The Haçienda Manchester – Luke Una raves on the main dance floor.
DJ Luke Una, one half of the DJ duo the Una Bombers, is widely recognised for his eclectic, genre-blurring style that blends house, disco, techno, and indie sounds into seamless, genre-defying sets. His early experiences of raving at The Hacienda in Manchester played a pivotal role in shaping his distinctive taste in music, and the energy of the era left an indelible mark on his approach to DJing and music curation.
The Hacienda, which opened in 1982, became the epicentre of Manchester’s underground club culture, bringing together the worlds of indie, post-punk, acid house, and rave, all under one roof. As a young raver in the late ’80s and early ’90s, Una’s experiences at the club were formative. The Hacienda was not just a nightclub but a cultural melting pot, where diverse musical subcultures intersected, creating an atmosphere that was as much about attitude as it was about sound. For Una, this environment served as a kind of laboratory for experimentation, where a wide range of musical influences could be explored and embraced.
The club was ground zero for the Madchester scene, and Una was drawn to its sense of freedom, its unpredictability, and its ability to fuse different sounds into something completely new. The Hacienda was notorious for its open-minded approach to music; one night you could hear a set full of acid house anthems, and the next night could be dominated by indie guitar bands. For Una, it wasn’t about fitting into a specific genre box—it was about the energy, the vibe, and the way music could transcend categories. This eclecticism became a defining characteristic of his DJing style.
In particular, the cross-pollination of genres that took place at The Hacienda had a profound impact on Una’s musical identity. He was exposed to early house and techno, with the pulsating beats and infectious basslines that would go on to form the backbone of his sets. But equally important were the connections he made with indie music and post-punk—sounds that were infused with a rebellious energy that matched the rave culture’s defiance of mainstream norms. As rave culture grew, so did the breadth of the music being played, and Una was there to absorb it all. Acid house, new beat, disco, dub, funk, soul, and rock all found their way into the playlists of The Hacienda’s legendary DJs, shaping the tastes of a generation.
It was this melting pot of influences at The Hacienda that formed the foundation for Una’s later work. He began to see the potential of blending these sounds in a way that made sense on the dancefloor. His sets at the club were characterised by a free-spirited, genre-blending approach, combining deep house grooves with funky basslines, interspersed with moments of euphoric, melodic disco and breakbeats. The idea of mixing unexpected elements together—a house track with a bit of post-punk, a disco tune next to something more experimental—became central to his style, making him one of the most versatile and sought-after DJs in the UK.
During the height of the Madchester and acid house boom, Una’s early days at The Hacienda shaped his sense of what a night out should feel like: immersive, energetic, and full of musical surprises. It wasn’t just about playing tracks that fit into a set genre; it was about maintaining a fluid, dynamic flow that kept the dancefloor engaged. He learned the art of building a vibe, of reading the crowd and responding with tracks that were not only sonically interesting but emotionally charged.
The eclecticism of The Hacienda also pushed Una to explore music beyond the obvious and seek out lesser-known gems. As a young raver, he became fascinated with obscure records from all over the world, diving deep into the back catalogs of artists from the worlds of jazz, funk, disco, and soul, alongside the more familiar sounds of Detroit techno and Chicago house. This broadened his taste and gave him a collection of records that reflected the open-mindedness he had experienced in the club, where there was no such thing as a ‘wrong’ genre—only the right music for the moment.
In many ways, DJ Luke Una’s style today can be traced back to those formative days in The Hacienda. The constant flow of diverse sounds and the sense of no boundaries that characterised Manchester’s golden era of clubbing gave Una a foundation that allowed him to embrace the many genres that he is now known for. His sets today are a reflection of the eclecticism of his early experiences, mixing deep cuts with well-loved anthems, old and new, across a wide spectrum of genres. Whether it’s the euphoria of disco, the raw energy of house, or the atmospheric qualities of ambient and experimental music, Una’s sets reflect the lessons he learned in The Hacienda: that great music transcends categories and that the dancefloor is a place where anything can happen.
Ultimately, those early days at The Hacienda weren’t just about witnessing the explosion of rave culture—they were about being part of a new musical movement that refused to be pigeonholed. The freeform, boundary-pushing ethos of the club left a lasting imprint on Luke Una, whose DJ career continues to reflect that same sense of excitement, unpredictability, and openness to musical exploration.
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