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The resurgence of the free party?
Reported by dj kinetic
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Submitted 19-09-06 17:07
It’s your Saturday night, it’s your choice:
A) £15 entry, drinks at £3:50 a pop, a taxi ride home after that nasty kebab, remember to avoiding that messy pool of drunkards spilling out from the dive next door, thrashing out the r’n’b to the Elizabeth Duke masses.
OR
B) Free entry, as much booze as you can carry, a free ride home from a fellow happy raver and some scenic country views to match . . . and definitely no bling bling attitude.
Is it any wonder that the free party of days of old appears to be re-emerging? A fair degree of media attention (most notably from the guardian newspaper) has been focused on the resurrection of the free party over the course of the last year, with reports of regular, small, free parties taking place, undetected by the authorities. Earlier this year one party in north Cornwall was attended by more than 5,000 revellers — not exactly small even by Godskitchen Global Gathering standards. So is the rave scene going back to its roots or is this simply nostalgic reminiscence of days gone by?
To those who attend these surprisingly regular events, nostalgia may account for a minor proportion of their enthusiasm. But the most significant appeal seems to come from the fact that these ‘revellers’, as the authorities would no doubt brand them, wish to escape from the confinements of prescribed club-culture.
While the ‘legal’ UK rave scene has sufficed for the past few years, it would appear that the wilting flame of the free party is being re-ignited by people of all ages across the UK.
Whether or not one approves of such illegal gatherings, the fact is they are taking place on what is effectively a weekly basis.
Some of you might remember the infamous Castlemorton Rave of 1992, where between 20,000 and 30,000 people converged between the Malvern Hills for over a week of hedonistic havin-it large happiness. It was Castlemorton which led to John Major’s government introducing The Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, which empowered police to call a halt to any ‘gathering on land in the open air . . . at which amplified music is played during the night’.
The Criminal Justice Bill, as it is commonly referred to, effectively put a stop to the care-free, hazy days of the rave. Inevitably, the bill gave seed to a simmering discontent, amplified by acts like The Streets’ in such lyrics as, ‘and to the government I stick my middle finger up with regards to the Criminal Justice Bill’.
So why after all these years should a scene which, as far as most people are aware, has long been dead and buried seem to be making a resurgence? Arguably an increasing distrust of government policy and politicians’ conduct (Iraq, Afghanistan, ID cards, the Prescott affair, the scandal surrounding Tessa Jowel and her husband’s ‘relationship’ with Silvio Berlusconi to name but a few examples) may have given seed to an increasing disregard for the law.
Closer to home, the government’s new and unprovoked attack upon our very own legal club scene was exemplified by the police raid on the Fridge in Brixton on April 15th 2006. This effectively put an end to the planned Polysexual event there almost before it had even begun, leaving hundreds of clubbers not only downhearted and short-changed, but also subject to the harrowing ordeal of police interrogation and searches. The indefinite closure of the Dance Academy in Plymouth ruled by court order acts as another example, and an online petition http://www.savedanceacademy.com to save the club from permanent closure serves to underline the dismay of the clubbing community at this attack upon our culture.
By alienating those who have been content to frequent legal venues the government has inadvertently heightened the appeal of the free party. The raver must surely ask, if they are paying to be made to feel like a criminal in a supposedly legal venue, why not just feel like one at a free party?
In the early days of rave culture it was the music that mattered, and the people you met — preferably uncompromised by police intervention. Nowadays the same ethics are relevant for going raving at a legal venue, so is there really a great difference now?
Photos courtesy of Dangerous K, Bone Eta & Symbiosis. Not to be reproduced without permission.
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The views and opinions expressed in this review are strictly those of the author only for which HarderFaster will not be held responsible or liable.
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Comments:
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From: Gordon Darley on 19th Sep 2006 22:24.46
"Closer to home, the government’s new and unprovoked attack upon our very own legal club scene was exemplified by the police raid on the Fridge in Brixton"
No offence meant here, but just how much research have you done before writing this feature? To say that the raid on the Fridge was part of a new and unprovoked attack on the scene is a bit off target.
From: Not Marcus on 20th Sep 2006 08:13.44
By alienating those who have been content to frequent legal venues the government has inadvertently heightened the appeal of the free party.
In your opinion. I'd still rather go to club than go to a field and dodge crusties and dogs on a piece of string.
From: End Of on 20th Sep 2006 10:26.49
I must say this comes across as a very poorly researched article. Not only is it incredibly short but just contains wide generalisations and comes across as just a specious rant. There is definitely a story here with the apparent resurgence of such parties but this is a wasted opportunity.
From: benz on 20th Sep 2006 10:29.48
Markus - shows how much you know about the myriad of different free parties that go on across the country then doesn't it! I used to go to lots of free parties in Cambridge and I'd say that Colin Dale & Trevor Rockcliffe playing in a nicely furnished warehoue building with a cafe and loads of seating and great decor/soundsystems was probably better than going to most clubs.
Resurgence of the free party? I wasn't aware it ever went away!
