The former Factory Records headquarters is a must-see for any Manchester, Britpop fan. IYKYK! Co-owned by Hooky (Peter Hook) of Joy Division/Peter Hook & The Light. It's now a multi-level (3 floors) live music and dance club venue. It's essentially three clubs in one. Absolutely worth the visit! read more

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IT'S A SCAM they single out one person of a group to kick out in hopes that the whole group leaves all together we paid £8 each in a group of 8 so they got around £60 for free after they kicked us out observed this happening to pretty much every group read more

Yes, yes, I knowwwww, this place has not opened, so this is more a preview than a review. Yes, yes, I knowww, how can I give something a score when I've not even been? Sheesh. Well, I'll tell ya. As a bit of a hater of what passes for 'indie' nowadays, I was a little annoyed when I heard that Princess Street, already home to the scabrous meat market that is 5th Ave, was getting *another* indie club. And opposite my rather-loved Josh Brooks, too, meaning it'd be full of indie schmindies doing their pre-drinkage. Actually, that still annoys me a bit. Anyway, this is all conjecture, but let's look at the facts. FAC 251 will be a 350 capacity club and live music venue, housed in the old HQ of Madchester's Factory Records, "the building that started it all, and ultimately destroyed it all", according to their website. Weird, I thought the advent of Ecstasy started, then destroyed, Madchester. But I was a baby then, so what do I know. Anyhoo, this new incarnation of Madchester isn't just in the epicentre of its past, it is run by New Order's Peter Hook. "Woah woah woah! Wait a second" I hear you splutter "Didn't his first club The Hacienda famously lose more money than it ever made, and Madonna got bottled off stage, and it closed down in '97, and is now a block of posh flats?" Yes, yes, yes and yes. The Hacienda was a bleedin' disaster, and Mr Hook has admitted that he had no idea what he was doing (probably all them drugs, Hooky). Let's hope he's got a good accountant and a better business model this time round. So, for concept alone I'm giving this club 3 stars. I mean, come on, Hooky has *admitted* he can't run a nightclub, and yet, here he is, giving it another go. That's pretty spunky, and could add up to a real spectacle of a club. Of course, there will be cynics who say "wait, everyone from Madchester is dead, apart from the Gallaghers and Hooky, and one of the Gallaghers is a fashion designer these days. That's not cool. This scene is dead, man" Well, yes, probably. But whether Hooky's giving us a taste of the old Manchester he loved, or simply pulling a cynical stunt because he's skint, you've gotta admire the balls of this project. It's set to open on Feb 5th. Watch this space for my update, as once again I brave indie clubs. For Hooky, for Madchester, for Yelp! read more

FAC 251: The Factory - Dance Clubs Near Me - Manchester, XGM

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A very popular student club, which they have taken to their advantage. Music on the ground is mainstream which I prefer. A bit different a styles on the two other floors. It is situated at the site of the infamous Factory record label headquarters, which featured bands like Joy Division, New Order and the Happy Mondays, a building saturated with musical history provides a perfect setting for a nightclub. With 3 floors catering to different musical tastes, reasonably priced drinks and fantastic friendly bar staff, Factory251 is a club you can visit again and again. read more

Saturday nights are normally reserved for chav factor in town, for the majority of the venues anyway. However I was pleasently surprised with this venue. It was a great night. The msot important thing for me always after the obvious things like music and price factor is the crowd. If the crowd is good then, you're onto a winner. I am pleased to report that despite it being Saturday night, the crowd was chav free!!!!! Result........ What's more with three floors and different types of music playing on each it really was great banter. Mo-town music on 2nd floor was jamtastic, loved the old school tunes belting out. Atmosphere was phenomenol albeit it was hotter than a mother. The drinks were fairly priced and the entry fee was only £6 cannot complain. I'd recommend Factory on a Saturday night...good night!! read more

A friend of mine took me here on Saturday night as I'm a bit clueless on where to go in Manchester nowadays. We'd been at a wedding the night before and managed to get back to feeling physically able to go out again, so we went for somewhere new for me. I'd been told that there's different music on each of the 3 floors, with the top floor being the cheese room, which is where we headed immediately! I wouldn't say it was your typical cheesey pop goodness, and had some more dancey and hip hop songs than anything. This was alright still, and we managed to dance like idiots all the same. The main thing I noticed about this floor was that the bar had just one person serving for a good amount of the time - I asked her if she'd been left on her own and she did say there's usually at least 2 people, so presumably it wouldn't usually take quite so long to get served. We ventured down to another room later on, but I don't actually recall any change in the music really, so I'm not so sure about the claims of different genres on each floor.. The toilets were a bit of a mess, but I've seen worse. But the staff all seemed friendly and were willing to have a quick chat when they weren't too busy. I wouldn't make a beeline for the Factory again, but it wasn't all that bad. I'd say it's somewhere to try if you fancy somewhere you haven't been before, but there's better in Manchester. read more

