Bidding for this lot will end on Friday, November 10th. The auction will begin at 3:00PM BST and lots are sold sequentially via live auctioneer; tune in to the live streaming broadcast on auction day to follow the pace. Note other lots in the auction may close on Thursday, November 9th, Saturday, November 11th or Sunday, November 12th.
A limited edition bass guitar known as "the Hac 51 model", constructed from pieces of Manchester's Haçienda nightclub. The Haçienda became famous during the rave scene of the late 1980s and early 1990s, when it was primarily funded by the band New Order and their label Factory Records. After escalating debts, it lost its licence in June 1997 and was demolished in 2002.
When this happened, the club's maple dance floor was mostly scrapped. However, some pieces were salvaged by a band that rehearsed upstairs in the same building, who stored them in a garden shed. In 2010, the publisher of The Haçienda: How Not to Run a Club, written by New Order co-founder and bassist Peter Hook, suggested including some of these floor pieces with special editions of the book. Music archivist Chris Hewitt - who has worked with Hook on and off for the last 40 years - tracked them down, and it occurred to him that they could also be used to create fretboards on guitars. After discussing the idea with Hook, Hewitt commissioned guitar builder Brian Eastwood to create 10 custom bass guitars using the pieces as fretboards.
The instrument comprises a headstock formed into the shape of the Haçienda dancefloor; a neck with a fretboard made from the maple dance floor; and a yellow-and-black striped body, representing the Ben Kelly-designed nightclub's iconic chevrons. Metal checker-plate pieces decorate the headstock and back of the body, in reference to the club's staircases.
This particular guitar also has a piece of the original granite bar top incorporated into its body. Additionally, what are normally f-holes on a hollow-body guitar have been changed to "5" and "1"-shaped holes, representing FAC 51, the catalogue number issued to the Haçienda by Factory Records. The guitar comes in a protective flight case with black faux-fur lining, and the neck exhibits markings from its time as part of a dance floor. This lot comes from the personal collection of Chris Hewitt, noted audio archaeologist and author of several books on vintage sound equipment. Dimensions (guitar): 118 cm x 41 cm x 7 cm (46 1/2" x 16 1/4" x 2 3/4")
Contains electronics; see electronics notice in the Buyer's Guide.
Estimate: £5,000 - 10,000 M