From: PAG on 20th Sep 2006 11:54.22
The free party scene never went away and was around long before Rave,I was going to large scale free parties in the early to mid 80s.
Greater media attention will lead to a liklehood of Castlemorton re occuring.
From: Not Marcus on 20th Sep 2006 12:30.23
Benz - I was making a sweeping generalisation, not unlike the article. 
I've never seen a dog on a string at a Trance on the Thames, have you?
From: benz on 20th Sep 2006 14:50.04
String? That's luxury mate!
From: dj_kinetic on 21st Sep 2006 23:16.01
hi guys
thanks for all the feedback...it's good in my opinion that some of you don't agree...discussion is what this is all about not me trying to provide a gospel like account of what's going on...
all the same as i have written this piece (with a good friend of mine), i feel it necessary to address some of your points...
"No offence meant here, but just how much research have you done before writing this feature? To say that the raid on the Fridge was part of a new and unprovoked attack on the scene is a bit off target" :
i did'nt say this was part of a new and unprovoked attack - i said this was exemplary...
i have researched the raid on the fridge in april sufficiently enough to realise that it was the result of a two month operation which was aimed at tackling alleged drug-dealing at the venue. I say this is part of a new and unprovoked attack on the scene as both this raid and that on the dance academy in plymouth were the first raids of this nature for some time, and both took place within a close time-frame. Therefore it can be argued that this is an example of a new attack on the scene.
From: End Of on 20th Sep 2006 11:26.49
I must say this comes across as a very poorly researched article. Not only is it incredibly short but just contains wide generalisations and comes across as just a specious rant. There is definitely a story here with the apparent resurgence of such parties but this is a wasted opportunity.
this article does not attempt to provide an extensive study of how many free parties are going on where every weekend and why - it is a short piece designed with those who are less aware of the scene's continuation than others in mind, which aims to bring about debate - for under a thousand words there's a fair amount of fact in this article imo, but yes there are indeed some generalisations and suggestions which may not be 100% proven - this is where the debate lies...i'm no expert on free parties, i'm just saying what i've seen going on lately and providing some ideas about why NOW as opposed to five years ago, say, there are more free parties going on.
at the same time there are comments about the scene never going away - i cannot deny this and dont believe i do so in the article?hence why i say 'as far as most people are aware'...
and finally...
From: Markus on 20th Sep 2006 09:13.44
By alienating those who have been content to frequent legal venues the government has inadvertently heightened the appeal of the free party.
In your opinion. I'd still rather go to club than go to a field and dodge crusties and dogs on a piece of string. "
i did'nt say people would RATHER go to a free party than a club : this is just suggesting that there are less CONS attached to the free party nowadays, as a lot of those which would serve to put people off can now apply very well to the club on the high street.
this is referring not to the appeal of the free party inparticular but more the likelihood of your night being disrupted by police intervention.
hope these comments continue the discussion!
From: Gav Freaky Dancing on 22nd Sep 2006 13:01.41
"i'm no expert on free parties, i'm just saying what i've seen going on lately and providing some ideas about why NOW as opposed to five years ago, say, there are more free parties going on."
if you're not an expert on free parties, why not ask some people who are before writing an article on them?
5/6 years ago exodus staged their Free The Spirit Festival - a 3 day free party with 20+ rigs and 10-20,000 people, and there were parties for several hundred upto a couple of thousand people kicking off all over the country most weekends, same as there have been for most of the last 10 years I've been partying.
If anything I'd say there has been a slight downturn in the number and scale of free parties over the last couple of years, though this might just be down to crews being forced to be less open with their publicity.
From: dj_kinetic on 24th Sep 2006 01:54.32
i'm not being funny mate, but we're all entitled to opinions and talking about what we see going on and how we see it, that's all this is...
why don't you write one yourself dude as if you know loads about the scene it'll make a good read and hf seem to be looking for articles all the time...
i can quite happily take criticism but please share your knowledge...harder to be creative than destructive i say...
From: Not Marcus on 24th Sep 2006 15:20.43
creative, like this piece of creative writing here?
From: HarderFaster Editorial on 26th Sep 2006 23:50.05
Thanks to dj kinetic for sharing his views and experiences of free parties and the club scene. In the 5 years I've been in this country some of my best times have been spent at free parties (preferably in fields or near the sea ), long may they continue 
Markus, of course everyone on HF is far more concerned with reading about your dodgy gay porn star alter-ego then anything about the dance scene, it's far too serious a business to be discussing on here anyways...
End Of, not everyone wants to read a long convulted thesis with every reference properly sourced when sometimes the same point can be portrayed in a 700 word snapshot. Many would argue being able to capture the latter is a far better writing skill than the 3000 essay that's taken months to research, write and edit.
And yes here at HF we are definitely always on the lookout for articles, be they interviews, essays, rants, reviews or otherwise. Recent feedback shows that you're all a bit bored with the usual preview with the dj interviews, so anything a bit more creative would be most appreciated!  Please don't let the negative comments on this article or on other threads put you off, they're a nice bunch really, they just need to learn to play nicely.
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