1986-1996 All Together Now The People's History of Pop


1986-1996 All Together Now

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They're sexy, they're fit.

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What else can I say about them? Not only do they sing,

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they've got nice arses too.

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# It's a good life

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# Hey, hey, hey, yeah... #

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Pop music unites us. It makes us friends. And defines who we are.

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This is its story, told by those who love it the most.

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The fans.

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# What I'm doing to you

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# Ooh, ooh, ooh... #

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Fans from all over the country have been digging out and sharing with us

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some of their most treasured, rare and personal memorabilia.

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Flyers, photos, a memento of a legendary nightclub,

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and a favourite boyband in plastic.

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# Good life, good life, good life... #

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All precious, and all with a wonderful story.

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# Good life... #

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This is my first album. Catch A Fire.

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My sister took me down to Woolworths to buy this one.

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Those sort of chords, that distinct distortion that they get,

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it just hits you.

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You know, right in here.

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We've underlined all the words that really meant something to us

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at the time. They probably don't mean anything now, do they?

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So whether you're a fan of prog rock, reggae or UK garage,

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synth pop or boybands, this is about us.

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The people at the very heart of this thing called pop.

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# Only glad times in the

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# Good life

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# Good life... #

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As we neared the end of the '80s,

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the pop music fan had become a bit cliched.

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It's all about big hair, bright clothes, brash music...

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And mega-bands with their mega-fans.

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SCREAMING

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But there is another story to tell.

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I think a much more interesting starting point is to take

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a look at an emerging counterculture that was just as radical,

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if not more, than anything produced in the '60s and '70s.

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It kind of suited me getting into something away from the mainstream.

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You'd see every sight you could imagine.

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Fire-eating drag queens, leather outfits, or completely naked.

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The rave scene brought people together and gave us

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smiley culture.

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This is the decade we went from loving the sounds emerging

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from the underground to embracing musical togetherness.

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And the decade I went from pop music fan to being in my own band,

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Kenickie.

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So let's talk about

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the smileys,

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the freaky dancing,

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and the zig-a-zig-a.

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# No more rain because the sun will chase the clouds away

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# In the good life. #

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MUSIC: People Are People by Depeche Mode

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If you were a teenage fan in the '80s,

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looking for the latest hot news about your favourite pop band,

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there was really only one place for it -

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Smash Hits.

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# People are people so why should it be

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# You and I should get along so awfully?

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# People are people... #

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This is an amazing thing.

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It's a vintage copy of fan Bible, Smash Hits.

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This is slightly before my time as a reader, to be honest.

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'86. I would have been eight.

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But 43p - bargain price.

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And you get a lot of good stuff there.

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As you can see, John Lydon is on cover,

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but I think that kind of belies a lot of the content.

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Because it is still very much pop throughout.

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There's A-ha.

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Morten with a little kiss on his cheek.

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# The sun always shines on TV... #

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Then further, to the back of the magazine,

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past the beautiful John Taylor centrefold,

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which I am having for my wall...

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# Notorious... #

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..you've got the single reviews.

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There's a review of Depeche Mode's latest single, Stripped.

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The interesting thing here

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is that it seems like their sound has changed.

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# Complicating, circulating

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# New life... #

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These Basildon boys had started the '80s as futurist synth poppers.

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# New life, new life... #

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But by 1986, they were flirting with more dangerous subjects,

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like sex, politics, and the meaning of life.

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"Depeche Mode were becoming very predictable.

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"But this is the best thing they've done in ages.

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" 'Let me see you stripped' sings Dave Gahan.

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"And bang goes their appearance on Saturday Superstore.

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"Slow and atmospheric,

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"even though you can't work out what he's going on about."

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From synth pop, Saturday morning-friendly superheroes

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to a darker, more oblique kind of music.

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What on earth was going on?

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# Come with me

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# Into the trees

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# We'll lay on the grass

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# And let the hours pass

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# Take my hand... #

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When I put Depeche Mode on, it gives me a certain strength

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and I feel a younger, more confident person

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who can take on the world.

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Lisa loved the band since their early days,

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when Depeche Mode had brought their teen fans pure pop pleasure.

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This is basically what I spent all my wages on. Every month.

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Soon as I got it,

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went down to the record shops and just spent the lot.

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This is all of the records that they ever brought out.

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The lovely thing about Depeche Mode is,

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as they grew, I was also growing up.

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I was of a similar age.

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In 1986, Lisa bought the band's latest and most disturbing album,

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Black Celebration.

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It was a record that challenged and intrigued her.

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They were experimenting. Not only with different sounds,

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but also the lyrics were getting a little bit more political,

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and a little risque at times.

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Despite the change in direction, the fans were won over.

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On the five-month Black Celebration tour,

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over 300,000 people went to see Depeche Mode play.

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Fans rejoiced earnestly in the band's world of pain.

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For Lisa, the celebration became a sort of ritualistic act.

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In 1986, I was working as a secretary and Black Celebration,

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the song, was a mantra of mine when it came out.

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There was one line in particular that stood out for me.

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"To celebrate the fact we've seen the back of another black day."

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# ..of another black day... #

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You just have a horrible experience with a customer or something

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like that and you just go home and think, "Thank goodness that's over."

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Shed the work clothes, out would come the sweatshirt.

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Let's have a black celebration.

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# It's just a question of time... #

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Over the years, I've met a lot of fans who love their bands.

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But I tell you what, Depeche Mode fans have an impressively

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intense adoration for their heroes.

