In beginning of the 1980s, House music
comes into the world. The sound was pioneer by Djs in New york & Chicago.
This particular sound was popularized throughout 1984 and was played within
warehouse parties which were made for mainly gay African American, Latino men
and also mixed followers. The music and party scene rapidly spread and by 1985,
it had fanned out growing to be the music of preference for heterosexual and
homosexual audiences throughout the USA. Major locations including Detroit,
Boston, Montreal, San fran, L.A and Miami developed their own unique
interpretations of the house scene. A particular strain of American House music
called 'Acid' enters Great Britain and is met by just as distinctive flavours.
Music like Dub reggae, northern Soul & European electronic influences are
rapidly added, transforming and mutating the music. Numerous warehouse events
appear as the drug Ecstasy finds its way in to the United Kingdom, fuelling a
new high energy party culture which was one of a kind. These kind of elements
helped to create the environment that incubated and produced the birth of the
early Rave scene.
1987
January
Steve 'Silk' Hurley has the very first
House music number 1 with the song "Jack your Body".
The Times newspaper reports the first
ecstasy seizure inside London. Not quite realizing that the effect of the drug
makes people dance yet, the media report that ecstasy is a sex stimulant.
April
Trevor Fung & Ian Saint Paul open a
little club in San Antonio, Ibiza. It was known as the Project, (named after a
club in London that Ian had been
somewhat running). It quickly grew to be a center point for youthful British
holiday makers who were out there to get a good time in the Balearic islands.
Early ravers started to find out what had been happening and shortly many
eventually left Britain summer time to check out the wide open air night clubs
of Ibiza similar to Amnesia exactly where DJ's like Alfredo had been playing
many of the first house music imports.
September
Trevor and Ian ask their acquaintance
Paul Oakenfold to ibiza for his birthday. Paul brings along with him Johnny
Walker, Nicky Holloway and also Danny Rampling. Trevor and Ian close the
venture club and so they devote the rest of the summer backwards and forwards
between Amnesia and Cafe del mar.
Autumn
Returning to London, the newly converted
Ibiza crew immediately sense some thing has transformed. Paul opens the initial
Project club after hours'. At 2am when the nightclubs were formally concluded
Paul & his Ibiza team would start theirgathering until 6am. This continues
only some months before Law enforcement officials raid the event.
November
Danny Rampling and Jenni open Klub
Sch-oom (soon reduced to Shoom) in a health centre around Southwark bridge,
just south of the Thames in London.
A couple weeks later Paul
Oakenfold holds the initial Future event in the back area of the Heaven
nightclub, a immense club in London's Charing Cross
1988
January
Shoom is one of the first club nights to
adopt the Smiley face logo for its flyers. Ravers of the time like it for its
association with the peace & love Hippy movement of the 1960's. The smiley
face later becomes the symbolic representation of acid house in the UK.
February
Hedonism hold their first illegal warehouse
party
March
Shoom re-locates to the YMCA on Tottenham
Court Road, but there are still more people raving outside than inside! So
Shoom moves to a bigger venue called Busbys.
Many new people are exposed to the rave
scene including , Dj El chicano, Letronic and Otiz F. Angel (younger relation
of Buzbys head doorman).
March
Paul Stone & Lu Vukovic start a harder
edged party called RiP, situated in a labyrinth like warehouse complex on Clink
Street, near London Bridge. RiP sees Mr C (Later of the Shamen) and Eddie
Richards & Kid Bachelor play a harder more techno underground house
("as opposed to the more soulful sounding house music at Shoom") .
The crowd are very diverse crowd, from gangsters in shell suits to middle class
revellers.
Clink street is also one of the first to
feature MC 'E-mix', one of the scene's first MCs. He added a new spin by
rapping & toasting on the House & Techno of the time.
March
Hot & Nude nights kick off the acid
house trend in the North at Fac 51 Haçienda (better known simply as The
Haçienda). Founded by Rob Gretton, the Hacienda was largely financed by the
record label Factory Records and the band New Order along with label boss Tony
Wilson. It was situated on the corner of Whitworth Street West and Albion
Street, close to Castlefield, in the centre of Manchester.
March 9th
An illegal pirate station called Obsession
FM start their broadcast. The music policy for the station is 40% soul, reggae
& 60% Acid house. The hook line – Ravers! Are You Obsessed? Was given
birth. The partners, Richard Okuno, Sav Petriou, El Chicano, Roy Chen, and Otiz
F. Angel openly dedicate their broadcasts to support warehouse parties &
spread the rave underground movement.
April
After years of escalating football
hostility in London, many rival fans suddenly STOP THE VIOLENCE! Within months
making hooligans find themselves raving together, even becoming friends. This
induced euphoria was cause by House music and ecstasy. Many individuals take up
a new general view that the rave movement can spread happiness. Another
optimistic view was the world is going to adjust for the best. Promise land
(lyrics) by Joe Smooth best catches the mood in London". ..When the angels
from above, come down and spread their wings like doves...then we'll walk, hand
in hand, sisters, brothers, we'll take you to a promise land".
RiP (still at Clink) move to Fridays with
their 'A-Transmission' nights and Sundays with 'Zoo'.
April 11th
Paul Oakenfold opens a club night called
Spectrum in the center of London. A heroic move, in that it is to be held at
Heaven, (at the time one of the biggest club venues in London) near Trafalgar
Square. To make things harder the event is held on Monday nights. Even so after
3 weeks Spectrum has 1200 people going every week with just as many ravers
locked outside. It was a road block. Spectrum quickly gains a musical
reputation as a rave venue. On one occasion, Paul Oakenfold even plunges the
complete club into total darkness then plays Tchaikovsky's 1824 Overture.
Spectrum also hold a few nights at Legends in Manchester and one party in a
marque by the Thames.
June 4th
Nicky Holloway opens 'The Trip' at London's
Astoria. Thousands of ravers attend filling the massive club every week. Full
on street parties erupt after each party closes, with revellers dancing in
water fountains opposite the venue and around their cars. Passing drivers,
tourists and Police are baffled by hundreds of people chanting
"Acieeeed!"
