MEMORIES:
Partly in response to the velvet-rope dance clubs that ruled in the 70’s and 80’s, raves were open and welcoming, and more about the music than the glamour. Organized by DJs or house music fans, raves were about sharing music in all night dance-a-thons for music fans – until the media (and drugs) caught on, and raves became a scene of their own in the 90’s.
By 1985, acid-house music was breaking in European clubs, as disco gasped it’s last breaths. Hip London kids brought the sound back with them to England, where rave culture was born. Kids would meet in open fields and abandoned warehouses and dance all night to this new, aggressive techno music that incorporated samples and synthesizers in a modern sound. The steady beat was the foundation, and was usually clocked at 120 BPM, the same as a heartbeat.
The rave scene broadened and grew, and the crowds became more diverse, dividing into the post-hippy crowd, the club kids, and the sports fans. Initially, each was different, but they would soon meld together into one style. The post-hippies wore tie-die and smiley faces, and enhanced their rave experience with drugs. Club kids incorporated their costume culture with brightly colored wigs, platform sneakers and glitter makeup. The sports fans loved the adrenaline of dancing for hours until dawn, and wore soccer jerseys, sneakers, and oversized, flared pants. Each crowd was open to the others, and they all shared one thing in common – a new drug called Ecstacy.
The parties – and the drugs – were illegal, and the authorities would shut down the parties whenever they could. Ravers started planning their gatherings on the down-low, with secret phone numbers, email messages, and word of mouth. Sometimes you’d find out about a rave just hours before it was scheduled to start.
Rave style began to evolve with super-bright colors that combined elements of all the groups. Baby and child accessories became de rigueur. A side effect of Ecstacy was that it made you grind your teeth, and kids followed this desire by sucking on big plastic pacifiers, lollipop, and candy necklaces. The baby style showed in up clothing with baby doll dresses, tiny barrettes, bibs, and alphabet block jewelry. Pigtails and stuffed animal backpacks were popular, along with midriff-bearing baby tees. The visual enhancement properties of Ecstacy had kids waving neon glo-sticks and wearing reflective materials. Tee shirts parodied established logos with sayings like "Klubbers” and “Nice Tripsies.”
As the rave scene regressed farther into childhood, even staples like the Sesame Street theme song were remixed with an electronica beat. It was a weird, drug-induced circus, but it sure was pretty to look at.