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# Well now you're only 15... #

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This is my little music room that's home to my Depeche Mode collection,

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amongst other things.

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Album covers on the wall here.

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I've got a silver disc for their single Just Can't Get Enough.

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This is one of my prized possessions.

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It's Dave Gahan's jacket. He's worn it in a music video

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and various promotional photoshoots.

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MUSIC: Master And Servant by Depeche Mode

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This might be a strange piece of memorabilia to some,

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but this was a towel that was thrown into the audience by Dave Gahan.

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It just happened to come in my direction.

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Me and a few other guys wrestled and fought over it for a while.

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I ended up with a torn and tattered half of it.

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This is me trying to emulate Dave Gahan.

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When I was younger, I was quite an introvert.

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It kind of suited me,

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getting into something that was considered away from the mainstream.

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You know, shut away in my bedroom, collecting my little

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Depeche Mode knick-knacks and listening to my records.

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It's a huge part of my life.

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I've been a Depeche Mode fan longer than I haven't.

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So, yeah, it's...

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It's quite a passionate link.

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MUSIC: Faith by Wee Papa Girl Rappers

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Shutting yourself away, listening to records

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wasn't for everyone though.

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# I remember the time I would try to rhyme

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# Said to myself, I've got to find the words... #

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Some of us wanted to get out there and strut our stuff.

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# I know it don't fit

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# So I asked my sis to find me a teacher

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# Turn around, she brings a preacher... #

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A new genre was emerging, a British take on an American import,

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which was inspiring teenagers up and down the country,

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both as fans and artists themselves.

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This is some footage recorded in 1985.

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That's me.

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A very young me.

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HE CHUCKLES

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They were definitely fun days.

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Growing up in Leeds, Faadil got hooked on American rap.

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He was a million miles away from the Bronx,

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but it hit home.

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# Breakdown... #

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The last few years of school we'd had a riot in Chapeltown, Leeds.

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There was high unemployment. The miners' strike happened.

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I heard Melle Mel on a record,

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I think it was 1983.

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Beat Street.

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# Cos I'm caught in a rat race lookin' for my own space

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# It gotta be a better place for you and me

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# There's pie in the sky and a eye for a eye

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# Some people gotta die just to be free... #

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And he did a rap and it...pfff...

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When I heard that, I was like, "Whoa!"

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After hearing all this nice "Ho! Ho!" party rap,

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and then Melle Mel gets deep

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and political like that.

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That's when I said, "This is what I want to do."

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MUSIC: Heat It Up by Wee Papa Girl Rappers

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Faadil moved to Brixton in '84 and soon discovered

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a thriving grassroots hip-hop scene.

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# What we're doing is absolutely against the law... #

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In those days, rap music was not in the clubs.

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So we had to go to special events.

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Hip Hop Alliance put on events at Brixton Recreation Centre.

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Hip-hop, scratch DJing, that's what was happening in there.

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# It's like that, yeah

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# It's like that, so hit it up

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# It's like that, yeah

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# It's like that... #

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Most people who went to hip-hop events took part.

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And if they went into the hip-hop break-dance circle and danced

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and they weren't that good, nobody would really say anything.

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Because people accepted that.

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But it was really good times. Really good times, so...

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RAPPING ON VIDEO

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Faadil set up his own crew and made himself something of

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a name on the circuit.

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# Listen to the beat... #

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It feels like yesterday.

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I don't feel like I'm this old man, aged man,

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looking at myself as a younger man.

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I'm the same guy.

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Just a few years older.

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OK, this is an old-school rhyme.

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# Talking about the times in the '80s when Maggie Thatcher ruled

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# Everybody know that she wasn't that cool

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# She-a mash up the nation

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# Maggie Thatcher used to mash up the nation

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# Pushing up the prices and the inflation

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# Dole money can't bring satisfaction

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# You can't get a job even if you want one

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# Perhaps it's cos of your black complexion

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# Also, you have to have a good education

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# But you can't get that longer in a Babylon

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# Hey. #

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-All right, we're done with that.

-HE LAUGHS

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Whoo! Lovely.

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POP MUSIC PLAYS

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What would you say your look was tonight? How would you describe it?

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It's called showing the tan off, in't it?

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Throughout most of the '80s, if you went clubbing of a weekend

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you'd probably end up at an establishment with

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a name like Manhattan's, Ritzy, or Sinatra's.

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And inside, you might find sticky carpets, mirrored walls and

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glammed-up punters more interested in a snog than the DJ's selection.

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But for one teenager in 1988, this was about to change forever.

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In this Suffolk garage, Paul Johnson has a treasure trove

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from the moment he discovered there was another way to party.

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This is my garage. This is where I keep most of my collection.

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This is where I keep my music memorabilia.

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That's my Filofax I used to carry around the club with me.

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I decided to have my 18th birthday in a nightclub. It really was

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not only the start of my adult life,

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it was the start of a lifelong love of club music.

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I was... I am still painfully, painfully shy.

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I didn't like the way I looked.

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I didn't like the way I spoke.

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I think through music and fashion you do search for your identity.

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And Paul found it when he booked

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a holiday to the Spanish islands Mallorca and Ibiza

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with his girlfriend.

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And brought back stuff packed with memories of clubs, bars,

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and fabulous music.

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During that time, we went to the Pacha club.

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There's not many times in my life that I could say I was there

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at the start.

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And I think I can safely say that we actually got to experience

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something that people still talk about.

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In the late 1980s, across the Balearics,

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a cosmopolitan set lost themselves in the sheer hedonism of

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clubs like Pacha, Amnesia, and Glory's.

