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As a kid who grew up in the 90s, I vaguely remember the rave scene in South Africa, or at least, I’m familiar with the smiley face stickers and alien merchandise that we all had to have, even though we didn’t fully understand its significance.

Over the next few years, raves would give way to trance parties, which involved equally as many drugs but slightly different music, hippy clothes instead of neon, and fewer glow sticks.

Right, that about brings us up to speed. I’m sure there’s a more comprehensive timeline of events with many an additional music genre like electronica taking the reins from the rave, but that’s not why we’re here.

We’re here to talk about the resurgence of raves in the UK amidst a pandemic.

Over to The Guardian:

Across the country, young people are ignoring lockdown, strapping on bumbags and making for woods and fields. With the coronavirus pandemic having closed bars and clubs and cancelled or postponed festivals, raves are sweeping the UK, just as they did during the “second summer of love” in 1988, when acid house swept the country and ecstasy and bucket hats were everywhere.

Image: Paul Carroll
Daisy Nook Park after the rave

Some of those who were around for the summer of rave in 1988 say the comparison ends there. Those raves were “about everyone coming together”, says Alon Shulman, the author of The Second Summer of Love: How Dance Music Took Over the World. “If we’re putting vulnerable people at risk due to coronavirus, that’s not in the spirit of the summer of love.”

One of the popular places to meet and rave is Daisy Nook country park, in Greater Manchester.

About 4,000 people raved in Daisy Nook that night. Meanwhile, another 2,000 people attended a “quarantine rave” in Carrington, 15 miles away. Similar raves have popped up throughout June.

Sacha Lord, Greater Manchester’s night-time economy adviser, and the owner of the club The Warehouse Project, told ravers that they weren’t “clubbers”, but rather “selfish idiots”.

I can’t disagree with him there.

I’m sure you don’t need reminding, but physical distancing and avoiding large crowds is one of the ways that we’re trying to stop the spread of the coronavirus.

That’s obviously very difficult to achieve at a rave.

“Raves are a bad idea, even if they are outdoors,” Dr Stephen Griffin says. “It’s a myth to say you can’t spread coronavirus in the open air. You’re exerting yourself, meaning that you have a higher respiration rate; you’re in close proximity and you may have been taking drugs or drinking alcohol, meaning your awareness of physical distancing will be reduced.”

Image: Paul Carroll

…With the stakes so high, history may not be kind to these young ravers. “Perhaps, in 20 years’ time, people will turn around and say: ‘I went to a rave during the coronavirus pandemic,’ says Shulman. “Some people will say: ‘Amazing!’ and others will say: ‘You idiot. You’re the reason it went on for another six months.’”

Many ravers are unrepentant about breaking lockdown, displaying a sense of nihilism that suggests that they’ll take whatever consequences are thrown at them.

You can read more about that, here.

It’s irresponsible at best, potentially dangerous at worst, and generally, a surefire way to spread the virus.

[source:guardian]