Early 90's Yoof Culture

[RichieRiv]

It's all a little bit contradictory really....

Here's Cass last year.....

http://vimeo.com/69691472

Here's an interview Cass did with Carlton Leach.

http://www.casspennant.com/t2t-leach.shtml

A great 2013 documentary on the summer of '89.....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-XrlMpwEuM

If you can't be arsed to view the whole thing, skip to 20:29

[Estuary]

It was Carlton's, (both book and film).

I believe the top boys went into organised crime in the 90's, but the rest left due to the new plod powers etc. People forget, (or were not around), that even before Hysel, being a football fan was in the mid 80's early 90's was akin to being a social outcast. I remember people in my office insisting I must be a thug as I followed us across the country

A lot of people from both the terraces and the criminal world have spoken about the football firms moving into protection. Andrew Pritchard who was a successful organiser of raves has been interviewed about how he came to employ ex ICF and Chelsea lads to mind his events.

And football indeed had a stigma, the government and its press poodle The Daily Mail did a good job demonising all football supporters, to think that in the 1980's chairmen like Graham Bright at Luton and Ken Bates at Chelsea could in all seriousness propose electric fences to keep supporters (customers) off the pitch. That's putting human beings behind electrified fences!! That's how low our stock had fallen in some peoples eyes, Italian 90, Hillsborough and the Taylor report put an end to that nonsense.

[rare as rockinghorse shat]

Ahh, dem were the days...

Oversized hoodie, mud on the flares, jaw like cast iron, eyes like pin-balls, trudging over a field in the cold dawn before slouching into the Fiesta...stick I am the Resurrection on the tape deck and suddenly it all sorta made sense.

I love this post.


I'm 33 and believe me, there's not a day that I do not wish I was 10-15 years younger, not just for this, but for the grunge/rock scene of the late 80s, the football, the way things were.... the lot.

For people that go on about the selfie culture nowadays, Facebook, Instagram etc and the younger generation who missed out, there are many of us that do get it and believe me, we miss it without ever having really experienced it.

I was at Clockwork at Koko the other week. I know it's not the same as the hardcore scene, but with the people (not many under 35) and the music, it was just a sensational night, sharing it with my brother, his mates, my younger brother alike.

I'd give anything to have a weekend as a 21 year old in the late 80s.

[RichieRiv]

The key year was 1989 and as a 13 year I was certainly aware of the scene (not the Gary Ablett's) the illegal raves around the M25, the music and the clothes. Mrs RR who is only ever so slightly older than moi was at an age where she was going out, although talking about it at the weekend, she never saw the appeal of rocking up in a muddy field with a lot of unwashed pillheads. She preferred pill heads in a club. So in truth although I love the music I was too late.

Even in 1993 when the original clip was taken, the raves had been licenced and as a 15 / 16 year old I had bo means of transport to get to an aircraft hanger in Norfolk. But the cars, hair, music and clothes all struck a chord.

[Philosophical Dan]

The superclub era ruined it all, IMO. I only caught the tail-end of the "proper" rave scene, but there's no doubt that it pissed in the face of the "****hole DJ playing a rehearsed set" self-important clubs, like Cream, Lakota, Time Flies and all that b*llocks.

[RichieRiv]

I disagree Dan. "Superclubs" have been around before the illegal rave screen. In fact you could argue that the Hacienda had a part to play in the creation of Acid House.

The death of the rave scene was the criminal justice act driving raves to go legit, with licensing, security, St Johns Ambulance etc. The Superclubs like Ministry, Cream and the explosion of Ibiza as the Mecca for clubbers was as a result of illegal raves. It was next phase is that scene.

I'd agree that it went a little too far when they opened home and DJ's reached almost God like status, but again that was just the next phase.

[Philosophical Dan]

Can't say I spent much time in clubs in the 80s, but I can't recall them ever being as self-important as they became in the mid 90s.

On another note, I was broadly under the impression that the 90s club scene is long gone - ended up in Lakota a few years back on a mate's stag, on a friday night and there were about 12 people there. Unthinkable in the heyday of queuing round the block to get into places like that.

