I’m a producer planning a network documentary for BBC TV on early 90’s rave culture. I’d like to explore issues such as the political context – post-Thatcher, the feeling that it was an anti-establishment movement e.t.c and also the social context, how rave culture and associated drug use helped give rise to social change and attitudes towards, among other things, sexuality.
I’m personally fascinated with the issue and grew up in a rural area of the country where huge illegal gatherings were commonplace (mind you, they were in most areas….!) I’m also fascinated with the growing romanticism of how those times are viewed, like an exclusive club of people who would gather together for one shared moment that 20 years later they still remember vividly. It’s interesting and pertinent right now I think, because we’re precisely a generation on, with a sense that those in their late teens/early 20s now are becoming more politicised in the face of recession. As when I was younger, I thought it fascinating what my parents generation did in the 60s, so young adults now would feel the same about watching a programme about the late 80s/early 90s.
Ultimately, I’d like to chart the rave scene through to the Criminal Justice act 1994, where some would argue the law almost forced the commercialisation of dance music. I’d like to explore whether that was ultimately a good thing, by bringing it into the mainstream and turning DJs into stars.
I’m currently drawing up a cast list if you like, so I wondered if I could have a chat with someone from the messageboard to kick around some ideas? Particularly I’d like to find people who were involved in organising large scale raves (illegal preferably) and still do it to this day.
