Oldskool raves

[Jagwah]

I really like listening to recordings of old raves like Helter Skelter (oldskool hardcore breakbeat techno with an MC). I find they can be great workout music or just very energetic in general.

I am only aware of Fantazia, Helter Skelter, Nicky Blackmarket, and Dreamscape (thanks Billy+). Can anyone list any others especially ones I might be able to find on Youtube or on Internet Archive? Or even old DJ names like Slipmatt or Vibes that might lead to similar recordings being around?

While on this topic, is anyone interested in sharing old rave stories? I might think of some if someone else wants to share...

Cheers!

[Popey]

I really like listening to recordings of old raves like Helter Skelter (oldskool hardcore breakbeat techno with an MC). I find they can be great workout music or just very energetic in general.

I am only aware of Fantazia, Helter Skelter, Nicky Blackmarket, and Dreamscape (thanks Billy+). Can anyone list any others especially ones I might be able to find on Youtube or on Internet Archive? Or even old DJ names like Slipmatt or Vibes that might lead to similar recordings being around?

While on this topic, is anyone interested in sharing old rave stories? I might think of some if someone else wants to share...

Cheers!

Promoter wise you could also look at the rain dance events as they were big back in the day. I seem to recall there was one called eclipse too which was quite big down south in UK.

Dj wise there are loads who played to look out for.

djs to try are dougal, force and styles, top buzz, Ellis dee, clarkee, brisk, Dr s gatchet, ratty, fabio, grooverider, dj vibes, dj rap, dj ss, swann e, mark eg, dj hype, Micky finn, aphrodite, Billy bunter and loft groover.

I am sure I am missed out on some pioneers from the above list but those are some names I can remember from my raving days.

Some of the above will have played anything from happy hardcore to jungle as it was not split down by genre in the early days and this did not happen till later when you would have specific rooms for jungle or happy hardcore etc.

I loved raving back in the day the vibe at the events was full on peace love and unity and never saw any violence (just lots of gurning)

[Billy+]

My favorite place to be was always Fantasy Island in Skegness also referred to as the Pleasuredome

here's an old video about the development of the site, it was massive and although quite a few events got held in the smaller zoo club on most weekends when a rave was held in the pyramid I was there.

There was always police there in plain cloths that would just pull you as you showed tickets and take you off to another section passed the lucky dip bins that they didn't like you putting your hands in

it's the only event I got completely strip searched (yes I'm talking naked had to show my ass crack plus roll up the chaps skin)

[Billy+]

Dj wise there are loads who played to look out for.

djs to try are dougal, force and styles, top buzz, Ellis dee, clarkee, brisk, Dr s gatchet, ratty, fabio, grooverider, dj vibes, dj rap, dj ss, swann e, mark eg, dj hype, Micky finn, aphrodite, Billy bunter and loft groover.

I can't believe you left hixxy or Paul Elstak off that list...

sounds of the underground make some fu*kin noise

[Billy+]

[fullforce]

I really like listening to recordings of old raves like Helter Skelter (oldskool hardcore breakbeat techno with an MC). I find they can be great workout music or just very energetic in general.

I am only aware of Fantazia, Helter Skelter, Nicky Blackmarket, and Dreamscape (thanks Billy+). Can anyone list any others especially ones I might be able to find on Youtube or on Internet Archive? Or even old DJ names like Slipmatt or Vibes that might lead to similar recordings being around?

While on this topic, is anyone interested in sharing old rave stories? I might think of some if someone else wants to share...

Cheers!

Check out Multigroove, Parkzicht, and of course, THUNDERDOME!

[Popey]

Dj wise there are loads who played to look out for.

djs to try are dougal, force and styles, top buzz, Ellis dee, clarkee, brisk, Dr s gatchet, ratty, fabio, grooverider, dj vibes, dj rap, dj ss, swann e, mark eg, dj hype, Micky finn, aphrodite, Billy bunter and loft groover.

