Freaky Dancing Collection

Freaky Dancing, the unofficial Haçienda acid house fanzine, ran for 11 issues between July 1989 and August 1990. The first eight issues were given out free to people in the queue to the club on a Friday night, while later issues were sold around Manchester, reaching a peak circulation of 750. The fanzine was put together by Paul 'Fish Kid' Gill and Ste Pickford with help from their friends and Haçienda regulars, written and drawn during the week then printed out using the photocopier in Ste's office after work on a Friday. During the fanzine's lifespan, The Haçienda became the most famous - and infamous - nightclub on earth, a year of incredible highs and dark lows, ultimately imploding in paranoia, shootings, and way too many drugs. Freaky Dancing documented this journey from blissful optimism to inevitable self-destruction.

Famous fans of the fanzine included Peter Hook of New Order, DJ Mike Pickering, and Tony Wilson, who described it as "The most important piece of journalism I've read in the last twenty years." This collection contains a foreword by Northern techno legend A Guy Called Gerald, all 11 volumes of the fanzine, "The Highs Of Freaky Dancing," never-seen-before strips, and a scrapbook of sketches, reviews, fliers, and photographs. It's a potent capsule of a special time and place in all of its ragged psychedelic glory - essential for rave scholars and fans of DIY culture alike.

The photocopier used to print the fanzine didn't survive the process, a testament to the DIY and underground nature of the project. Freaky Dancing was a labor of love, capturing the energy and chaos of the Haçienda's heyday, a time when the club was at the epicenter of the acid house movement in the UK. The fanzine's raw, unpolished aesthetic mirrored the unapologetic spirit of the scene, offering a glimpse into the lives and experiences of the people who lived and breathed the Haçienda's unique atmosphere.

In many ways, Freaky Dancing serves as a time capsule, preserving the memories and emotions of a pivotal moment in Manchester's cultural history. The collection's inclusion of never-before-seen content adds to its value, providing a deeper, more intimate understanding of the fanzine's creation and the people behind it. For those interested in the history of rave culture, the Haçienda, and the DIY ethos that defined the era, this collection is an essential piece of the puzzle, a raw and authentic representation of a bygone era that continues to captivate and inspire.

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