June
Large companies notice the rave trend and
rush to cash in on the 'smiley face' symbol. With no copyright or protection,
thousands of mass produced smiley t-shirts & "Wheres the Acid House
Party" T-shirts appear everywhere.
There were even tabloid rumours that the
brain numbing TV soap Eastenders was planning to make an episode where Ian
Beale would drop LSD at a rave and try to jump off a bridge. This
commercialisation was the first invite to a wave of plastic ravers. People who
disliked the culture now wore Acid t-shirts because it was cool to do so. New,
cash rich, clubs, promoters and well connected DJs (some corporately backed)
enter the rave gold rush.
July 20th
In protest to commercialisation, New
Generation opens at Turnmills. The rave is hosted by Otiz F. Angel & El
Chicano with an invite only policy. The promotion is aimed to create an active
inner core of hardcore ravers. To host their first acid event, the duo play a
night of acid, techno and a experimental sound they called Dub Trance. The
entire set was music they had made and with success at Turnmills, New
Generation organise many more events in and around the Farringdon, Shoreditch
& Brick lane area.
July
The Sun newspaper at first cashes in on
Acid with its own Smiley T-shirt but this is quickly back-tracked as the tide
suddenly turns. A new agenda begins with the smiley face frowning. This is
adopted throughout the media. The BBC bans Jolly Roger's tune "Acid
Man".
Voices throughout the London underground
scene become aware of rumours that the authorities are taking steps to put an
end to the raves. Some say because of the drugs, or the fact that so much money
was now being made. Other theories accused the government of being opposed to
an awakening of minds with fears that, under the right conditions, people could
connect and they could lose control. (Divide and conquer conspiracy).
July
ESP promotions is born at the Roadmender,
Northampton. A few packed nights called Bounce follow at Castaways (later
renamed to Millwalkies).
August
Tony Colston-Hayter, disenchanted with the
increasingly stricter door policy of Jenny Rampling at Shoom, enters the scene.
Tony holds his first parties at Wembley Studios under the name “Apocalypse
Now”. On the last night of Apocalypse Now Tony lets ITN news film the event.
Interviews with the dj's and positive news are dropped by the TV networks in
favour for 'shock' footage of 'spaced out kids' and drug paraphernalia.
August 17th
The Sun newspaper follows up the Sunrise
report and issue an investigation into the Heaven night club (then owned by Sir
Richard Branson) and home to Spectrum. Claiming "Junkies flaunt their
craving by wearing T-shirts sold at the club with the messages like 'Can you
feel it?' & 'drop acid not bombs'". Not understanding the pun 'Drop Acid
meaning play Acid house' not bombs, the Sun took the term literally linking
Acid House with the drug LSD. After the Sun newpaper's article on Heaven, Sir
Richard Branson tells Paul Oakenfold that he need only rename his club rather
than shut it down. This amazing generosity keep the very best club night in
London alive. Spectrum closes but opens again within weeks renamed 'Land of
Oz'.
August 26th
Following up the New Generation raves, Otiz
F. Angel hosts an illegal warehouse party called 'Resurrection' at Millmead
industrial estate, Tottenham. 600+ ravers arrive at the party and Resurrection
goes weekly. The negative is that the location is in close proximity to two
rival hooligan gangs, the Yids (Tottenham fans) and the Gooners (Arsenal fans)
yet the events remain peaceful. Although there is no trouble, Resurrection
warehouse becomes known as a notorious gangland venue.
August
At the end of this "Summer of
Love" the unfortunate ecstasy related death of Janet Mayes (R.I.P) at an
illegal acid party sparks a Police campaign against warehouse parties. In
respect for Janet, many ravers reduce even stop the use of substances yet still
remain living the raver lifestyle without the chemical high. Campaigns start
reminding people the the rave scene is about the music. This is a time to focus
on the concept of peace, love & unity championed by Rave culture. During a
bust at a party in Sevenoaks, 20 year old student Paul Hartnoll is beaten by
uniformed officers. He recovers and goes on to form the band Orbital.
September 12th
Acid House is introduced to Liverpool as
James Barton takes over The State ballroom to start Daisy. DJ's on the first
night are Andy Carroll & Mic Microdot.
Robert Darby and Leslie Thomas charged with
"conspiring to manage premises where drugs were supplied" after
organising a boat party on the Thames. They are sentenced to 10 and 6 years
imprisonment.
October 1st
Grooverider & Fabio open a legal club
night called Rage.
October
Tony Colston-Hayter renames his
organization to Sunrise after the bad publicity surrounding the last Apocalypse
Now. The first event is busted by Police.
November 5th
Sunrise sell 4000 tickets for their Guy
Fawkes Edition party. As the event kicks off in a run-down gas works (where the
film Full Metal Jacket was made) riot Police raid it an shut down the music. At
5am the Police draw back hopelessly out numbered by ravers who climbed barbed
wire fences and ran across dual carriageway's to get in.
November 7th
The Daily Mail newspaper reports Sunrises
party as "evil night of Ecstasy"
November 20th
Obsession Fm becomes a 24/7 house music
station. After a assembly with Densil Roberts & Otiz F.Angel, Obsession FM
become one of the dedicated pirate radio stations the support the Sunrise
events amongst other top raves.
December 10th
Wayne Anthony enters the scene forming
Genesis. Genesis ('KP' & Wayne Anthony) host their first party in a
warehouse near Aldgate, East London.
December 24th
Genesis hold their second warehouse party.
Held in an vacant warehouse near Clapton Pond, Hackney. Genesis use thousands
of old car tyres that littered the building to build a UV lit entrance tunnel
and bar area. Combined with a Christmas tree, parachutes, netting, inflatables
& some new white canopies stolen from a nearby building site.
December 26th
Genesis return to the same warehouse (now
with a written contract with the owner!). Initial problems with the electricity
had the first 300 or so people standing round in the dark. Later they are
caught totally off guard as (mainly due to the reputation of the xmas eve
party) 2000 people descend on the warehouse.