Before I make any judgements on this club, I would like to point out first that I despise clubs to the absolute extreme. I hate to come across sceptical on the matter, but I just don't seem appealed by anything they can provide...That and I hate fake and classless women (especially that orange skin. I mean...Comon' how unnatural of a skin tone do you desire?) But anyway!!! Onto my point. This club offers 3 floors, which while we were there offered a different type of musical "genre" on each one. Sadly, there labelled "Rock" floor offered very little "rock" music (but I will let that one slip for a club) and a Reggae genre floor. Me and my friend found ourselves on the top floor in the end, which was supposedly the "Neon" floor...It wasn't as neon as I would have expected, but it had a couple of lights, a bar, and a dance floor and one padded raised floor used for seating. Sadly, if you haven't all ready guessed I'm no dancer. and instead sat there with my manly man drink (Baileys, which I was judged for ordering by the staff) and watched the orange women rush in. In the end me and my mate sat there until about 2 in the morning having a casual chat, which involved me moaning the majority of the time. Best part of the night, had to be When I noticed a very other enthusiastic Asian man who persisted to hit on passing women and dance with them....it's safe to say he failed in doing so, it was highly amusing :D as for the staff, far from entertaining or friendly. And presume they all "despise" their jobs...Poor guys. I can see how this might be... some what entertaining for people of my age but I just can't see it. I presume it's okay if you like clubs and fake women...I do not. read more

This is our favorite venue when it comes to student clubbing in Manchester. One reason above anything else: music! The ground floor is commercial and dance music with some hip-hop on Saturday and Thursday night. No weird stuff in the speakers, if that's the music you like you won't be disappointed. Ground floor is also quite spacious so normally you will be able to move around down there. 2 more floors are available upstairs, one generally offering more rock-ish music and the upper one more deep house/techno music. The place is huge and despite being there almost every week, only once I had troubles moving around. Price tag is affordable, never more expensive than 6£ at the door. read more

Waited half an hour in the queue outside then 1 hour and ten minutes at the bar for drinks. There's a few bars but they were all understaffed heavily. They advertise £1 drinks until midnight and then you only get one chance to buy them since the wait is so long. It was so packed that it took 15 minutes to get out because of the masses of people shuffling along like sardines down the stairs. The music where we were was good in on the second floor, but I was so fed up and angry about waiting that I'm never coming back. read more

Had an absolutely amazing time here. I love how every floor is a different genre of music. We came here for an event (please don't ask who... I don't remember) and ironically ended up spending a vast majority of the night in other rooms. The room of the headlining act was beyond unpleasant (if the music's good, you don't care, but it was better elsewhere). There were people puking, sweating, smoking, drinking, spitting, groping... yeah, that's okay. I know you're probably wondering if the four stars are a mistake at this point, but they're not. It really is a cool place, and luckily it's big enough that you can find your own "niche." read more

FAC 251: The Factory - Dance Clubs Near Me - Manchester, XGM

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There's always a really really big queue outside of Factory so it's taken me a while to decide to just brave it and not walk away. It's been hyped, it's been flyered, it's been flooding my facebook inbox and inviting me to new groups as each become oversubscribed. So it's popular but how goes the new Hacienda and Peter Hook's new venture? Waiting in a thirty minute queue isn't a great start to the night but Bulletbroof awaited us on the other end. That's the Friday club night with three rooms of indie rock and roll, 80s indie and alternative "Rub-a dub-dub" dubstep electro. A brilliant mix if one room failed we thought. With £1.80 drinks and £1 shots you can't go wrong right? Overall it was an average experience. The place had an underground feel, nothing too special and can't deny that me and the girls had a good dance, the music hit the spot, the crowd was pretty laid back and it was a good clubbing experience. I've not had experiences of any other night and there's always live nights with impressive acts to check out but must admit I haven't got the urge to quite brave that queue again. read more

Great club. Cheap entrance and drinks. Great crowd and music for all tastes RnB, Dance, Indie read more

