather than drinks at the bar; the presence of gangs, who were often behind the sales of drugs, also caused tension between the club and the police, and led to shootings inside and outside the club.

Answer: Yes Please!

'Yes Please!' was not only the Happy Mondays' last album on Factory Records; it was the last album to be released on Factory Records, full stop. Following the success of 'Pills 'n' Thrills and Bellyaches' and 'Step On', the band's drug use became more out of control. Paul Oakenfold was unavailable to produce the album, so Tina Weymouth and Chris Frantz of the Talking Heads and Tom Tom Club stepped in instead, and took the Happy Mondays in a poppier direction. Factory paid for the band to record their fourth album in Barbados, in the hope that Shaun Ryder and his brother Paul would not take heroin there.

Unfortunately, Barbados had a thriving crack trade, and Shaun Ryder spent the recording money on crack instead, even selling studio furniture to buy drugs.

The result was a terrible album which sold poorly. Shaun Ryder hadn't written any lyrics while out in Barbados, and threatened to destroy the masters unless Factory paid him. The masters turned out to have no vocals on them. After the album was finally released, Factory Records went bankrupt.

It didn't help either that baggy was on the way out and grunge was becoming increasingly popular in the UK with the rise of Nirvana.

Answer: 1997

The Haçienda temporarily closed in 1991 and reopened its doors a few months later, with increased security measures due to gang activity, but the club was never the same afterwards, and was haemorrhaging money to boot. New Order/Joy Division bassist Peter Hook, who later wrote of his experiences as a co-owner in 'The Haçienda: How Not to Run a Club', estimated that the Haçienda lost up to £18 million.

The club lost its licence in June 1997, and held its final club night on 28th June of that year.

It briefly stayed open as an art gallery, and then closed its doors for good, though a couple of free parties were later held in the building. A set of apartments, named the Haçienda Apartments, now stand where the club once stood. In 2007, the Manchester exhibition centre Urbis held a special exhibition to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the club's opening, while the Manchester Museum of Science and Industry contains various Haçienda memorabilia, including a collection bequeathed to the museum by Rob Gretton. Peter Hook also had a set of bass guitars made with floor from the club's floor, complete with burn and shoe marks.