In this exclusive interview, I sit down with Eddie Rhead, a well-known figure on Manchester’s legendary club scene and the go-to driver for some of the city’s biggest DJs during the rise of House music and the Hacienda era.
Eddie shares stories of his early life in Handforth, growing up in a family that owned paper shops. At 16, he worked at HMV Manchester, though he laughs about being fired from nearly every job he had. By the mid-80s, Eddie had moved down south for work, but a call from his friend Gary in the summer of 1988 changed everything. Gary urged him to come back to Manchester because the Hacienda nightclub was “kicking off.”
Eddie recalls his first night at the Hacienda with friends Andy and Jez Williams (future members of Doves) and Gary. Walking through the club’s iconic doors, feeling the bass rattle the windows, and passing through the abattoir curtains, Eddie says his life changed forever. The sound of DJs like Jon DaSilva, the mesmerizing visuals, and the powerful music immediately pulled him onto the dance floor—a place he quickly became known for being the first to dive into.
His love for House music deepened after hearing Joe Smooth’s “Promised Land” on the radio. He was drawn to the track’s spiritual, gospel feel mixed with electronic sounds. Eddie immersed himself in Manchester’s evolving music scene, even experimenting with LSD because it was cheaper than Ecstasy. He laughs about trying to cycle home at 3 AM while tripping, even once riding down the M602 motorway.
Eddie’s reputation as a reliable designated driver naturally led him to become a key figure behind the scenes. He began by driving Tom Wainwright, who worked at Dry Bar and later became a Hacienda DJ. Eddie would drive Tom between gigs, eventually expanding to driving for DJs like Justin Robertson and later, Luke Unabomber in the late 1990s.
One of his standout memories was spending an entire weekend with his hero, Frankie Knuckles, reflecting on how welcoming and humble many of the big-name American DJs were. Eddie became the go-to driver for DJs arriving in Manchester, taking them from gigs at the Hacienda to other venues across the UK.
Though by 1992 Eddie admits he had burned out from the constant partying, he cherishes the memories of living through what he calls a truly special time in Manchester’s music history. He laughs about dancing so hard to Mr. B’s “Let’s Get Horny” that he pulled a muscle—a true sign of how much the Hacienda influenced his life.
Eddie also recalls DJ Sasha’s first gig at the Silver Screen, the very club where I grew up. Wrapping up the interview, Eddie shares his favorite Hacienda-era track: Derrick May’s Mayday Mix of “Wild Times”, a song that captured the electric energy of the club.
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