December 28th
Sunrise IV "Boxing Day in Heaven"
December 30th Sunrise V "Final Party", held at the Astoria New Years
Eve Sunrise team up with Genesis for parties named Sunset at Leeside Road,
Hackney, London. A venue already utilised by Genesis on Christmas Eve &
Boxing Day. It turns nasty and Tony Colsten-Hayter is confronted by a gang of
West Ham (ICF) football thugs who demand a cut in the profits. This leaves him
looking for party venues that do not fall within the 'territories' of football
gangs.
1989
January
Genesis / Sunset parties. "The Fight
Goes On", "Against All Odds", "Hedonism" &
"Strength to Strength".
Inspired by what he had seen at RiP, Joe
Wieczorek starts holding illegal warehouse parties in various east end
locations (Shacklewell Lane, Essex Road, Homerton & Ferry Lane to name a
few). Labrynth is born.
Around the same time, Andy Swallow and Tony
Wilson having already run a succesful after-hours club at Mile End, Hackney,
starts Echos in a small club at the foot of Bow flyover, East London.
Friday's are Tony Wilson's
"Adrenaline" while Saturdays sees Andy Swallow's "Pasha".
With links to ICF (West Ham United's football hooligans) the club soon becomes
a disreputable gangland venue.
Fantasy turn on their first Broadcast and
using powerful transmitters gained a massive audience. An array of pirate
stations soon followed including Sunrise, & Dance FM.
January 28th
RiP move to "The Dungeons" at
Leabridge Road, Leytonstone.
February 25th
Jarvis Sandy enters the scene with a party
called Biology. Held in a film studio in Battersea, this party is a huge
success and starts the assent of Biology in the rave scene.
February
Wayne Antony & Kp flood London with a
month of Genesis parties * Genesis’89 – The Promised Land - * Genesis’89 – West
Way Blues - * Genesis’89 – In House We Trust - * Genesis’89 – Only Love
Conquers Hate
February
Labrynth hold a party in a disused
warehouse at Silverton Way, Canning Town. An East-end gang ask to take over the
door but Joe refuses. This refusal leads to three nutters sneaking into the
venue and hacking innocent people with machetes. Joe is threatened at gun point
and decides to get out of the illegal warehouse party game. Labrynth move to a
licensed club venue, The Four Aces Club in Dalston.
February
James Barton teams up with John Kelly to
start a new night at Liverpools Nights Alive nightclub calling it The
Underground.
March The scene takes a new direction as
parties move away from inner city nightclubs and move out to huge barns and
fields in the countryside. Like a premier division, all the top promoters dish
out an amazing summer of raves. Sunrise (Tony Colston Hayter), Biology (Jarvis
Sandy), Energy (Quintin "TinTin" Chambers & Jeremy Taylor), Back
to the Future (Dave Roberts, also a partner in Sunrise), Weekend World &
World Dance (Anton Le Pirate).
March
Obsession Fm unceasingly promote all the
illegal raves. True to their word, they broadcasted rave information and House
music 24/7 . Viewed as a source to illegal parties Obsession FM go through
continuous raids. Not helping, their rumoured links to hooligans and
transmitter funding by Jamaican Yardies, leads to Obsession regularly being
targeted by the Dti.
April
The production levels of the illegal rave
parties dramatically increased. The smaller founding raves became unimportant
as large events become the in thing. Illegal partys with 1000's of kilo watts
of sound, lasers & fun fairs, attended by sometimes tens of thousands of
people cladded out in ponchoes, smiley's, bandanas & kickers becomes a
weekly event. With ten of thousands of new people starting to go to raves, the
term Raver becomes fully main stream.
The location of these events was a
intimately guarded secret up until an hour or so before the start. Meeting
points would be made available through flyers and pirate radio stations such as
(Sunrise,Centre Force, Obsession, & Fantasy FM). Mobile phones were still
widely regarded as Yuppy toys but thanks to BT's messaging service they became
an ideal way to co-ordinate people to different meeting points (Motorway
service stations usually) and eventually the venue itself. It broadly turned
into a game of "follow the car in front" until you find a party. By
keeping the venue secret promoters could get everyone on the move heading for
the party or in the wrong direction if needed. The Police have no option but to
follow. So the end effect is that 1000's of people can descend on one location
in a matter of minutes. Once a party goes past a certain size there is, in
reality very little the Police can do to stop it.
April
Breakbeats begin to materialize in rave
tunes. Rat Pack run Trip City at the Elephant & Castle.
Outside London, Tommy Smith and Tony Creft
take over the administration of the illegal parties in Blackburn after the
first organisers are arrested. Almost every week empty warehouses in and around
the Blackburn area are descended on by thousands of ravers. Sett End, Bubble
Factory, Unit 7, Pump Street and many more abandoned buildings,warehouses and
even an old abattoir are used for parties over the coming months.
April 16th
Otiz F. Angel's single New Generation 'Body
& Soul' is distributed by SRD while he does an interview for Eternity
magazine. During the interview he describes three common types of raver forming
inside the rave culture.
“Ravers who rave because their friends do
it”.
“Ravers who love the music but are not into
the peace, love philosophy and are not bothered which direction the scene will
take.
“Ravers who love the scene and believe the
scene has the potential to make a positive impact in the world”.
April 29th
Back to the future, finding that their
lined up venue has been revealed, end up holding a party in a cattle silo,
still half full of animal feed!!
May 1st
Centre Force enters the scene becoming a
24/7 pirate house station. The station is set up with help from Andy Swallow
and other people attached to Echos. Police 'intelligence' and general rumours
suggest that Centreforce (like Echos) is run by the ICF (a football hooligan
gang). Andy Swallow said "There were a lot of myths going round that we
were involved in taking peoples doors, taking over the clubs demanding 25% and
all that. Well, I don't know where the money went because I never saw any of
it!".
May 20th
Sunrise 5000: 'Once In A Blue Moon' is held
in aircraft hanger at Santa Pod race track. On arriving at the site in the
early evening to set up, Sunrise find there is no electricity and no toilets.