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The vibe was absolutely amazing.

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Back in the UK,

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you still had to wear a shirt and tie to get in on a Saturday night.

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But there, it was much more relaxed.

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People wearing baggy clothes.

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It was all-encompassing.

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And it made everyone feel welcome.

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All the rules were torn up as DJs spun

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a captivating mix of American house and weird Europop.

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The music was absolutely astounding.

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Like something you'd never heard before.

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The look that the lady's got on there is not completely dissimilar

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to what people were wearing.

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I knew then that this was going to be something that would stay

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with me throughout my life.

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I was 19 years old.

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And it was such a meaningful experience,

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not least because while I was out there, I got engaged.

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MUSIC: Voodoo Ray by A Guy Called Gerald

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Paul took what he had learned about clubbing back to Bury St Edmunds,

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where he organised beach parties at his local.

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He wasn't the only one to come back

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with more than a sombrero and a suntan.

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British DJs took home with them

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an entirely new and egalitarian club culture - rave.

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And a signature sound - acid house.

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# Ooh-ah-ha-yeah... #

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All my flyers, or the vast majority from the rave era,

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are down here on this bottom shelf.

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And it's books and collectables everywhere you can look.

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And two garages elsewhere cos I've run out of space.

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Hidden away in these folders are the treasure flyers that gave

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North Londoner Chelsea access to an underground scene

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taking over her city.

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The flyers range over a period from '86 to 1990.

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And yes, I did go to nearly all of these.

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They started off being scraps of paper that people would just

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do a drawing on and then photocopy.

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One of my favourites - Club MFI,

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which was a crazy night. People talked about sweatboxes.

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Literally there was water running down the walls,

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the energy was incredible.

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I can look at a flyer and go, "I remember that one.

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"That was such a brilliant event. I was with so-and-so.

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"We did such-and-such."

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I think I'll love them forever.

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Conditioned to the warehouses I've already mentioned.

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Westside people, yeah.

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Meet at Catford Station.

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HOUSE MUSIC PLAYS

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It was 1988 and Chelsea's flyers were taking her

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to illicit open-air raves

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in the second Summer of Love, which was actually two summers.

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It was that good.

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You'd have you flyer, you'd have your pager,

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you'd be making a phone call from a phone box, getting a pager message,

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and somebody would say, "You need to get to X," so you'd drive north.

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Start getting out onto the M1, or go west to the M4.

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I remember turning up at Heston's services

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and the police had blocked off all the turn-offs.

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So 3,000 people just parked their cars on the hard shoulder of

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the motorway, ran through the petrol station,

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and went and partied all night.

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The police couldn't take away 3,000 people's vehicles.

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And we carried on.

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HOUSE MUSIC PLAYS

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It was crazy, mad music.

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It was tribal, in a way.

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And people would dance together.

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The scene was driven by a Class A drug - ecstasy.

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But most ravers were too busy having fun

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to care about the potential consequences.

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I know that drugs are not to be promoted.

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But at the time, they created a vibe.

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They weren't the only thing that created a vibe,

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but they did enhance it.

0:19:550:19:58

And people were loved-up.

0:19:580:19:59

It was a time of euphoric uprising, I suppose.

0:20:010:20:04

At the time, I was very different to how I am now. I was...

0:20:070:20:12

a bit of a hippy, bohemian guy.

0:20:120:20:15

And I lived a very dual existence.

0:20:170:20:20

Most people just knew me as the guy they'd grown up with.

0:20:200:20:23

But a few times a month I'd be partying as the person you

0:20:230:20:27

see now, as Chelsea. The rest of the time,

0:20:270:20:29

I was having to live this sort of double existence. Hiding.

0:20:290:20:33

It was a difficult time.

0:20:340:20:36

But I was lucky that because the scene was very involved with

0:20:360:20:39

the gay clubs, I was able to be myself as much as I wanted to.

0:20:390:20:42

The rave scene brought people together,

0:20:440:20:46

which gave them that opportunity, spending time with people,

0:20:460:20:49

realising, "Um, actually, you're just the same as me.

0:20:490:20:52

"You don't look it, but you are. Wow."

0:20:520:20:55

And that was great.

0:20:550:20:56

That was brilliant and perfect.

0:20:560:20:58

And something that gave us smiley culture.

0:20:580:21:02

Brighton Beach, after Zap Club.

0:21:090:21:12

On a Tuesday morning, around 7.00, 8.00, 9.00 in the morning.

0:21:120:21:16

The most surreal thing, dancing on that beach,

0:21:160:21:20

watching people in Brighton go about their daily business and go to work.

0:21:200:21:23

MUSIC: Big Fun by Inner City

0:21:230:21:26

In Joe's box full of photos is the story of someone transformed

0:21:260:21:30

by acid house.

0:21:300:21:31

The stage was the place for what we called the nutters.

0:21:330:21:36

The barmies. They would be up there,

0:21:360:21:38

jumping about like there weren't no tomorrow.

0:21:380:21:40

# Everybody gather around

0:21:430:21:45

# Listen to the Inner City sound... #

0:21:450:21:49

I found myself back at my flat one night, this was '87.

0:21:490:21:54

And a fellow I'd let stay at my flat said,

0:21:540:21:57

"Come with me. We're going to this mad gaff."

0:21:570:22:00

He took me off to the first

0:22:000:22:03

private...what I suppose you could call rave that I went to.

0:22:030:22:06

And that was it, mate. It was all over.