I was really excited when FAC251 opened, directly opposite my hall of residence. Shame it didn't really live up to my expectations. I tried to love it - I really did! Close - but no cigar. The Factory is dark, dingy and almost entirely dull. There is nothing in the factory that isn't seen elswhere in Manchester, other than the music that is scheduled for the clubs frequent live events, which are, in my view, the venue's saving grace. The bottom floor is always overcrowded and quite often is littered with pools of sick, alcohol and other nasties. As much as I love paddling, I don't normally mix it with clubbing! The second floor, however is somewhat nicer. Comfy seating, better music and a quieter bar. That is, providing you get into the club in the first place. The Factory is a difficult place to get into. Guarded by huge numbers of bouncers, and normally trailing a queue which stretches down to the corner of Oxford Road, getting into the building is a feat in itself. The Factory has a wide range of music, good, cheap drinks and 3 separate areas over 3 floors. Despite this, I cannot say that it particularly piqued my interest as it is just a clone of something that wasn't very good to begin with. Sort out the floor, sort out numbers and clean it up. There is potential here. Perhaps once it has become more established and settled, the club will find its groove. read more

We went on Monday for my mates 21st and I'd only heard of awful reviews of customer abuse from bouncers, but we were hoping to not encounter that. There was a huge que for the female bathroom and the male toilet attendant in the club who clearly works there said right come in this cubical quickly (it was a men's) as he was trying to get the que moving. 2 secs later while on the toilet someone starts banging on the door so aggressively so we open the door and are proper shouted at, I try to explain what had happened and we were ignored, shouted at and then they got the bouncers to proper man handle us out of the club!! We didn't ask to use those bathrooms we literally did as we were told by workers and the bouncers think they're literally untouchable. A police officer probs wouldn't have even handled me like that if I was being arrested for something. Won't be back, by far the worst nightclub in Manchester read more

The hype and hyperbole surrounding FAC251 meant that I was really looking forward to a night out here. Boy, was I disappointed. This place attempted to carve out an ultra-cool image before it launched with a series of teaser videos on YouTube and although the interior of the club was interesting, it was dark, dingy, and full of people who you'd expect to see in 5th Ave. Drinks were cheap, but they don't use optics so watch out if you order a double spirit; I ordered a double vodka and coke but was quite clearly served a single and a half (the guy poured it in front of me) and this was only rectified when I spoke to the bar supervisor and brought up the Weights and Measures Act. On the first floor there's a lounge area behind the bar, but this is carpeted and you could tell that there had been some pukage as it still smelt rank. There's a further second floor which was playing dubstep the night I went and was by far the best space, but they hadn't sorted out any air-conditioning and so the best bit of the venue was hotter than the sun. I felt like there was a lot of potential for The Factory at launch, but it just seems like the club is a victim of its own success - it feels run down less than a year into existence and sadly seems to be as chavvy as some Manchester venues it derided before launch. read more

A load of these reviews are quite old and refer to factory as an alternative to 42s and 5th Avenue. It's probably worth pointing out here that it's not really an indie club at all any more. Not remotely in the same way that 42s is in particular, for better or for worse. The only way it resembles 42s is that it's a bit of a shithole in a (mostly) good way. Its location near the universities and budget prices mean that it's often packed with students, and the actual student night (F/ /CK THURSDAYS) is absurdly crowded to the point that you can be waiting in the queue for over half an hour. Why would anyone do that? For 99p drinks and entry, of course. Entry used to be 1p though, and I'm still sore about the raise. As for the actual music, it's nothing groundbreaking, but usually decent. Popular hip-hop, R&B, house, and grime dominates the bottom floor, with the top reserved for slightly more obscure (and deeper) house anthems, D&B and (thankfully ever more rarely) dubstep. The middle is more chilled, playing soul, classic R&B and the occasional token indie track. If you go to factory, prepare to wait for an age, get lost in an insanely squashed crowd, step in a bit of sick and still have one of the best nights on a budget Manchester has to offer. If that sounds like to much for you, maybe you'd enjoy going to Suede where you can pay £10 for the privilege of being groped by bellends in HYPE hats. read more

If you're not too hard to please, this place can be quite fun. First of all, it possibly has the cheapest night I've ever been to, Kong on Wednesdays. It's 80p entry with a flyer (until 11.30 or sth, and then it's a pound), and drinks are similarly cheap. Consequently, the place is packed with students (as it's quite close to university) and I suppose a number of schoolkids. They check ID but still the average age is maybe 18. There's three floors, normally one playing charts, one indie and one hiphop/rnb. To me that looks fair, as it allows you to go with a big group even if you have different tastes in music. If you come at rush hour, be prepared to queue 20 mins to get in, 20 mins at the toilets and 20 mins at the bar. Which can ruin the start of your night. The toilets are among the worst I've seen: you have to queue in a narrow basement corridor that's about two people wide, and although there are plenty of toilets, you have to pass on the first seven until you find one that can actually be locked, there is hardly ever any toilet paper, and so on. If you can look past this it's a nice venue, not pretty, but it's really huge and quite popular. They occasionally have live gigs as well, which not many people know I guess. I saw Young Rebel Set and there were only about 20 people attending. So I'd definitely recommend you check out their listings, as I almost wouldn't have known the show was happening. read more