Their only option is to take a big risk with a diesel generator running dodgy
wiring next to a pile of old newsprint.
Few weeks after the rave, Tony Colston
Hayter (Founder of Sunrise) appear on the Jonathan Ross show. First he hand
cuffed himself to Jonathan Ross then he threw water over Paul Morely
(Journalist). The was a publicity stunt for the 'Freedom To Party'. Although
there was a tonne of negative press after – it was still funny as hell.
May 27th
Energy hold their first major party,
located in Westway film studios with 5 rooms, 12 Djs. This level of production
was not experienced before including one room decorated as Greek temple and
another exactly like the set of the film Bladerunner.
June 10th
Biology hold a party in a field near
Elstree Studios, London.
Red Parrot illegal parties begin around
Blackburn area.
June 16th-18th
Hypnosis set up the first dance tent in on
of the car parks at Glastonbury.
Police use a new strategy and start to
monitor info lines and posing as Ravers to find venues before the convoys.
June 24th
Sunrise’s Midsummer Nights Dream at White
Waltham airstrip, Berkshire is attended by over 11000 people. The Sun newspaper
runs the famous headline "SPACED OUT" with a two page "Ecstasy
Airport” expose. Other reports involve “youngsters so drugged up they ripped
the heads of pigeons!”“at the end of the night the floor was covered in empty
ecstasy wrappers”. Unsurprisingly , both were untrue. The empty wrappers are
actually pieces of confetti that fell from the ceiling; dead pigeons nowhere to
be seen.
July 1st - 2nd
Energy party held at Membury, Berkshire.
Police seal off 20 miles of the M4.
Biology are made to find venue after venue
as police intelligence find the main venue and all the back ups. Failing to
find a spot, hundreds of cars drive up motorways and down country lanes all
night. The party disastrously end in a club in Birmingham (The Hummingbird) and
starts at 8am. Its a terrible event.
July 22nd
Energy hold an event in a Warehouse behind
Heston Services. Over 1000 Police seal off the whole area but ravers simply
park their cars on the hard shoulder of the motorway and run across 6 lanes.
Enough gain access to the party and the Police let it go on.
The size of illegal rave parties increases
quickly, starting to cause national panic by the end of the summer. With media
reports of over 20,000 at one Sunrise event, and convoys of "crazed
teenagers" tearing up and down motorways across the country, the
government felt something needed to be done. Chief Superintendent Ken Tappenden
sets up the Polices Pay Party Unit. Information is gathered about organizers,
large, medium and small and it entered onto the HOLMES database.
Tragically, 16 year old Clair Leighton
(R.I.P) dies after taking an E at the Hacienda in Manchester.
July
Spectrum hold the first large scale illegal
rave in the Birmingham area. A field near Tamworth sees a full funfair and
thousands of ravers. Due to a lot of Police pressure with this event Spectrum
go inside and use the Hummingbird nightclub for all future events.
August 3rd
Anthony & Chris Donnely stage Joy at
Stand Lees Farm, Rochdale. August 12th Future Dance Music Festival held by
Sunrise & Back to the Future near the village of Longwick, Buckinghamshire.
17000 tickets sold.
August 19th
World Dance hold their first event near
Junction 6 of the M25. Over 8000 people in attendance.
August 26th
Energy put out on their information lines
that the first 5000 to arrive at their Summer Festival will get in free. Within
a few hours there are over 20,000 people dancing in a Surrey field.
September 9th
Genesis break into a huge warehouse in east
London. The venue could hold upto 10,000 people and with a 60 foot high ceiling
there was room for fairground rides! Biology also plan a party for the same
night so Genesis' publicity goes into overdrive, 3 different sets of flyers and
a sticker campaign eventually sees Genesis tickets outselling Biology's. At 6pm
the Police arrest the lighting crew. Then as Wayne Anthony approach the venue
they see Police everywhere and the man with the fairground rides surrounded by
Police officers. With no other option Genesis re-direct there crowd to Biology.
Genesis info lines start to give out directions to the Biology party held in
Meopham, Kent.
September 16th Live the Dream, near Gib
Lane, Blackburn
September 16th
Raindance hold the first fully licensed all
night dance event at Jenkins Lane, Barking, on the London/Essex borders. 8,000+
people in attendance.
September 23rd
Energy have the venue for their Dance89
event. Found by a Police helicopter just hours before the rave is due to start,
Police stop the event. Energy end up illegally occupying another hanger at
Raydon airfield, Suffolk. Jeremy Taylor is arrested for causing a public
nuisance.
September 30th
Helter Skelter hold their first party and
manage to get 5,000+ people in a muddy ploughed field near Banbury,
Oxfordshire. The KLF demand to be paid for their live set in Scottish Pound
notes. They write "children we love you" on them and throw them into
the crowd. Maybe as a practice for their most famous publicity stunt of burning
of a £million a few years later.
September 30th
Police try to bust a Phantasy party near
Reigate, but are beaten back by ‘Strikeforce’ security with CS gas and dogs.
This immediately changes things for others. During this rave, a chance meeting
with Bobby V, Jason Jones, DJ Merlin & Otiz F.Angel facilitates the
planning Resurrection / Obsession rave in Cobham.
September
Days after the trouble at Phantasy, the
media print that ravers were aggressive and prepared to stand their ground to
take drugs. Focused on the opposition from 'Strikeforce security', authorities
take a hardline approach to all rave party raids across London. Later, Egged on
by more tabloid front pages like "Acid peril of Drug Kids" &
"Drugs & Gun haul at Acid Party", the government lash out. Tory
MP Graham Bright pushes the "Entertainments (Increased Penalties)
Act" through parliament and the Police's 'Pay Party Unit' is formed to
hunt down Rave organisers.
October 21st
Biology try to hold a rave in Guildford.
With a massive line up which is to included Public Enemy to play live! A
massive Police operation stops the party. Police estimate there are 30,000
people in the surrounding area trying to get to the event which was totally
sealed off. Public Enemy are detained and held at Heathrow.