0:22:060:22:10

It was such a new thing. It was so different.

0:22:100:22:14

RAVE MUSIC PLAYS

0:22:140:22:17

Before this, Joe's recreational activities had been more

0:22:170:22:21

devoted to a punch-up than getting loved up.

0:22:210:22:23

'English football, you could be forgiven for thinking,

0:22:250:22:28

'has never had it so bad.

0:22:280:22:31

'Scenes like these have seriously tarnished the game's image.'

0:22:310:22:35

I don't know if I liked myself pre-rave.

0:22:350:22:37

There was a side of me that I didn't like.

0:22:370:22:40

When most of your life is devoted to following a football team

0:22:400:22:44

and bashing up the other team's supporters,

0:22:440:22:46

it ain't a lot to crow about, as it were.

0:22:460:22:49

There is a bit of a debate about whether rave had

0:22:510:22:54

a soothing effect on the hooliganism that scarred the '80s.

0:22:540:22:57

In the clubs, Joe felt the tensions

0:22:570:23:00

between the football firms melt away.

0:23:000:23:03

I don't recall hearing any stories

0:23:030:23:06

of there ever being any football clashes at a rave. Ever.

0:23:060:23:10

I can remember lots of instances

0:23:100:23:11

where there'd be Arsenal in the basement,

0:23:110:23:13

Tottenham in the back tunnel,

0:23:130:23:15

and my own Millwall and a few others, and nothing ever happened.

0:23:150:23:18

It was always sweet.

0:23:180:23:20

I mean, when you consider that's the same person there...

0:23:210:23:26

That's yours truly, 1974, outside the Spurs ground.

0:23:260:23:30

That's a completely different chap, isn't it?

0:23:300:23:33

For me, the rave situation - a blessing in disguise really.

0:23:330:23:38

If I'm honest about it,

0:23:390:23:40

90% of my friends now are probably rave-orientated.

0:23:400:23:44

They're just nicer people.

0:23:440:23:46

You know, there's no easy way of putting that.

0:23:460:23:48

MUSIC: Thieves Like Us by New Order

0:23:480:23:51

For Joe and thousands of others, these were halcyon days.

0:23:550:23:59

And the joy of acid was spreading

0:23:590:24:01

through the musical bloodstream of Britain.

0:24:010:24:04

When it mingled with the sound of Manchester -

0:24:060:24:09

the city of Joy Division, Mark E Smith's Fall,

0:24:090:24:13

and the legendary Tony Wilson's Factory Records -

0:24:130:24:16

something magical happened in the cavernous depths

0:24:160:24:19

of an old yacht warehouse.

0:24:190:24:21

For kids like me, who were a bit too young to go clubbing,

0:24:320:24:35

the idea of spending the night raving in a warehouse

0:24:350:24:38

was a distant dream.

0:24:380:24:40

We were miles away from the London Orbital

0:24:400:24:42

and the rave scene down there, but I did once hop in a van

0:24:420:24:45

with a bunch of friends and head to Manchester,

0:24:450:24:48

when we were really, really underage.

0:24:480:24:50

The bouncers spotted this pretty quickly

0:24:500:24:53

and turned us away at the door.

0:24:530:24:55

We spent the night very miserable, sitting outside, in a van,

0:24:550:24:58

missing out on our place in music history.

0:24:580:25:01

I'm about to meet a guy who never got turned away from the

0:25:050:25:08

hallowed doors of The Hacienda.

0:25:080:25:09

And he's treasured an extraordinary item - a sort of tiny TARDIS

0:25:120:25:16

he never keeps far from his person.

0:25:160:25:19

So, Dave, you've got a very special piece of memorabilia for us today.

0:25:190:25:22

What is it?

0:25:220:25:24

It's a Hacienda membership card that I keep in my wallet.

0:25:240:25:27

It's been signed by lots of people involved with the club.

0:25:270:25:30

Oh, my goodness! Look at this.

0:25:300:25:33

This is incredible!

0:25:330:25:34

We have "FAC 51" on here, which was the number of the club.

0:25:360:25:39

-Everything was numbered.

-The serial number for the club, The Hacienda,

0:25:390:25:43

so they call it FAC 51.

0:25:430:25:44

I think the membership was £5.51, membership to join.

0:25:440:25:48

And the thing was, when I went to get my membership,

0:25:480:25:50

they didn't have a laminating machine

0:25:500:25:52

so that meant I was able to keep it in its paper form.

0:25:520:25:55

After that, basically, I was able to start getting people to sign it.

0:25:550:25:58

It's very delicate, this. I feel like I don't want to...

0:25:580:26:01

-It's 35 years old.

-..handle it too much.

0:26:010:26:03

There's loads of signatures on here.

0:26:030:26:05

The first one I got, at the bottom, underneath the logo, is Tony Wilson.

0:26:050:26:10

He said, "This is going to be worth something one day" as he signed it.

0:26:100:26:13

Then a few weeks later, I got Bez to sign it.

0:26:130:26:16

# Hallelujah, hallelujah... #

0:26:160:26:19

-"All the best, Bez."

-Mani's given me a smile up there as well.

0:26:190:26:23

-That's Mani. There's Ian Brown, I think I can see there.

-Ian Brown.

0:26:230:26:26

# Hallelujah, hallelujah... #

0:26:260:26:29

There's photographers on there, DJs, managers,

0:26:290:26:31

I've got the architects, designers. I've got all of New Order on there.

0:26:310:26:36

It goes on both sides. We've got Mark E Smith.

