From the junction of Princess Street & Charles Street

“…shows the building in late 1989 when it was covered in posters to mark the release of Happy Mondays’ ‘Rave On EP’”

This is the view from the junction of Princess Street/ Charles Street looking towards 112-118 Princess Street.

The top photo was kindly provided by Paul Crompton and shows the building in late 1989 when it was covered in posters to mark the release of Happy Mondays’ ‘Rave On EP’ and ahead of the building becoming Factory Records’ Headquarters (the independent record label was set up in 1978 by Tony Wilson and Alan Erasmus). The building was given the Factory Records catalogue number FAC251.

After Factory Records went into administration in 1992, the building was repurposed and reopened as the Paradise Factory nightclub in 1993, which ran for 13 years until its closure in 2006.

In early 2010, Peter Hook, in collaboration with the Haçienda’s original interior designer Ben Kelly and British audio specialists Funktion-One, renovated and reopened FAC 251 as a nightclub.

Which leads on to the bottom photo which is from late 2024. It shows not only FAC251 but also developments surrounding the building; this includes Montana House to the left, which opened in 2005 and - more recently - Vita Circle Square, designed by 5plus architects, which forms part of the significant redevelopment of the former BBC North complex following its closure in 2011.