Centre Force Radio is raided and their DJs
arrested. On the same night their Echos club is also raided.
November
Pandemonium do their last illegal event,
held in a Church on Lime Street, Telford. The surrounding ring road is totally
blocked and Paul Archer & Paul Dawks are banned from holding another rave
event.
November
Police force The State in Liverpool to
shut. Mike Knowler & Andy Carroll move down the road to Bootle and open a
new night. Quadrant Park is born.
November 11th
Police raid The Underground in Liverpool.
James Barton & John Kelly banned from holding events in Liverpool.
November
Konspiracy opened in Manchester by Chris
Nelson. December At Whitebirk, Blackburn a Police car is set on fire during
battles with Police trying to stop ravers entering the party,
New Years Eve
Sunrise organise an end of the decade party
and for the first time print the venue on the flyer. With only hours to go
until the rave was meant the start time the Land Owner gives in to serious
Police pressure and calls it off. The back up venue in Norfolk is also given an
the injunction by the local Council. At around 11pm the Sunrise message lines
direct the remaining ravers to head for Heston Services on the M4, then from
there they are directed to the National Panasonic building in Slough where
Sunrise had negotiated with Biology and Genesis to join their party.
New Years Eve
Amnesia House's (Bambam & the two
brothers Keiran & Neville) party in Coventry is stopped after only a few
hours.
1990
January 27th
"Freedom To Party" campaign
marches in London against the "Increased Penalties" bill. 8,000
people gather in Trafalgar Square to hear speeches from the main promoters,
Wayne Antony. Tony Colston Hater, Dave Roberts, Jarvis Sandy, Obsession fm and
othe pirate station reps. Amplified music is banned by the Police. Debbie
Malone sings "Rescue Me" accapella. MC Chalky White is arrested as
Police bring the demo to a close. Obsession fm create a live broadcast and
fully cover the protest but the tabloid press make no mention at all! Later
that night a warehouse in Radlett is cracked by Weekend World. They are joined
by Sunrise, Genesis and Biology for a free party organised in just a few hours.
Police road block the convoys and running battles between the Police and ravers
trying to get into the building result in it being allowed to continue until
9am.
January
James Perkins teams up with Chris Griffin
to hold some nights in Cheltenham called Cage Blackburn's illegal warehouse
scene continues to grow with the Revenge and Hardcore Uproar parties.
February 24th
Tommy Smith and Tony Creft's run of
Blackburn raves ends in a warehouse at Nelson, Nr Burnley. 200 riot Police raid
the party while there are over 10,000 people inside. A few legal nights then
follow at Malfoy's nightclub before this too is shut down.
March 17th
Chris Griffin holds the first Perception at
the Brunel Centre, Bristol.
June 9th
Brave New World, nr Blackburn Amnesia House
are joined by Mickey Lynas (Bambam's brother) and they start to hold nights at
the Coventry Sports Connection.
June 22nd-24th
At the Glastonbury festival travellers
start hooking up with inner city sounds systems like DiY.
A new and powerful trend evolves with
travellers entering the rave scene. With sound systems these events were free
festivals. Again a loop hole in the law is exploited.
As these are free festivals the 'Pay Party
Unit' has no powers. It's now 'mass trespass' or 'breach of the peace' both
difficult to enforce when there are so many people – especially if many are
travellers.
July
Increased Penalties Bill is passed. Penalty
for organising an illegal event is raised to £20,000 and 6 months imprisonment.
'Introspective' at Longton Leisurebowl.
Sindrome, started by Martin Redmond and DJ
Bod becomes the first weekly Saturday night at Shelleys, Longton,
Stoke-on-trent. The club up to this point has been 'the local sharon &
tracey meat market'. Along side the other residents Unknown DJ and Steve Warner
guests on the following weeks include Derrick May , Ritchie Hawtin, Colin Dale,
Jam MC's, Neil Macey, Dave Angel and Tony Ross.
After Amnesia House "One Step
Beyond" at the Sports Connection a young man from Leicester dies. This is
the Matthew in Friends of Matthew - Out There.
July
About 836 ravers are arrested &
detained at the Love Decade party held at Gildersome in Yorkshire. This remains
one of the biggest mass arrests in British history. Only 8 are actually charged
with anything! Police attempt to shut down the Hacienda for a death in the
club. After a lengthy court case the Hacienda stays open but has lost its original
atmosphere as Manchester's (now called "Madchester) gangsters take over
the drug scene.
August 10th
"The rave scene is just a fad. It will
be over in 3 months" claims Superintendent Mick Bromwich of the Coventry
Police. Years later he has been proven to be a very foolish man.
August 23rd
Amnesia House hold "Sky Blue"
their last party at the Sports Connection, Coventry. On the same day
Resurrection in Cobham becomes a disaster when the prohibited rave turns into a
riot. Dave Thomas (DJ Bizzle T), Otiz F. Angel, El-Chicano Matt Crushaw &
Dirty B are just a few to be arrested.
Pandemonium are joined by Mark Chamberlain
as the public face for dealing with Councils and the Police. They do 3 sell out
events in a Sports Centre in Maidly.
Alex Patterson (later of the ORB) and Jimmy
Cauty (KLF) take over DJing in the VIP room at Land of Oz (held at Heaven in
London). They play a weird mix of film music and animal noises! Ambient house
is born.
Delight at Shelleys in Stoke-on-Trent with
resident DJ, the then virtually unknown Sasha. Shelleys rocks to Sasha's blend
of techno and rushing pianos every Friday (after it closes so do Knutsford
& Hilton Park motorway service stations!).
October
Spiral Tribe (Mark & Alex Harrison,
Debbie Giffith & Simon Feeney) hold their first squat party, Detention, at
an abandoned school house in London. They take the name (or so the story goes)
from a spiral shaped fossil Mark had found.