0:26:360:26:39

-I actually was...

-Oh, God. Look at Mark E Smith!

0:26:390:26:42

That's a scrabbly old signature, isn't it?

0:26:420:26:44

So what was it like then, you know, going to The Hacienda in those days?

0:26:440:26:49

'82 was when I joined. I was 16.

0:26:490:26:51

-Awww!

-This is me on this side here.

0:26:510:26:55

We'd get on the dance floor and we'd be spinning around,

0:26:550:26:58

pulling each other around on the floor.

0:26:580:26:59

No-one batted an eyelid cos we were the only people in there.

0:26:590:27:02

It really felt like it was our place at that time.

0:27:020:27:05

I mean, later on, when it sort of became the acid house scene,

0:27:050:27:09

they brought in these podiums on the side of the dance floor

0:27:090:27:13

which weren't there originally.

0:27:130:27:15

Banks of people on the stage and they were all doing the same

0:27:150:27:18

rhythmic dance. All at the same time.

0:27:180:27:21

Is it the sort of Bez? The slightly...?

0:27:210:27:23

That's more of an Ian Curtis, actually.

0:27:230:27:26

Ian Curtis used to do...

0:27:260:27:28

-But then Bez would be a bit more...

-A bit looser?

-Yeah, exactly.

0:27:280:27:32

But then, occasionally, amongst them there'd be someone pointing up

0:27:320:27:36

at the DJ, conducting the DJ.

0:27:360:27:38

And they're all wearing baggy clothes.

0:27:380:27:40

There's sweat dripping off them.

0:27:400:27:42

I think it was Wrote For Luck, the Happy Mondays.

0:27:420:27:45

That became the anthem for The Hacienda.

0:27:450:27:47

As soon as that came on,

0:27:470:27:49

people were just freaking out on the dance floor.

0:27:490:27:51

You know, really just going for it.

0:27:510:27:53

MUSIC: Wrote For Luck by Happy Mondays

0:27:530:27:56

# And you were wet

0:27:580:28:00

# But you're getting drier

0:28:000:28:02

# You used to speak the truth

0:28:020:28:04

# But now you clever... #

0:28:040:28:07

I mean, what about you personally, being a kid in this place,

0:28:070:28:11

did it broaden your horizons and change your outlook?

0:28:110:28:15

I think I lost a lot of inhibitions. You know, from a 16-year-old

0:28:150:28:19

not being able to dance, not knowing how to,

0:28:190:28:22

to just not caring. Really throwing yourself out there

0:28:220:28:26

and just enjoying the music.

0:28:260:28:28

You know, it was an incredible place to grow into

0:28:280:28:31

a late teen and an early twenty-something.

0:28:310:28:34

To have had that as our club is very special.

0:28:340:28:37

I really like this piece, I've always kept this quite safe.

0:28:480:28:52

It's a build-your-own Hacienda kit.

0:28:520:28:54

It comes on really nice card, and it's all in Hacienda colours.

0:28:540:28:58

And it's got, like, the dance floor and all the different

0:28:580:29:01

bollards that you can make, and the pillars.

0:29:010:29:03

It's even got its own Factory number.

0:29:030:29:07

FAC 86.

0:29:070:29:08

In 1989, Kath moved to Manchester to study

0:29:110:29:15

and she discovered in the city

0:29:150:29:17

a young gay scene, determined to have fun.

0:29:170:29:19

There was a very different landscape in the late '80s for gay people.

0:29:230:29:29

We were dealing with HIV and AIDS.

0:29:310:29:34

We were also dealing with Clause 28,

0:29:340:29:36

which was basically the government saying that they weren't

0:29:360:29:40

going to see homosexuality in a positive light.

0:29:400:29:44

It was illegal to do that.

0:29:440:29:46

And from that came a need to just get away from it and go out

0:29:460:29:51

and forget all your worries and your troubles.

0:29:510:29:55

# My back is against the wall

0:29:550:29:58

# More bills than money... #

0:29:580:30:01

In 1991, Kath went to the opening of a ground-breaking new night

0:30:010:30:05

at The Hacienda.

0:30:050:30:07

This is a flyer.

0:30:080:30:09

One of the flyers that I gave out for the first-ever Flesh, actually.

0:30:090:30:13

I was giving out flyers on the Friday night. Unpaid.

0:30:130:30:16

Just for the passion, cos I wanted it to happen.

0:30:160:30:19

I wanted it to be really busy. And, you know, work.

0:30:190:30:23

Almost 1,300 people came through the doors at the first Flesh.

0:30:280:30:32

It might have been on a Wednesday night,

0:30:320:30:34

but it was the North's largest gay club event.

0:30:340:30:36

On Flesh night, it just used to go crazy down there,

0:30:390:30:42

it was such a small space.

0:30:420:30:44

There'd be condensation streaming down all the mirrors in there.

0:30:440:30:48

Everywhere around Flesh you'd see every sight you can imagine.

0:30:490:30:53

You know, there'd be fire-eating drag queens,

0:30:530:30:56

there'd be people wearing gimp outfits or leather outfits,

0:30:560:31:00

or completely naked.

0:31:000:31:01

A lot of girls had their tits out.

0:31:010:31:03

A lot of guys would wear drag that didn't normally wear drag.

0:31:030:31:07

But everyone would really, really make an effort.

0:31:090:31:13

# The pressure

0:31:130:31:15

# The pressure Pressure of the world

0:31:150:31:18

# The pressure... #

0:31:180:31:21

The younger me found it really important

0:31:220:31:25

to have social networks and friends

0:31:250:31:28

and have a closeness to people,

0:31:280:31:31

and so, that...