I can't believe you left hixxy or Paul Elstak off that list...

sounds of the underground make some fu*kin noise

I am sure I missed off loads, my memory recall isn't what it was (probably due to my raving days ironically). I just realised I did not even mention Carl cox

I never went to skeggy and kinda glad considering what you describe. Most times it would just be a pat down and empty your pockets. Think in the most stringent time the most I had to do was take my trainers and socks off. Most of the time we would double drop before entry and knew enough people at the sanctuary or big events down south to easily be sorted inside as well.

I'm too old for all that malarkey now but back in the day it was fantastic.

[Billy+]

I never went to skeggy and kinda glad considering what you describe. Most times it would just be a pat down and empty your pockets. Think in the most stringent time the most I had to do was take my trainers and socks off.

yeah my problem was i had way to many friends of friends in the 90's who just needed a favorer

i Loved them all but sometimes, they needed to take care of there own and thankfully i always stuck to rules

No. 1 Trust No One, Ever.....

so getting naked while make a few g off a ticket never made me unconfutable

[Billy+]

I remember one night when a friend who I had known for a few years absolutely crapped himself because I had asked him to drive me to a location to pick up a parcel,

he was fine until he saw two blokes follow me in who pulled swords behind my back but expected..........

maybe I should have been more upfront but some people preferer "legally speaking" being stupid

[Jagwah]

Promoter wise you could also look at the rain dance events as they were big back in the day. I seem to recall there was one called eclipse too which was quite big down south in UK.

Dj wise there are loads who played to look out for.

djs to try are dougal, force and styles, top buzz, Ellis dee, clarkee, brisk, Dr s gatchet, ratty, fabio, grooverider, dj vibes, dj rap, dj ss, swann e, mark eg, dj hype, Micky finn, aphrodite, Billy bunter and loft groover.

I am sure I am missed out on some pioneers from the above list but those are some names I can remember from my raving days.

Some of the above will have played anything from happy hardcore to jungle as it was not split down by genre in the early days and this did not happen till later when you would have specific rooms for jungle or happy hardcore etc.

I loved raving back in the day the vibe at the events was full on peace love and unity and never saw any violence (just lots of gurning)

Thanks heaps dude I already checked out Raindance and it's great, can check out eclipse and start digging through your DJ list too!

I love Happy Hardcore it is the best music (maybe very sentimental too). I had friends who were good djs and there were and still are events / small gigs with happy hardcore and hardcore djs happening even here in my little city. My raving days came later, more in the trance / hard NRG time but I have an undying love for this music and wish I was part of the scene when it was starting out. I don't remember seeing any violence either.

Thanks Popey!!

[Jagwah]

My favorite place to be was always Fantasy Island in Skegness also referred to as the Pleasuredome

here's an old video about the development of the site, it was massive and although quite a few events got held in the smaller zoo club on most weekends when a rave was held in the pyramid I was there.

There was always police there in plain cloths that would just pull you as you showed tickets and take you off to another section passed the lucky dip bins that they didn't like you putting your hands in

it's the only event I got completely strip searched (yes I'm talking naked had to show my ass crack plus roll up the chaps skin)

Wow that looks amazing, raves in a big pyramid must have been mad. One cool one we used to have here was 'Delerium,' and they would have 3 nightclubs for the night and a really rowdy bus that drove between them all night

Lol @ lucky dip bins. We were pretty lucky in that the police didn't seem too interested for whatever reason, but they do seem suppressed and not as prominent as they once were.

I will look in to this one a bit more, thanks for sharing!!

[Jagwah]

It's funny to now talk about this and still only talk about events here in Australia and events in Europe / UK. Back in the day we used to sometimes discuss how we would like to travel and rave in other places, and it seemed pretty universal that nobody wanted to go to the USA and try it, and still I hear of no great 'back in the day' US events or anything, not that this little thread could be a judge of it but I'd love to at least hear something about an old US rave scene from someone who attended. Then again we all did pretty fine regardless : D

sounds of the underground make some fu*kin noise

I literally can't listen to this song and not be disappointed when it doesn't mix into something else awesome, like a lot of music back then it was made for it

Whistle crew make some noise!! : D

Check out Multigroove, Parkzicht, and of course, THUNDERDOME!

Legend, will check these out thank you

I have Thunderdome CDs from much later and they are very hardcore but I imagine back in the day it was great, I've seen videos and the production of the events seemed like a big deal too, must have been awesome!!