[RichieRiv]

I'd tend to agree on that part.

[Philosophical Dan]

Anyway, do kids still neck pills like they did in the 90s? I stopped going to clubs around 2000, incidentally around the same time that I stopped caning pills & chang, so I can't claim to be particularly familiar with clubbing in the 21st century. I'd always assumed it just died a death, but I guess that could well be naivety and old age blinding me...

[trick88]

Anyway, do kids still neck pills like they did in the 90s? I stopped going to clubs around 2000, incidentally around the same time that I stopped caning pills & chang, so I can't claim to be particularly familiar with clubbing in the 21st century. I'd always assumed it just died a death, but I guess that could well be naivety and old age blinding me...

I was in The Nest in Dalston on friday evening and the answer is yes! The place is really tiny and i was asked if i want "coke, pills or MD" about 5 or 6 times and the amount of kids off their face was unreal, plus the one kid that completely passed out! Was also asked by someone what i was on, when i said Peroni he just gritted his teeth and stared at me like a Demon!

Typical night around that area.

[billybondsballbag]

Anyway, do kids still neck pills like they did in the 90s? I stopped going to clubs around 2000, incidentally around the same time that I stopped caning pills & chang, so I can't claim to be particularly familiar with clubbing in the 21st century. I'd always assumed it just died a death, but I guess that could well be naivety and old age blinding me...

Roughly one-in-five 16-to-24-year-olds admitted taking an illegal drug in the last year, but the figures are interesting. Compared to 1996 figures, cannabis use is down from 25% to 15%, amphetamine use is down from just under 12% to just under 2% and old-school hallucinogens (LSD, shrooms) are down from 3-4% to under 1% of drug users. Opiate use has halved, and ecstasy use is down from 6.6% to 3.9%. Coke use, however, has tripled (1.4% to 4.2%) and mephedrone use accounts for just under 2% of users.

Taken as a whole, it looks like drug use overall is down, but plenty of people are still getting mashed off their tits on a regular basis. Worth bearing in mind, however, is that alcohol has come down in price considerably since then and, although I don't have time to look for the figures at the moment, I'm aware that the number of young people seeking help for problems with alcohol has risen dramatically in recent years, so it may be that the lower drug use is simply because young people are using legal instead of illegal drugs.

[RichieRiv]

Not disputing the stats BBBB, they're quite interesting, but I wonder how many answered "yes" on the basis of bravado.

Speed was always a cheap alternative to coke and when I was 16-24 coke was far too expensive to even consider. But the price (and quality) has come down dramatically over the last 10 years making it more accessible price wise to the masses. Add that coke and booze go hand in hand, that may account for the increase.

[EugeneSpeed]

Missed out on the illegal rave scene but loved Jungle around 93-94. Occasional trips to London, and lots of do's round Essex.

I'd plan my outfit all week. So many labels have disappeared from that era – Chipie, Naf Naf, Chevignon, Replay...

The thing I miss most about that era was the lack off access to information. I had dozens of songs taped off pirate radio sets or off AWOL tape packs that I still don't know the name of. Everything had such a nice mystery to it - the artists, clubs you'd never get to go to, record shops in weird parts of Essex and London that you'd make the journey to with an A-Z... It was brilliant. If you wandered into school on Monday with the new tape pack from Sunday Roast you were THE MAN, and were instantly slipped blank C90 tapes. Having high speed dubbing was the equivalent of broadband download speeds them days.

[RichieRiv]

Here's a bit of Centerforce for you....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJ-2QrqqbJ4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gixk3oAk8mA

There are a shed load more on YT.

[ooh look who it is]

Anyway, do kids still neck pills like they did in the 90s? I stopped going to clubs around 2000, incidentally around the same time that I stopped caning pills & chang, so I can't claim to be particularly familiar with clubbing in the 21st century. I'd always assumed it just died a death, but I guess that could well be naivety and old age blinding me...

There have been some Mickey Mills floating about a few months back which were the nearest to the original bad boys, apparently. They were tenners which is fine rather than chucking loads of 2 quid ones down your neck. The old old days you paid a score for a Dove but that's all you needed. What went on 88-92 was our mods and rockers summer of love blah blah.

