Episode #4: EVERYTHING BEGINS WITH E! [1987-1988]

After Chicago's birth of acid house, vinyl was moving more rapidly across seas. In 1987 it seemed as if more people were catching on to what was coming out of the United States. "Acid house" was also a term being used in England to encompass any form of house music that sounded "crazy." This was the year when Ian St. Paul and Trevor Fung invited Paul Oakenfold to Ibiza to celebrate his birthday. Paul brought along Danny Rampling and Nicky Holloway and they spent the majority of their time between Amnesia nightclub and Cafe Del Mar. Trevor Fung & Ian St. Paul were previously running a small gig at a place called Project near London but had shut the party down to focus on partying. During the fall after their Ibiza trip, Paul Oakenfold started an afterhours party at Project but within a few weeks was raided by the police. However, Danny Rampling had opened up a successful night at a fitness center south of the Thames in London. This night was called Schoom, which later adopted the smiley face logo which would become the international symbol for acid house. Paul's lack of success did not get him down. A few weeks after the opening of Schoom he tried again, this time utilizing the back room of a huge club called Heaven, titling the event "Future." Both Rampling & Oakenfold had to move parties to various venues in early 1988. Rampling's Schoom was moved to a YMCA but had become so big that he had to move it to a nightclub where ecstacy use began to rise at a rapid rate. This was a time when football violence was escalating but rival fans would find themselves dancing together in a state of euphoria. In April of 1988 Paul Oakenfold opened Spectrum on a Monday night to utilize the entire Heaven venue, which was considered by many to be a very bold move. Surprisingly the party was so huge that even on a Monday they packed to capacity with nearly a thousand people waiting outside to get in. Nicky Holloway eventually pulled together and formed his own party called The Trip at London's Astoria. The party also turned out to be huge. Police soon caught on to what was taking place at these events when they cruised past The Trip and found hundreds of kids running around screaming "Acieeed!" and jumping in fountains in front of the club. Throughout this period a group named Hedonism began hosting illegal warehouse parties. Other parties, mostly illegal, were eventually formed such as Apocalypse Now, Genesis and the famous Rage party which was hosted by Fabio & Grooverider. Many of these events quickly came under the attack of local media such as ITN television and The Sun newspaper. "Raving" had finally been a term given to people who attended such events and police also worked in full force to prevent illegal parties from happening. This mix was made during my college years near the turn of the millenium. At the time I was collecting records and competing with other dj's to have "the most rare collection." Doing this gave me a solid background and working knowledge of the roots of my musical tastes and has transpired everything I currently am as a dj. Oval Emotion - Go Go (Deep Destruction Remix) Drum & Bass - I Love You Black Riot - A Day In The Life Royal House - Can U Party (Todd Terry B-Boy Remix) 2 In A Room - Take Me Away Underground Resistance - Jupiter Jazz Simon Sed - Criminal