Are unground raves ingrained in UK culture?
Should we expect a rise in the number of illegal raves this summer as members of the public let loose after two years of restrictions?
After living through a national lockdown, and finally getting rid of all the restrictions holding us back, will this summer be the summer that the nation lets loose? Will the UK experience another ‘summer of love’, where ravers come together to the sound of the beat like they did when acid house parties began in the late 1980s?
Ever since then illegal raves have been bringing people together, as ravers escape reality by dancing until the early hours of the morning (or until the rave gets locked off).
Despite all the choice and variety UK nightlife has to offer, illegal raves are still going ahead all across the country. Has the UK coined the term rave and embedded it in our culture? Despite all the clubs and legal events London has to offer, does the thrill of illegal underground raves make them all the more desirable?
‘Illegal rave’ or ‘free party’ is the term for unlicensed music events, free from the restrictions of the legal club scene. When members of the public attend an event that does not have required permission to carry out certain licensable activities.
Keen to understand what sets aside illegal raves from legal events, other than the law, we spoke to events host, organiser and promoter Louis Williamson who in his past had a big involvement in the underground rave scene. He now works in the same field, but completely legit. Hosting and organising events in London.
A lot goes into the construction of illegal raves, host Louis explains that you have to “find locations, book sound systems and lighting, book all the artists, any other entertainment such as fire dancers, food stands and bars. He adds “on top of that we have to figure out all the logistics of how we are going to get people there and how to promote the rave”.
There’s a thrill in the fear of the unknown when hosting squat raves. Louis tells us “I’d get more of a buzz from hosting big illegal events because they are a lot riskier and there’s a lot more involved than just booking a venue. It’s a whole project”.
The great amount of planning and preparation that goes into organising an underground rave didn’t put event organiser Louis off from hosting illegal parties. He says that “illegal raves are literally an empty canvas so you have to book everything”. To avoid police interference and to ensure a successful night everything needs to be organised down to a t. Louis shares “I would have people gather on completely different sides of London to where the event was held and I would have students bringing them into transport, like guiding them on the train”. He explains that “this way if the police were to show up because of large amounts of people, the event wasn’t actually anywhere near so lessened the chances of police finding the location and locking it off before it (the rave) started”.
Louis hosted underground raves with such a big turn-out, he told us that “the biggest rave I’ve put on has had between four to five thousand people inside with two to three thousand people unable to get in”. The bigger the turn out the more likely it is to attract police attention, Louis tells us that “there is a lot of stress and anxiety in throwing illegal raves especially when you’re putting on a big one, you can’t just hide away as you have to be in and out setting up and there’s a big team of you so being discrete is hard”. For a rave organiser, a successful turn out compensates for all the stress. Louis shares that “it’s a big relief when people start turning up to the event and you know it’s going ahead”.
“I’ve seen illegal raves hosted in normal warehouses, bingo halls, snooker halls, office blocks, forests, disused shops, disued pubs, disued schools and even boats on a canal.”
Louis Williamson.
With the right resources and a passion for the underground music scene, any venue can be transformed into a party. Louis told us he’s seen “illegal raves hosted in normal warehouses, bingo halls, snooker halls, office blocks, forests, disused shops, disused pubs, disused schools and even boats on a canal”.
Rave culture is engrained in UK, and the raver’s dedication is what motivates organisers to keep on hosting squats and illegals. Louis explains that “the lengths people go to when trying to get into an illegal rave that has been blocked off by police is quite funny, this includes climbing on top of buildings. Somehow somebody ended up with a ladder at one event and climbed onto the roof and got into it that way.” Host Louis even witnessed “a girl losing her finger on a three-spike fence as she attempted to climb over”.
Now working only within the legal sector of London night-life, Louis continues to support the live music sector as he was also “head of events for Save Our Scene”; an events and media organisation, seeking to build a community through hosting events and producing unique content. Louis adds that he works for “various companies doing freelance things such as artist liaison and also show rep and event management”. Louis is an example of someone who is passionate about their job and what it stands for. He has fortunately been able to go from working illegitimately to legitimately. The legal sector of rave culture can be stressful too, “there is a lot more competition in legal events so that is a stress on its own”.
Even though Louis no longer works in the underground rave scene, he still supports rave culture. He adds that “a lot of illegal raves get a bad reputation but what I feel people should remember is that it isn’t the same people that put them on all over the country. When a legal event goes wrong or something happens at one then it will be the promoter that is given a bad rep or is tarnished. However, when something happens at an illegal rave all illegal raves are thought of negatively which shouldn’t happen”.
Many people frown upon underground raves as they perceive them as dangerous and antisocial, we cannot assume all raves are unsafe. Many hosts take the raver’s wellbeing into consideration when planning, as Louis explains “there are some organisers of illegal raves that are good and run things very safely. They will have medics and professional security teams in place and run it very tight and securely. But some people will not care for the safety of people attending and this is where the bad reputation comes from.
It’s not only illegal raves that can be dangerous, Louis shares that “bad things happen everywhere whether they are legal or illegal however things aren’t taxed at illegal raves which is probably why the government are so against them”
Is it time that we accept underground raves as a part of UK culture, Louis shares “I feel illegal raves are a big part of history in the UK and shouldn’t be frowned upon by the general public”. He adds “illegal raves aren’t going away and there should be some sort of mutual agreement between some organisers and the authorities on how they can make squat raves safer instead of both sides battling each other. Pre 2013 the police were a lot more relaxed and would assist events with crowd control rather than making problems and creating this battle between rave organisers and police”.
“I’m aware that logistics of that and how it would work is unknown but something like that should be put in place rather than wasting police resources on stopping people having fun”.
Tia Brown 