Rave Documentaries
Documentaries from the UK rave scene.
The 72-Hour Rave that Changed the Law | Life of the Party (2022) Video
Someone called us 72 hour party people. It would start on Saturday and finish on Tuesday DiY Sound System were pioneers of the UK's house music and free party scene. They also played a central role in the infamous Castlemorton Common Festival, which saw 20,000 people descend on a field for the biggest unauthorised rave in history.
Made In Britain: Jungle (2021) Video
How is it that Britain, one little island in the middle of nowhere, has been such a game changer when it comes to creating original music genres that give birth to entire new underground cultures which then go on to have such a huge impact on the world? London – the crowning example of the uniquely British inner city mash up of race, class and culture – has been the crucible for a series of original and unique music genres and pop culture lifestyles that have set the world alight. The recipe has been further enriched by contributions from other key urban centres – cities like Bristol and Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds. Inspired by the bass heavy rhythms of Jamaican sound systems, fused with the culture, fashion, slang and attitude of the Caribbean, West Africa, Asia and America, fueled by a never-ending soundtrack of pirate radio, and led by successive…
How is it that Britain, one little island in the middle of nowhere, has been such a game changer when it comes to creating original music genres that give birth to entire new underground cultures which then go on to have such a huge impact on the world?
London – the crowning example of the uniquely British inner city mash up of race, class and culture – has been the crucible for a series of original and unique music genres and pop culture lifestyles that have set the world alight. The recipe has been further enriched by contributions from other key urban centres – cities like Bristol and Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds. Inspired by the bass heavy rhythms of Jamaican sound systems, fused with the culture, fashion, slang and attitude of the Caribbean, West Africa, Asia and America, fueled by a never-ending soundtrack of pirate radio, and led by successive generations of entrepreneurs, hustlers and maverick visionaries, the whole world has moved to the beats of underground music and club culture made right here, in Britain.
This is the story of Jungle, UKG and Grime – three massive underground music scene that were all ‘Made in Britain.’ These more recent genres exploded from the streets, pirate radio stations and council estates of London and the UK’s inner cities over a period of just a few years in the 1990s. All three gave birth to their own unique sounds, creating a generation of stars, fashions, club scenes and fortunes and all three never quite vanished. Their beats, flows and attitude can still be heard in tunes being made today.
London – the crowning example of the uniquely British inner city mash up of race, class and culture – has been the crucible for a series of original and unique music genres and pop culture lifestyles that have set the world alight. The recipe has been further enriched by contributions from other key urban centres – cities like Bristol and Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds. Inspired by the bass heavy rhythms of Jamaican sound systems, fused with the culture, fashion, slang and attitude of the Caribbean, West Africa, Asia and America, fueled by a never-ending soundtrack of pirate radio, and led by successive generations of entrepreneurs, hustlers and maverick visionaries, the whole world has moved to the beats of underground music and club culture made right here, in Britain.
This is the story of Jungle, UKG and Grime – three massive underground music scene that were all ‘Made in Britain.’ These more recent genres exploded from the streets, pirate radio stations and council estates of London and the UK’s inner cities over a period of just a few years in the 1990s. All three gave birth to their own unique sounds, creating a generation of stars, fashions, club scenes and fortunes and all three never quite vanished. Their beats, flows and attitude can still be heard in tunes being made today.
The Eclipse Part II - Duds, Thugs & Hardcore (2021) Video
The Eclipse in Coventry was the U.K's 1st licensed 24hr venue and Coventry's young entreprenuers knew how to exploit the club to its fullest. It was the birthplace of the bootleg live rave cassette and other merchandise. Coventry street kids also knew how to make cash from the club, selling duds, fake ecstasy, to ravers visiting from all over the U.K, a trend which they took countrywide. Real ravers will tell you how this was the ultimate downer, eventually leading to a massive drop in attendance at the club. Amongst all this, the hardcore sound in the club was developing, sowing the seeds for the genres that came after, with DJ's using the club to experiment with new sounds. Contains strong Daylight Robbery Coventry working class humour, drug references and descriptions of violence. Film 3 from Reflection#3 - "The Drugs Don't Work" A Daylight Robbery Production.
The Eclipse Part 1 - I Go Out On Friday Night, And I Come Home On Saturday Morning. (2021) Video
The U.K's 1st 24hr licensed venue opened on 13th October 1990 A.D in Coventry. The Eclipse was the world's first dance music superclub. Creating a blueprint duplicated throughout the world. Whitewashed from dance music history...until now. This is the real British underground dance music history. Film 3 from Reflection#2 - "House Is A Feeling"
Mensa Lord of the Rave (Sterns) (2016) Video
Sterns In-Ter-Dance
Generation Of Sound - Early 90s Rave Documentary (1999) Video
Generation of Sound, the first of the "rave documentaries," shot back in 1992 and '93 during the last wave of techno's mainstream action. Armed with a camcorder and a Radio Shack editing suite, these filmmakers created a relatively accurate picture of the emerging American rave scene, profiling the DJs, artists, and promoters who built the foundation on which Better Living's stars built their careers. You'll catch low-budget, grainy interviews with the usual suspects (Frankie Bones, promoter Matt E. Silver, DJ Ron D. Core), footage of several classic American raves, and some early and all-but-forgotten West Coast dance music. Film geeks will find the production nauseating, but for aging ravers it's a trip down memory lane. Matt Corwine - Dance Spotlight (From the Jun 27 -- Jul 3, 1999 issue)
Generation E - Channel 5 Documentary (1997) (1997) Video
Excellent and well-made documentary covering Rave Culture and Dance Music in the UK and the impact of Ecstasy not just on the ravers and clubbers lives at the time but the wider impacts on the UK as a whole.
Lost in Music Oldschool Drum and Bass Doc '96 (1996) Video
Lost in Music Oldschool Drum And Bass Documentry '96.
Jungle Fever - BBC 2 Documentary 1994 - Jungle Drum & Bass Documentary (1994) Video
Documentary about the rise of Jungle music in the UK. Originally aired on BBC2 in 1994 featuring Shy Fx, Uk Apache, LTJ Bukem, Fabio, DJ Rap, Mc Lenny and Mc Gunsmoke.
A London Somet'ing Dis 1993 (Prt3) Jungle D&B Documentary (1993) Video
Documentary from 1993 about the established Jungle/Drum & Bass scene in the UK.
A London Somet'ing Dis 1993 (Prt2) Jungle D&B Documentary (1993) Video
Documentary from 1993 about the established Jungle/Drum & Bass scene in the UK.
A London Somet'ing Dis 1993 (Prt1) Jungle D&B Documentary (1993) Video
Documentary from 1993 about the established Jungle/Drum & Bass scene in the UK.
BBC 2 Ecstasy use & Raves - Shelly's Laserdome (1993) (1993) Video
The 1993 BBC 2 broadcast focusing on ecstasy use and the mid-1990s rave culture featured iconic footage captured at Shelley’s Laserdome in Longton, Stoke-on-Trent
The Summer Of Rave 1989 (Full Documentary HQ) (1989) Video
Documentary by the BBC on the development of rave culture in the United Kingdom during the summer of 1989.