The Haçienda, Factory Records, more memorabilia featured at new British pop culture exhibition

Legendary Manchester nightclub the Haçienda, as well as the city’s Factory Records label, are set to form part of the focus of a new British pop culture exhibition.

The British Pop Archive exhibition will launch on 19th May at Manchester’s John Rylands Research Institute and Library. The exhibition forms part of an overall project which the organisation says is “dedicated to the preservation and research of popular culture”.

Many of the items within the exhibition have never been seen before by the wider public. Among the pieces showcased at the exhibition’s launch will be a number of personal artefacts and materials relating to the heyday of Manchester’s ’70s and ’80s music scene, covering The Smiths, Joy Division, New Order, the Haçienda, Factory Records, and the complete archive of Joy Division singer and lyricist Ian Curtis.

Within the Factory Records collection of items, John Rylands says, “are revealing cultural touchstones such as Joy Division / New Order manager Rob Gretton’s original written vision for the band – their image, press plan and more that also set out a manifesto for the legendary Factory Records”.

More details on how the public can access the archive will be made available in the coming weeks. Find more information here.

Last year, a new photobook was released, capturing the Haçienda in its prime.

Earlier this year, DJ Paulette, a former resident at the Haçienda, announced a new book about her life.

Photo credit: Peter J Walsh, Rave One!