October 13th
The legendary Eclipse opens at Lower Ford
Street, Coventry. Britain's first legal all night rave club. The club is packed
all night every Friday & Saturday. December Obsession Fm closes down. After
a final bust, Obsession cannot recuperate. The arrests at Resurrection ends in
the radio station having a vulnerable administration team and forces the
station to end their programme.
September 1st
Pirate radio station Kiss becomes Britain's
first legal dance music radio station then sells out completely to commercial
pop. November 24th 284 Ravers arrested as the Police raid the Mad Hatters Tea
Party in Burnley, Lancashire
1991
January 30th
Hacienda ends following a door staff member
was endangered with a firearm. "We are sick of the violence" - Tony
Wilson February Saturdays at Shelleys becomes the brand new home of Amnesia
House with Daz Willot as resident.
April 16th
After the shut down of Obsession FM, Otiz
F. Angel releases a single called New Generation – All Mighty Dredd. He also
focuses on a new Resurrection campaign and publishes a memo called 'Hardcore
-Do You Know The Score ?'. To summarise, the content talks about:
l
The House phenomenon causing a
spiritual awakening within the rave generation and modifying the way people
think.
l
Rave culture upgrading modern
day society.
l
The necessity of meditation,
yoga and good health becoming a big part of the rave culture.
l
An awareness of a collective
conciousness experienced by many people, in a rave environment (connecting all
people and all things in the universe).
l
A future rave business or
corporation, giving ravers a voice while enabling ravers to network, share and
make money together (legitimately).
Over 10,000 copies were handed out outside
all rave events, busy streets and large malls in London. Hundreds of ravers,
hippy spiritualist and new age enthusiasts found common ground with the
literature and joined the Resurrection membership.
Yet there are mixed reactions with critics
accusing Angel of forming a rave cult.
several weeks following the doc was
published, a producer called the Hypnotist – coincidently released a successful
track called 'Hardcore You Know The Score'. No connection.
April 18th
Time & Underground hold their last
party at the Rag Market, Birmingham Time & Underground
April 19th
James Perkins and Gideon hold a party at
the Eclipse in Coventry. The line up includes Sasha, Carl Cox, Jumping Jack
Frost, SS, Ellis Dee and a PA from The Scientist.
April 27th
First of the Forest Hill free partyies held
near Oxford
May 8th
Second Forest Hill free party (the
Easygroove tape)
Resurrection is busted by riot police just
as the rave reaches over 1,500+ members. The prohibited warehouse in Tottenham
hale is closed. Later, founding members and management merge with a Tottenham
sound system changing their name to become 'the Electrybe'.
May 22nd
After filming the video for “Move any
Mountain” The Shamen’s Will Sinnott drowns off the coast off Gomera, Canary
Islands
May 25th
Steve Gorden host the Elevation rave. The
venue was at The Wonderland Arena. June Shelleys is allowed to keep its licence
after Longton Police object on grounds of "serious overcrowding" June
After on going battles with the Dti fantasy FM closed down and ended the
broadcast, leaving a long legacy of house music.
June 20-25th
Longstock free festival. Spiral Tribe join
the fesitval with their now mobile sound system.
29 June
Elevation Part II July DJ Welly takes up
residency at The Pleasuredome, Farnworth, near Manchester. Within three weeks
the usually quiet club is transformed and full to capacity week in week out.
July 26-29th
Happy Daze free festival nr Bala, Wales.
Circus Warp & Spiral Tribe on site.
August 2nd
Newspapers & Pics ESP do a joint event
with Weekend World near Northampton. This outdoor event is licensed for 7,000.
August 2-5th
Camelford free festival. Spiral Tribe,
Circus Warp, Adrenaline, & DiY on site. MC Scallywag and DJ Aztek join
Spiral Tribe. The following week they move their vehicles to the Stoney Cross
travellers site. A move which un-nerves a lot of the travelling community due
to the violent Police confrontation seen there in the eighties.
August 28-31th
White Goddess free free festival. August
30th free party organisers, Paul Shurrey and Rob Vega (Brainstorm) put on their
first legal event in Bath. Rave legend Universe is born. September Quest is
born at the Wolverhampton Civic Hall.
Sept 14th
Altern-8 turn up outside Shelleys with a
sounds system on the back of a lorry as people are leaving at closing time.
They manage to play 5 numbers to a crowd of 1000+ in the car park before the
Police arrive.
Dec 6th
ESP hold an event at Denby Leisure Centre
(later to be known as The Sanctuary) calling it Dreamscape. New Years Eve
Fantazia at Westpoint Exhibition Centre, Raindance-Big Bad Head at Melton
Mowbury.
1992
January 29th
Pandemonium start their weekly friday
nights at J-Jays, Willenhall, Wolverhampton. Fridays at Shelleys is took over
by Entropy, with Amnesia House on Saturdays.
February 28th
The Pleasuredome in Farnworth is closed
after the Police find the bar staff are dealing drugs. March Kinetic take over
residency at the Leisure Bowl, Stoke-on-Trent. Club Kintetic is born.
April 10th
To the dismay of ravers everywhere, Pete
Waterman and ITV decide to cash in on rave culture by creating a crap TV show
called 'Hitman & Her' filmed in the Eclipse in Coventry. A classic tv
moment see's Michaela Stachen having to leave the club because "its too
hot ... But if you look closer Michaela is high.
April 16th
Otiz F. Angel releases a 2 track ep, New
Generation - Set I Free & Aural Elevation – featuring reggae singer Bingi
Bingham. They play a Live set at Electrybe gathering held in a disused
supermarket, Wood Green, North London. Bemused shoppers watch on as the party
continues till 9am.
April 20th
Spiral Tribe hold a party in a Warehouse in
Acton,West London. Police turn up in full riot gear. People barricade all exits
and the Police use a JCB and sledge hammers to demolish a wall. Eventually
storming the building beating people and making them lie face down on the
floor. Over 100 people are injured. During the mayhem an ITV reported turns up
but it so freaked out by what he sees that he leaves immediately. Spiral Tribes
convoy is escorted out of london under the watch of a Police helicopter.