[Billy+]

you might like a bit of the music maker....

my personal favorite mix is o fortuna as a hardstyle i just loved it then and its still great now....

[Jagwah]

I would update the original post to include hardcore jungle aka Nicky Blackmarket types of affairs but I can't edit it. Open to any suggestions of hardcore jungle, Nicky is the only one I really know about and I really like it.

you might like a bit of the music maker....


my personal favorite mix is o fortuna as a hardstyle i just loved it then and its still great now....

Thanks dude!! I will bust out the youtube downloader for these. Cool to share one of your favourites too, when I find a great one that has a great audio mix it's like a treasure, some could have been so good but with the MC or DJ defining the volume of the MC via a knob on their mixer while on the noisy stage, we can only hope for the best really. So glad there are recordings of these, cheers!!

[dioxide]

I went to this one – well not this one, the one that followed it in March 92. No real stories other than it was fucking freezing ha ha. It was snowing at one point and the venue was more or less a circus tent in a field.

Anyway great music and atmosphere and Fierce Ruling Diva was there playing live. The music started to get a bit silly IMO in 92 and by the time 93 rolled around the scene was over and it split into the (IMO) cheesy happy hardcore and the more musically interesting (IMO) jungle. For me 90, 91 and 92 were great years for music.

[MrFigg]

1989-1993
Sub Club in Glasgow.
Pure in Edinburgh

[dioxide]

I am only aware of Fantazia, Helter Skelter, Nicky Blackmarket, and Dreamscape (thanks Billy+). Can anyone list any others especially ones I might be able to find on Youtube or on Internet Archive? Or even old DJ names like Slipmatt or Vibes that might lead to similar recordings being around?

Here are some of the sets from the Nocturnal raves. Up til about 92 the local DJs were still very important as the bigger national names that would travel around the country (Carl Cox, Grooverider etc) were still quite a new thing. Bands and artists were important so if you had a record out then people paid attention – but the national / international DJ without a records behind them was still a new thing. Personally I preferred it how it was before and my DJ heroes are the locals from the city and region where I lived.

Also the Rezerection raves were big in my area. They covered the period of 91 onwards so it went from early hardcore right through to mid-90s bouncy styles later on if that's your thing.

[Creativemind]

I can't believe you left hixxy or Paul Elstak off that list...

sounds of the underground make some fu*kin noise

I am sure I missed off loads, my memory recall isn't what it was (probably due to my raving days ironically). I just realised I did not even mention Carl cox

I never went to skeggy and kinda glad considering what you describe. Most times it would just be a pat down and empty your pockets. Think in the most stringent time the most I had to do was take my trainers and socks off. Most of the time we would double drop before entry and knew enough people at the sanctuary or big events down south to easily be sorted inside as well.

I'm too old for all that malarkey now but back in the day it was fantastic.

Parks and Wilson, Sasha and Stu Allen too.

Was Amnesia House an event back in the day too? I know they had an Amnesia House night at Shelley's in Stoke-On-Trent where I'm from back in the day and at Eclipse in Coventry too.

[Popey]

I am sure I missed off loads, my memory recall isn't what it was (probably due to my raving days ironically). I just realised I did not even mention Carl cox

I never went to skeggy and kinda glad considering what you describe. Most times it would just be a pat down and empty your pockets. Think in the most stringent time the most I had to do was take my trainers and socks off. Most of the time we would double drop before entry and knew enough people at the sanctuary or big events down south to easily be sorted inside as well.

I'm too old for all that malarkey now but back in the day it was fantastic.

Parks and Wilson, Sasha and Stu Allen too.

Was Amnesia House an event back in the day too? I know they had an Amnesia House night at Shelley's in Stoke-On-Trent where I'm from back in the day and at Eclipse in Coventry too.

Yeah I think you are right and I am pretty sure amnesia was another promotion. I seem to remember having flyers for Amnesia and eclipse (although I know I never went to either)

[Aosta]

Yeah I think you are right and I am pretty sure amnesia was another promotion. I seem to remember having flyers for Amnesia and eclipse (although I know I never went to either)

Amnesia House was based in Coventry and was one of the first groups outside London and Shooom to hold all night raves (Cov Connection) back in 89, they held many illegal raves and were also the first in the UK to get an all night licence when The Eclipse opened it's doors.