0:31:310:31:32

So the whole club scene suited me very well indeed.

0:31:320:31:36

Kath aspired to the DJs she saw on the Manchester gay scene

0:31:390:31:42

and had set up her own night with a mate.

0:31:420:31:45

Soon, she got the chance to be on the other side

0:31:460:31:48

of the Hacienda decks herself.

0:31:480:31:50

If you had to pin down one song

0:31:540:31:56

that really had the spirit of Flesh,

0:31:560:31:58

it would probably be Don't Let It Show On Your Face by Adeva.

0:31:580:32:03

Still sounds ace. Still sounds brilliant.

0:32:030:32:07

# You're just hanging out there... #

0:32:090:32:11

-What a tune.

-# Like atmosphere

0:32:110:32:15

# Never take reflection

0:32:180:32:19

# Come in my direction... #

0:32:190:32:21

Goose bumps! Still.

0:32:210:32:24

How does that work?

0:32:240:32:25

# Never take reflection

0:32:260:32:28

# Come in my direction... #

0:32:280:32:30

Lovely to hear that again.

0:32:310:32:33

I've not played that for ages.

0:32:330:32:35

# Don't let it show on your face... #

0:32:350:32:38

Flesh was out and proud,

0:32:390:32:41

bringing gay clubbing

0:32:410:32:42

to the heart of Manchester's music mainstream.

0:32:420:32:45

But soon the pink pound was being eyed up

0:32:480:32:51

by the rest of the pop industry.

0:32:510:32:53

In the early '90s a new act body-popped their way

0:32:550:32:58

onto the club circuit.

0:32:580:33:00

Apparently this lot were booked to play Flesh back in 1992

0:33:000:33:03

for the bargain fee of £50.

0:33:030:33:06

This band were being marketed at gay men and schoolgirls

0:33:090:33:12

at the same time.

0:33:120:33:13

Think five cheeky Mancunians with beaming smiles

0:33:150:33:18

and glistening codpieces.

0:33:180:33:20

Fame beckoned.

0:33:200:33:21

# Do what you want... #

0:33:210:33:23

This is a limited-edition collector's box

0:33:240:33:27

featuring Take That, and it's an action replay -

0:33:270:33:30

the action movie in you pocket.

0:33:300:33:31

I'm hoping it still works.

0:33:310:33:34

So, you look in...

0:33:340:33:35

BOX WHIRS

0:33:350:33:38

And it plays the Do What You Like video.

0:33:380:33:41

And I remember wearing the batteries out.

0:33:410:33:43

This was before YouTube -

0:33:450:33:47

this was great at the time!

0:33:470:33:48

Victoria Hastings was working her teen job

0:33:510:33:54

at the local shopping centre

0:33:540:33:55

when this shimmying lot entered her life.

0:33:550:33:58

Weighs a ton.

0:34:020:34:04

In here I've got so much stuff.

0:34:050:34:09

Mugs, tour programmes from every tour.

0:34:090:34:13

And then this photo here

0:34:130:34:16

is the first photo I ever took of them.

0:34:160:34:19

This is before they got really, really famous,

0:34:190:34:23

when they were at the Metrocentre

0:34:230:34:24

and they were there as part of National Smile Week,

0:34:240:34:27

and they were throwing free toothbrushes out.

0:34:270:34:29

It was busy - you can see that there are people standing above,

0:34:290:34:31

looking down.

0:34:310:34:33

I think there was a gap in the market.

0:34:330:34:35

In the time, you had, like, New Kids On The Block...

0:34:350:34:38

# Step by step Oh, baby... #

0:34:380:34:42

..Bros, a few years before that...

0:34:420:34:44

# You know these are the words that blow my mind... #

0:34:440:34:47

..and then Take That came on the scene

0:34:470:34:49

and they had accents that we could relate to.

0:34:490:34:51

-Robbie!

-What?

-There's somebody here to see you.

0:34:510:34:54

What? I was at work then. Will you let it be?

0:34:540:34:56

# We are not just friends Because I love you... #

0:34:560:34:59

Their dancing wasn't perfect, and they just seemed more real.

0:34:590:35:04

-We will make it.

-Yeah, we will make it. That's right.

0:35:040:35:07

It's just going to take a lot of hard work, you know, on our behalf.

0:35:070:35:10

We're all prepared to do it,

0:35:100:35:11

we're all going to give it our best shot, aren't we, lads?

0:35:110:35:13

-Definitely.

-Take that!

0:35:130:35:15

# Sun... #

0:35:150:35:18

For millions of us,

0:35:180:35:20

there was something refreshing about these irrepressible lads

0:35:200:35:24

who didn't take themselves too seriously.

0:35:240:35:26

# Every time I'm near you... #

0:35:260:35:29

And thanks to the fans,

0:35:290:35:31

they were stacking up the number ones.

0:35:310:35:33

Take That's my favourite band.

0:35:370:35:39

They're sexy, they're fit...

0:35:390:35:41

And what else can I say about them?

0:35:410:35:43

Not only do they sing, they've got nice arses too, right?

0:35:430:35:46

I think when you're a teenager

0:35:520:35:54

you always feel just a little bit vulnerable,

0:35:540:35:56

you don't want to stand out.

0:35:560:35:57

To be part of something so big and so massive,

0:35:570:36:00

and to feel like you had that family there,

0:36:000:36:03

was really, really lovely.