Plenty clubs and parties about Dan some don't even start till 4-5. There is even one starts 6am Monday morning and you can imagine the casualties at that. The buzz isn't there anymore and hasn't been for years but I'm in my 40s but sure the kids today still enjoy it. Saying that loads my missus mates are out every weekend all birds no kids and they party all weekend. Summer comes Ibiza Crotia etc non stop.

Certainly some good nights and DJs about still but I went out few months back with mate who was playing and after drinking all the free booze found it a chore waiting for him to finish his set. Only so many birds you can talk to especially when your missus is there. Got invited to Ibiza last summer to crazy Canadians villa for week. I didn't bother. Absolute carnage. Week there 2 weeks recovery. Not for me anymore. Well, not a week anyway.

I remember similar thread or threads a while back on this subject. Perhaps the boss could attach them to this as I am sure had links to you tube clips etc one about the Blackburn raves or something. Also the Class of 88 book was due to be made into film but not sure the latest with that. Very difficult to transfer that era/time to a film. Human Traffic is an enjoyable film and sure we can all relate to parts of that film.

I recommend this one for the Ibiza heads and also the book White Island is a good read. Altered State is the best book IMO about the rave scene era.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/And_the_ ... _On_(film)

Sorry about the long post but I do enjoy these old rave threads plus the missus had her mother over so popped out for pint at 8 now 3.15 and gotta be up in 3 hours.

[Up the Junction]

Whoever said superclubs killed the rave scene were partly right; the Ministry of Sound tore the arse out of it from '92 onwards when the parties came indoors with their all-nighters-by-numbers full of posing ponces, t-shirts,albums and other profit-generating memorabilia. To this day I've never spent a penny on their tat.

There were always big clubs linked to the scene - Astoria/Busby's, Heaven, The Rocket and Camden Palais to name but four in London alone - but the real deal was always on the road, in a field, miles from anywhere. Fantazia (various), World Dance (Lydd), Energy etc were the best nights during that period, period.

I missed out on the big events of 1988/89 as during that period I tended to spend money on vinyl rather than pay to go out and listen to someone else play it, but clubs like the Labyrinth in Dalston, The Barn in Braintree and Berwick Manor were just as popular as the illegal (M25 etc) raves at the time.

Here's a (1992?) video from my favourite venue of that period - the glorious Rocket on Holloway Road:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3pEAmzHEEnQ

As for narcotics, pills used to sell from between £15-£20, smoke (resin not weed) was £15 an eighth and billy a fiver a bag. I don't recall being aware of charlie on the scene until '94 at the very earliest, when D&B came in and the whole scene went very dark, moody and basically a bit sh*t.

[the pink palermo]

As for narcotics, pills used to sell from between £15-£20, smoke (resin not weed) was £15 an eighth and billy a fiver a bag. I don't recall being aware of charlie on the scene until '94 at the very earliest, when D&B came in and the whole scene went very dark, moody and basically a bit sh*t.

Could you translate that please .

What is "billy"?

Who is "charlie" ?

And last time I looked D&B were a credit rating agency .

As for all the standing in fields listening to loud music in the dark , going to niteclubs until silly o'clock , it sort of passed me by .I've never understood any of it .

[rare as rockinghorse shat]

There have been some Mickey Mills floating about a few months back which were the nearest to the original bad boys, apparently. They were tenners which is fine rather than chucking loads of 2 quid ones down your neck. The old old days you paid a score for a Dove but that's all you needed

Bits I 'hear about' occasionally are £7 a pop. Blinding... apparently.

Little or no come down, long lengthy up, no mindf*cks. All proper.... So I've heard.

[Cockneyboy311]

I spent hours and hours in this shop and spent a fortune. Gone but never forgotten. Great times. I walk past it every day and it makes me said to see an Estate Agents staring back at me

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[Cockneyboy311]

I remember an Eruption FM do at The End and this dropped. The place went absolutely nuts. Goosebumps big time.

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