[Popey]

Yeah I think you are right and I am pretty sure amnesia was another promotion. I seem to remember having flyers for Amnesia and eclipse (although I know I never went to either)

Amnesia House was based in Coventry and was one of the first groups outside London and Shooom to hold all night raves (Cov Connection) back in 89, they held many illegal raves and were also the first in the UK to get an all night licence when The Eclipse opened it's doors.

Yeah I think they were too far up north for me to ever go but I recall the name and now remember. There was quite a few events I do not recall the names of even though I went to them, the all nighters at Clacton pier especially.

So much fun back in the day

[Creativemind]

Parks and Wilson, Sasha and Stu Allen too.

Was Amnesia House an event back in the day too? I know they had an Amnesia House night at Shelley's in Stoke-On-Trent where I'm from back in the day and at Eclipse in Coventry too.

Yeah I think you are right and I am pretty sure amnesia was another promotion. I seem to remember having flyers for Amnesia and eclipse (although I know I never went to either)

[Jagwah]

I found a ton of the jungle I was looking for, notably Micky Finn has a lot of great recordings out there

Anyway great music and atmosphere and Fierce Ruling Diva was there playing live. The music started to get a bit silly IMO in 92 and by the time 93 rolled around the scene was over and it split into the (IMO) cheesy happy hardcore and the more musically interesting (IMO) jungle. For me 90, 91 and 92 were great years for music.

Some friends of mine who were very in to the scene DJ'ing and MC'ing happy hardcore at venues in the 2000s, were of the same opinion, that the music from 90, 91, and 92 was and always will be superior, the scene as well. I don't know it well enough to understand but they really knew their tracks and I still love listening to their sets now, and I know there are some tracks that are just perfect in many ways, and then there is some tracks that did not share that epic, classic feel. Then later on I came across some total garbage called happy hardcore and I was pretty offended, then there is the new age oldskool stuff that is even worse.

Cheers for the Nocturnal and Rezerection rave videos, I will enjoy them!

Glad you had some good ravey times, thanks for sharing

1989-1993
Sub Club in Glasgow.
Pure in Edinburgh

Cheers!

Ooh you said '93, so:

Parks and Wilson, Sasha and Stu Allen too.

Oh Sasha that's one I need to look up!

Amnesia House was based in Coventry and was one of the first groups outside London and Shooom to hold all night raves (Cov Connection) back in 89, they held many illegal raves and were also the first in the UK to get an all night licence when The Eclipse opened it's doors.

Good times!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[MrFigg]

I went to this one – well not this one, the one that followed it in March 92. No real stories other than it was fucking freezing ha ha. It was snowing at one point and the venue was more or less a circus tent in a field.

Anyway great music and atmosphere and Fierce Ruling Diva was there playing live. The music started to get a bit silly IMO in 92 and by the time 93 rolled around the scene was over and it split into the (IMO) cheesy happy hardcore and the more musically interesting (IMO) jungle. For me 90, 91 and 92 were great years for music.

So true. The music went To hell in ’93. What was that band that had hoodies and covid masks? Something with 8 in the name. Maaaan. Cheesy Happy hardcore on every corner and every Gap. A sad moment for all.

[Popey]

I went to this one – well not this one, the one that followed it in March 92. No real stories other than it was fucking freezing ha ha. It was snowing at one point and the venue was more or less a circus tent in a field.

Anyway great music and atmosphere and Fierce Ruling Diva was there playing live. The music started to get a bit silly IMO in 92 and by the time 93 rolled around the scene was over and it split into the (IMO) cheesy happy hardcore and the more musically interesting (IMO) jungle. For me 90, 91 and 92 were great years for music.

So true. The music went To hell in ’93. What was that band that had hoodies and covid masks? Something with 8 in the name. Maaaan. Cheesy Happy hardcore on every corner and every Gap. A sad moment for all.

You are thinking of altern8 Mr Figg.