0:36:030:36:05

# Someday... #

0:36:050:36:09

And Victoria was seduced by a pop factory

0:36:090:36:12

turning out every kind of merch

0:36:120:36:14

for eager fans with pocket money to spend.

0:36:140:36:17

# Forget where you're comin' from... #

0:36:170:36:19

I've got dolls. That's Robbie, I think. That's got to be Gary.

0:36:190:36:23

Or Jason. That might be Jason, with the necklace.

0:36:230:36:25

To be fair, if there'd been Take That toilet paper

0:36:250:36:28

I would've bought that.

0:36:280:36:29

Anything that was branded.

0:36:290:36:31

Yeah, it was always just about trying to be one step ahead,

0:36:310:36:35

having that Take That ring binder,

0:36:350:36:37

having the Take That pencil case,

0:36:370:36:38

the Take That Filofax.

0:36:380:36:40

You always wanted to be their number-one fan.

0:36:400:36:42

And I do remember at some point actually writing to the fan club

0:36:420:36:44

and saying, "My mum and dad have got a really, really big house,

0:36:440:36:47

"so if you don't want them to stay in a hotel

0:36:470:36:50

"and you just want it to be kept a secret,

0:36:500:36:52

"they can all just come and stay at mine."

0:36:520:36:54

But then there came a day in Victoria's life,

0:36:570:37:00

now seared in her memory...

0:37:000:37:03

# And when you rise in the morning sun... #

0:37:030:37:04

We all know it.

0:37:040:37:05

It's up there with your first kiss and your pet dying,

0:37:050:37:09

in pivotal teen moments.

0:37:090:37:10

We've decided that the time is right,

0:37:110:37:13

we've done all we can do as Take That.

0:37:130:37:16

And from today...

0:37:160:37:17

there's no more.

0:37:170:37:19

When they split up, it was on the news,

0:37:220:37:24

and my gran shouted through, "Victoria, you need to come in."

0:37:240:37:27

And I watched it and I burst into tears. Burst into tears.

0:37:270:37:32

# And it's me you need to show How deep is your love... #

0:37:320:37:37

They were saying that there was a helpline,

0:37:370:37:39

if people wanted to ring the helpline...

0:37:390:37:41

I just can't even put into words,

0:37:410:37:43

I was so, so upset.

0:37:430:37:45

# Cos we're living in a world of fools... #

0:37:450:37:48

Well, I was really devastated at the time,

0:37:480:37:51

and we had to come straight here to see Jason.

0:37:510:37:54

But other fans have started fasting

0:37:540:37:56

and they've said that they won't eat anything

0:37:560:37:58

until the group get back together.

0:37:580:38:00

Now as an adult, as a 36-year-old,

0:38:000:38:03

you look back and think, "Oh, well,

0:38:030:38:05

"you know, what is it in relation to having kids or having somebody..."

0:38:050:38:08

But at that time, Take That were my life,

0:38:080:38:12

I just loved everything about them.

0:38:120:38:15

And it was a horrible, horrible, horrible day,

0:38:150:38:18

and a horrible ten years after!

0:38:180:38:20

In the years that Take That fans were spending all their money

0:38:280:38:31

on branded Filofaxes,

0:38:310:38:33

ravers had become the subject of

0:38:330:38:35

a full-blown moral panic,

0:38:350:38:37

under attack from all sides.

0:38:370:38:39

You can't do that.

0:38:400:38:42

-We were all enjoying ourselves.

-Yeah, we can see that.

0:38:430:38:46

So why aren't you letting it go on?

0:38:460:38:48

I think the most worrying thing about the rave parties

0:38:510:38:55

is the illegal use of drugs at them,

0:38:550:38:57

and I would like to see much firmer action by the government

0:38:570:39:00

on the drugs issue specifically.

0:39:000:39:01

And by '94 the party was over.

0:39:030:39:06

Parliament legislated against

0:39:060:39:08

"persons attending or preparing for a rave".

0:39:080:39:11

And listen to this dry and spartan description

0:39:130:39:16

of the life-changing, dynamic, beautiful sound

0:39:160:39:20

that so many of us loved.

0:39:200:39:21

"Music includes sounds wholly or predominantly characterised

0:39:210:39:25

"by the emission of a succession of repetitive beats."

0:39:250:39:29

Got to be honest, it sounds like everything I actually like.

0:39:300:39:33

But our demand for repetitive beats was unstoppable.

0:39:350:39:39

We were now freaking out to a raft of new British dance sounds,

0:39:390:39:43

from drum and bass to happy hardcore and jungle.

0:39:430:39:47

And one band of hardcore ravers were now actually so big

0:39:500:39:54

they were appearing in every teen's favourite pop mag.

0:39:540:39:57

Like any self-respecting fan,

0:40:000:40:02

my Bible was Smash Hits.

0:40:020:40:04

Therefore it was crucially important

0:40:040:40:07

that I obtained a copy of the compilation The Best Of 1991,

0:40:070:40:11

put together by the Smash Hits staff.

0:40:110:40:13

I got it on cassette, took it home,

0:40:130:40:15

slipped it into my pastel-coloured ghetto blaster

0:40:150:40:19

and had a good listen.

0:40:190:40:20

And it was there that I found this really weird song,

0:40:200:40:23

it was nestling improbably

0:40:230:40:25

between Amy Grant's one memorable hit, Baby Baby...

0:40:250:40:28

# Stop for a minute

0:40:280:40:30

# Baby, they're so glad you're mine... #

0:40:300:40:33

..and DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince's Summertime,

0:40:330:40:36

which, to be fair, is a deathless banger to this day.