Really loved this club - a vast improvement on the usual Manchester Indie clubs 5th Ave and 42s... really good music... reasonably priced and three different rooms.. really good.. highly recommended... read more

DO NOT go to this club. I was there last night with a group of friends for one of their birthdays. My boyfriend left the club with a stamped hand to go and buy cigarettes for the smoking area as we'd run out. When he tried to come back in, they told him to fuck off even though he had a stamped hand. And he even offered to pay again to come back in to which they told him to fuck off and that he wasn't coming back in. We'd literally been in the club half an hour and it wasn't even busy yet as we got there at half 10. He then tried to climb over the barrier to smoking area as he'd paid so why shouldnt he be allowed back in. The black bouncer then grabbed him and dragged him down the street telling him he wasn't going to kick the shit out of him and kill him if he returned. At this point I was obviously not going to leave him to go home on his own, so on my way out, I asked several of the members of staff what the policy on leaving and returning with a stamped hand was, and they said we should be allowed but it was 'up to the bouncers'. I then made my way outside to the bouncers and asked them why he wasn't allowed back in, and I asked them calmly until the two black bouncers started getting aggro on me and shouting, then a white bouncer came over telling me to shut the fuck up. Despite the fact all I was saying was 'I want a reason why he's not allowed back in', and then every time I tried to speak he shouted to shut the fuck up over me, and eventually got the two black bouncers to 'remove me' to which I replied 'Oh are you going to threaten to kill me like you did with my boyfriend'. Then they also told us we couldn't stand on the pavement to talk to our friends in smoking area and explain what happened. When we were removed from 'their pavement' I rang the manager of Factory and explained the situation. And all he could say was 'I cant do anything about this now, it is down to the bouncers discretion' Bla bla bla. He couldn't reply to any of the points I was making (Why would you get a stamp if you can't go back in, assault from the bouncers, policy of the club, the fact we go all the time and spend alot of money there in a large group etc etc) In the end I had to hang up as this guy clearly didn't have a clue of his own fucking policies and shit rules. And not to mention two of my other friends had left with him, and WERE allowed back in 'if they paid them a fiver' which is obviously showing how corrupt the bouncers are alone, as even if they were allowed back in, they weren't even going to be made to pay the ACTUAL entry fee, they were going to be ripped off so the bouncers could get a bit of extra money in their back pocket. And yet then, another two random guys were allowed straight back in, without paying, they just showed their stamp, and they went straight in, no question about it, right infront of us. This clubs bouncers are corrupt, and not even the manager of the fucking place is willing to do anything about it, so what does that tell you? read more

went in on wednesday night, - great crowd, - bouncers were fine with me and my lot, - cheap drinks - cheap entry - great music (good variety) - good DJs - and the place just looks cool inside!, not grubby like most clubs, they seem to actually look after the place - £1.50 to put coat away - good sized smoking area, can go out whenever and its free, i really really loved it! can't wait to go again only thing I'm not keen on is the toilets being on the bottom floor, I suggest going in pairs, because you might not find your friends again if you venture off alone (my lot liked to move floors) read more

From personal experience, definitely my favourite place for a night out. 3 floors of varying types of music for everyone to have a class night out; normally top floor being Hip-Hop/R'n'B, the middle floor being the Indie/Alternative floor with the ground floor thumping out the chart all through the night. The queue for this club is usually exceptionally long after midnight with it being so popular with the student fraternity so guestlist is definitely worth a shout unless you feel like waiting for up to half an hour at the back of the queue. The bouncers can sometimes be varying in their friendliness let's say with some being kicked out for no apparent reason before they've even entered the club itself. KONG on a Wednesday is definitely one reason to go, with £2 entry before midnight and 80p drinks throughout the night which means the queues can be twice as long both outside and for all the conveniences inside. Most nights the bar queue is exceptionally long due to them being largely understaffed and too small on each floor, the toilets space is ludicrously tiny for such a large venue; i.e. a very thin corridor that stinks with sweaty students waiting for about 20 minutes for them. The interior of these toilets leave much to be desired with broken locks/broken doors/holes in the wall/numerous graffiti and unusable cisterns being very common problems. Live gigs here are frequent towards the end of the student year with bands such as the Reverend and The Makers and the Subways having played here recently. These nights are usually epic and can sometimes be free meaning that they are definitely worth a go to if you are prepared to queue. For me, most consistently one of the best nights out in Manchester. read more