April 25th
Word spreads about the rough treatment of
Spiral Tribe. The main stream raves stand well back not wanting to draw
attention to themselves. A number of the smaller, underground sound systems
become defiant including DIY, Bedlam, Adrenaline, Electrybe, Circus warp,
travellers and House tribes pledge support. Many talk about organising a large
rave. The only way to strike back. After losing The Pleasuredome, DJ Welly and
crew (Nigel the promoter, Jamie Scahill, Ken Grogan & John Waddiker) move
their night to Bowlers, Traford Park, Manchester. Life @ Bowlers is born.
May 1- 4th
Beltane free festival, Lechlade, Spiral
Tribe and Bedlam on site. 10,000+ people. May 15th Fantazia hold
"Summertime" at Matchams Park Stadium, Bournmouth. Gideon allows
16,000 tickets into circulation when the license is only for 8,000. All tickets
are sold and the resulting 15 miles of blocked M1 motorway is shown on the News
at 10. Fantazia are unable to use this venue again due to this.
May 16th
Genesis’hold their last rave, The
Promised-Land – then quit.
May 22nd
DiY & other systems attempt a free
party in a travellers camp at the Avon Free Festival, Chipping Sodbury near
Bristol. Police hear of their plans and move all the travellers on. This turns
into a rallying call as a mass of sound systems turn up at Castle Morton in the
Malvern Hills. assorted Sound Systems including Bedlam (first on the site),
Circus Warp, Electrybe, Adrenaline & Spiral Tribe are already there. With
No top Djs, No fun fairs , No attractions and No distractions, thousands of
travellers & ravers party hard for days. After seeing police reports on the
BBC's Six O'clock News thousands more people head to the gathering.
For the first time lots of sound systems
come together and create a party larger than most main stream raves. Police
estimate that on the Saturday night there are 40 to 50 thousand people at the
event. MPs now question, at what stage would it become reasonable to call in
the Army as they describe this gathering as an occupying force?
After the Castle Morton gathering the UK
authorities created a new database of every tribe or sound system that
participated in the Castle Morton event. The list also contained every rave
that was deemed seditious, became a riot or was even reportable as a public
dis-order.
June
Exodus hold their first free party in the
Luton area. June 27th Amnesia House hold "The Book of Love" at
Brayfield Stadium. After first announcing his intention to get married at a
rave on the BBC's "The Time, The Place" back in 1989. Mickey Lynas
(partner in Amnesia/Nemesis) gets his wish and marries with 15,000 ravers as
witness' and Grooverider as the best man.
July 25th
Fantazia hold licenced rave "One Step
Beyond/Castle Donnington". Licenced for 25,000, the totally outdoor stage
is made to look like a castle with a huge dragon in the middle of the crowd.
June 29th
Universe put on the first (and only?) legal
outdoor rave in Wales, Adventures On A Pleasure Planet.
August 7-9th
Four members of Spiral Tribe are arrested
as the 'organisers' of Castle Morton festival. Charges of 'conspiracy to cause
a public nuisance' are eventually dropped as thousands of ravers &
travellers up and down the country report themselves as witnesses making the
processing of the case virtually impossible.
August 28th
Pandemonium's "Here comes the
sun" outdoor event, to be held near Shrewsbury is cancelled the day before
(an official from the Council had measured the wrong fence and declared it
wasnt high enough. It was announced on the Radio before Mark Chamberlain could
correct the mistake (most likely this was a ploy to stop the rave). Rumours
circulate that Vision (Chris Griffin), who are holding an event at Popham
Airfield, near Winchester, would accept Pandemonium tickets (untrue). This
leads to 1,000's of people turning up there and the perimeter fences being torn
down. Unofficially there were over 40,000 people there with the licence for
20,000. Shelleys is closed down after reports of "drugs being openly on
sale in the near by supermarket car park". September 11th - Universe are
back in Bath with a massive outdoor event, Mind, Body & Soul. DJ Tanith
& The Producer blow the roof off the main tent.
October 30th
Obsession hold their first big event,The
3rd Dimension, at the Westpoint Exhibition Centre, Exeter.
December
First issues of Eternity Magazine given
away free at various raves. Future copies would feature Tony Cilston Hater,
Dreamscape, World Dance, Otiz F.Angel & Electrybe, Biology, DJ Carl Cox,
Groove Rider & Fabio amongst others. New Years Eve Fantazia, Littlecotte
House. "This massive spectacular all night party will be held indoors and
will host 16,000 party goers" r New Years Eve Exodus hold their largest
illegal free party to date. Over 10,000 people in a warehouse on Woodside
industrial estate, Luton. 1993
February 4th
Due to structural problems at JJays
Pandemonium move their weekly night to The Institute, Digbeth, Birmingham
March 19th
Dance Planet hold The Detonator at
Birmingham's Hummingbird. On the night the Hummingbird's security let people in
through a side door for back handers. Serious overcrowding leads to the death
of two people and the loss of the Hummingbird's entertainments licence.
April 16th
The Electrybe host a party for Otiz F.
Angel's birthday at the Brain club in London west end. Playing a assortment of
happy Hardcore, techno and Jungle, this Monday gathering is Electrybe's first
fully legal event. A successful night persuades organisers to continue the
event every Monday. These colorful events become the regular club night for
hundreds of ravers, house hippies, new age travellers, artists, healers &
spiritualists. Annie Lester, Emma J and Omi join Electrybe's management team.
The next day Otiz F. Angel releases a 2 track e.p named New Generation – True
Feelings
April 23rd
Fantazia do their last true Hardcore event
(2nd Birthday) at the Sanctuary, Milton Keynes. There's talk of another event
planned for 30,000 at Cricket St Thomas Park on the South coast but this
doesn't happen as Fantazia start their own line of clothing and a record label.
April 30th Universe do the first Tribal
Gathering with 25,000 people at Warminster near Bath. Total chaos on the
surrounding roads with a 15 mile traffic jam leading up to the site at about
9pm. Dreamscape plan a massive weekend long event (Woodstock 2) with probably
the biggest flyer ever seen (A1 size!). The licence is granted but due to
difficulies with a financier Murray has to cancel the event. The late
cancellation loses ESP thousands.
