The History of Rave

Origin of “rave” (1950s-1970s)
In the late 1950s in London, England the term "rave" was used to describe the "wild bohemian parties" of the Soho beatnik set.

The word "rave" was later used in the burgeoning mod youth culture of the early 1960s as the way to describe any wild party in general. People who were gregarious party animals were described as "ravers". Pop musicians such as Steve Marriott of The Small Faces and Keith Moon of The Who were self-described "ravers".

With the rapid change of British pop culture from the mod era of 1963-1966 to the hippie era of 1967 and beyond, the term fell out of popular usage. The Northern soul movement is cited by many as being a significant step towards the creation of contemporary club culture and of the superstar DJ culture of the 2000s.

The birth of UK rave scene (1980s-1990s)
The UK was finally recognised for its rave culture in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The Second Summer of Love was a 1980s social phenomenon in the United Kingdom which saw the rise of acid house music and unlicensed rave parties. The term generally refers to the summer of 1988, when electronic dance music and the prevalence of the drug MDMA fuelled an explosion in youth culture culminating in mass free parties and the era of the rave. The music of this era fused dance beats with a psychedelic 1960s flavour, and the dance culture drew parallels with the hedonism and freedom of the 1967 Summer of Love in San Francisco.

Late 1980s UK Rave, Second Summer of Love

The smiley logo is synonymous with this period in the UK

Legal raves (1990-2000)
By 1991, organisations such as Fantazia and Raindance were holding massive legal raves in fields and warehouses around the country. The Fantazia party at Castle Donington, July 1992 was an open-air, all-night event. The Vision at Pophams airfield in August 1992 and Universe's Tribal Gathering in 1993 had a more festival feel.

By the middle of 1992, the scene was slowly changing, with local councils passing by-laws and increasing fees in an effort to prevent or discourage rave organisations from acquiring necessary licences. This meant that the days of the large one-off parties were numbered. By the mid-1990s, the scene had also fragmented into many different styles of dance music, making large parties more expensive to set up and more difficult to promote. The sound driving the big raves of the early 1990s had by the end of 1993 split into two distinct and polarising styles, the darker jungle and the faster happy hardcore. Although many ravers left the scene due to the split, promoters such as ESP Dreamscape and Helter Skelter still enjoyed widespread popularity and capacity attendances with multi-arena events catering to the various genres. Notable events of this period included ESP's outdoor Dreamscape 20 event on 9 September 1995 at Brafield aerodrome fields, Northants and Helter Skelter's Energy 97 outdoor event on 9 August 1997 at Turweston Aerodrome, Northants.

Dreamscape 20 (09.09.95) - DJ SY

Jungle and Drum & Bass
Producers and DJs who quickly became popular included Micky Finn, Grooverider, DJ Hype, LTJ Bukem, and Andy C. 1994 was the peak of jungle, and this was the year jungle was most influenced by Rasta vocals and ragga bass-lines. Rave promoters began taking note that jungle was gaining popularity, and created parties with names like “Jungle Mania” and “Fantazia takes you into the Jungle”.

20 Years of Jungle Mania - (Full Length Documentary)

Fantazia takes you into the Jungle - LTJ Bukem

The genre started entering the club scene, with D&B DJs beginning to get booked for house-oriented clubs. Ministry of Sound started to hold drum and bass sessions. Even as the sound continued to gain popularity in the mainstream, the writing was on the wall for the rave scene.

DJ Friction - Ministry Of Sound Presents: Mixed - Drum & Bass

An organization called World Dance also entered the rave scene
For those who remember the amazing effort Fantazia went to in respect of production at their events, it will come as no surprise that it’s pretty much a direct comparison to World Dance and in some respects, they probably picked up where Fantazia briefly left.

World Dance was renowned for their huge production and massive following, and their brand was second to none. From the World Dance MA2 bomber jackets, to the slip-mats, to the lighters, they had their branding locked down. They understood all aspects of the promotions game, at the end of the day these guys were proper businessmen.

A favourite World Dance rave venue was Lydd Airport.

Lydd Airport - 5th November 1994
Micky Finn

Grooverider

Ellis Dee

DJ Slipmatt

DJ Hype

DJ Dougal

Compiled and posted by Brenton Clerkin