June 25th
Dance Trance (Mickey Lynas ex Amnesia
House) has his 1st Wedding anniversary at the Sanctuary.
July
After the huge gathering of last years
Castle Morton festival, a bigger event is planned near the outskirts of Corby,
Northamptonshire. It is to be called "The Mother". Unknown to the
organisers, someone puts posters up in the area publicising the event and
giving Police access to the mobile phone lines. Sound systems manage to crack
the site on Friday the 7th but by Saturday a major Police operation with 100s
of officers blocks off the whole area and the phone info lines go dead.
July 24
Elevation at Roller Express, Edmonton
August 13th
Universe stage their Big Love event
attracting 30,000. With 2 totally outdoor stages set back to back, Heaven
(House) & Earth (Hardcore). Probably the last totally outdoor event. Sound
restiction problems cause the levels to be turned right down half way through
the Prodigys set. Mad P from Top Buzz threw the mic into crowd during their set
as they refused to turn it up! August The Criminal Justice Bill is put to
Parliament. With the new Rave Clause, defining a 'Rave' as 100 or more people
dancing outdoors to music "mainly comprising of repetitive beats".
New powers for the Police will include the right to detain anyone they believe
is heading to an illegal rave and the right to confiscate sounds systems (like
they hadn't been doing this any.
September 7th
Electrybe present The Resurrection at the
Marquee, Tottenham court road WC1. Otiz F. Angel & Carl Miller, Hypno
trance, release two tracks 'Celestial Encounter' 'Spiritual love' After a week
in the Marquee the Electrybe change their music policy becoming an 100% jungle
rave with a policy to only feature new upcoming talent.
November
The Government announced further acts to
control illegal raves. With the law coming down so harshly, the scene turned
legal and commercial so clubs organised one-off events, and longer licensing
hours meant they could offer all-night dancing at their venues. The likes of Cream,
Renaissance and Ministry of Sound had hit the big time and superstar DJs were
more famous than film stars.
1994
January
Electrybe move to the Gass club Wardour
street hosting a jammed packed Monday night rave, Electrybe produce a strong
stable of unknown Djs and MCs some of whom would go on to become top names in
the jungle scene. The MCs included Skibadee, MC IC3, MC Neat (from MC Neat
& DJ Luck), MC Cuckoo, CKP, IC3 and MC Foxy..
Rave There-after. Fully licensed,
commercial raves take over the event landscape across the UK. Corporations even
finance a rave in Wembley stadium. These watered down events were now well
funded and much larger than the original raves, run by many of the same
corporations who supported the criminal justice bill. And so to today. . .
While the illegal raves are over and the
Magic Roundabout years have been and gone, the United Kingdom's passion for
dance music has remained. In fact, dance culture has invaded everywhere: TV
advertisements, radio jingles, film soundtracks as well as in the clubs and
bars all across the country. The current fashion for nostalgia has seen a sea
of early dance anthem compilations being released, with names like Back to the
Old Skool and Old Skool Euphoria. Novels like Rave Story has become top
sellers. Thirty-somethings and 40+ can now reminisce about the golden age of
rave over dinner parties. Ecstasy's popularity has not died, either -
approximately half a million people regularly use the drug in the UK alone.
Illegal parties haven't stopped too, but they will never be close to the same
scale of the early illegal raves. In fact, in rural areas where the club scene
is more mums and toddlers than super-club, gatherings in woods, quarries and
cliff tops happen all the time, while in London illegal squat parties can be
found at the ring of a number - if Ketamine and dark drum 'n' bass is your bag.
The big festivals have begun to cater for today's rave generation.
Homelands and Creamfields attract maximum
capacity crowds, while in 2005 Glastonbury increased its dance tent to a
village, and now has eight stages. The Criminal Justice Act also caused many
ravers to look abroad for kicks, spending summers in places like Goa, Ibiza and
Ayia Napa. Looking back, when superintendent Mick Bromwich
of the
Coventry Police claimed the rave scene was 'Just a fad' in 1990, he couldn't
have been further wrong. Thirty years later, the rave scene is still here and
going strong. Although now it has many musical cousins, at it's core, its still
the same. The parties we take for granted now, would never have existed if it
wasn't for the early rave scene. Like one of the predictions in Otiz F. Angel's
mission statement back in 1991, the Rave scene HAS helped to shape our modern
society. It has changed British culture, it has influenced people across the
world and it has united generation after generation. The efforts of Tony
colston hater, Tin Tin (Energy) and the many other rave organisers, djs and die
hard ravers have left a magical mark in history. We want to take a moment to
remember all to people who stuck their neck out and went through hell to help
to keep the scene alive. Most of these people have been forgotten but not by
us.
We, The True Ravers Give Thanks &
Tribute To:
Carl cox, Trevor Fung, Ian St Paul, Emix,
Adamski, Paul Oakenfold, Tony Colston-Hayter, Johnny Walker, Nicky Holloway,
Danny Rampling, Brett & Sting, Paul Stone ,Lu Vukovic, Otiz F. Angel,
Richard Clarke (DJ Clarkee), James Barton, Robert Darby, Leslie Thomas,
Grooverider & Fabio, Richard Okuno, Densil Roberts, Daddy Chester, Wayne
Antony, Joe Wieczorek, Andy Swallow, Tony Wilson, Jarvis Sandy, Rat Pack, John
Kelly, Tommy Smith, Tony Creft, Anthony & Chris Donnely, Jeremy Taylor,
Paul Archer, Paul Dawks, Mike Knowler, Andy Carroll, MC Chalky White, Chris
Griffin, Mickey Lynas, Martin Redmond, DJ Bod, Mark Chamberlain, James Perkins
and Gideon, Steve Gordon, Mark & Alex Harrison, Debbie Giffith, Simon
Feeney, Chris Nelson & Sir Richard Branson – Yes the millionaire and the
countless other people who contributed to the existence of the Rave culture.