0:40:360:40:38

# Summer, summer Summertime

0:40:380:40:43

I was familiar with the hook,

0:40:430:40:44

because that appeared to be taken from a public information film

0:40:440:40:47

that as a child I'd found terrifying,

0:40:470:40:49

warning us about stranger-danger.

0:40:490:40:51

There was a cat in it,

0:40:510:40:53

and it was by a band who called themselves Prodigy.

0:40:530:40:56

MUSIC: Charly (Alley Cat Mix) by Prodigy

0:40:560:41:01

We're looking at the kids who are going out raving,

0:41:060:41:08

you know, giving them what they want.

0:41:080:41:10

When they see all of us,

0:41:120:41:14

they just see four people that,

0:41:140:41:15

ten minutes ago, before they got on stage,

0:41:150:41:17

were in the crowd, sort of dancing around and having a laugh.

0:41:170:41:21

In 1993, Prodigy were on the verge

0:41:270:41:30

of dominating dance music in the mainstream.

0:41:300:41:33

But they went back to their roots for one last rave-inspired night.

0:41:350:41:39

I'm at the former legendary nightclub Limelight,

0:41:420:41:45

meeting with Jo Wieczorek, who was so addicted to the music

0:41:450:41:48

he had gone from raver to club promoter.

0:41:480:41:51

He has some very rare footage

0:41:510:41:53

from the most epic party of his life.

0:41:530:41:56

These are the original tapes, as it were,

0:41:570:42:00

that I took way back then,

0:42:000:42:02

and this is the original footage from Prodigy

0:42:020:42:07

when they played at Bagley's, October 1993.

0:42:070:42:10

Oh, man.

0:42:100:42:12

MUSIC: Out Of Space by Prodigy

0:42:120:42:15

I remember that very, very well indeed.

0:42:150:42:18

-I know that one.

-Yeah.

0:42:180:42:19

The first beat of that tune, it erupted.

0:42:210:42:23

HE SHOUTS

0:42:270:42:29

Can you see this long hair?

0:42:340:42:36

Looks like a mane, doesn't it? Goes right down his back.

0:42:360:42:40

-Quite kind of metal, isn't it, really?

-Tell me.

0:42:400:42:43

They were starting to be really, really well established,

0:42:430:42:45

they were bringing out albums.

0:42:450:42:48

You know, they'd already crossed over,

0:42:480:42:50

but they came back and done a rave-oriented show for us.

0:42:500:42:53

And, you know what - even now, goose bumps listening to that.

0:42:530:42:56

-I've got them, actually!

-Seeing it.

0:42:560:42:58

And, you know, being there, it was just incredible, mate.

0:42:580:43:02

No better feeling.

0:43:020:43:03

What you've captured here is such a hard thing to capture.

0:43:030:43:06

It's such an ephemeral thing, it's a moment, isn't it?

0:43:060:43:09

It's a feeling, being in a room,

0:43:090:43:11

-sharing an experience with people, what the music meant.

-Unbelievable.

0:43:110:43:14

You know, sitting here now,

0:43:140:43:16

I really do wish that those nights were next week, tomorrow,

0:43:160:43:19

you know, happening right now,

0:43:190:43:21

because they are moments of your life.

0:43:210:43:23

You'll never, ever be able to repeat that -

0:43:230:43:26

I hope so, but I doubt it.

0:43:260:43:27

# He's a 20th-century boy... #

0:43:300:43:33

That spirit of togetherness was also animating the fans

0:43:330:43:36

of a new version of British music

0:43:360:43:38

that looked back for inspiration.

0:43:380:43:41

# Trying not to be sick again... #

0:43:410:43:44

But with sing-along lyrics that spoke to our common experiences -

0:43:440:43:47

going out on the weekend, telly,

0:43:470:43:49

and being rudely awakened by the dustman.

0:43:490:43:52

# On a seamless line

0:43:520:43:55

# He's hanging on for dear life... #

0:43:550:43:59

So we got the bus here

0:43:590:44:01

and walked up that hill over there,

0:44:010:44:03

and the queue was snaking around the block,

0:44:030:44:07

but it was so exciting.

0:44:070:44:09

In '94, Hannah got to see her Britpop favourites, Blur,

0:44:120:44:17

and that night she discovered a whole new style.

0:44:170:44:20

I was only 17, and it was my first Blur gig

0:44:230:44:25

and they were my favourite band.

0:44:250:44:28

I remember distinctly there was a guy standing over there

0:44:280:44:31

who was wearing brown flared cords

0:44:310:44:34

and a vintage anorak

0:44:340:44:36

and some really cool Adidas trainers,

0:44:360:44:38

and I just thought,

0:44:380:44:39

"You are the most amazing person I've ever seen in my life."

0:44:390:44:42

CROWD CHEERS

0:44:440:44:47

# She says there's ants in the carpet

0:44:500:44:53

# The dirty little monsters

0:44:530:44:56

# Eating all the morsels

0:44:560:44:58

# Just picking up the rubbish

0:44:580:45:02

# Give her effervescence

0:45:020:45:04

# She needs a little sparkle

0:45:040:45:07

# Good morning TV

0:45:070:45:10

# You're looking so healthy... #

0:45:100:45:12

I've never topped this gig,

0:45:120:45:14

this is still my favourite ever gig I've ever been to.

0:45:140:45:17

It was just amazing.

0:45:180:45:20

# We kiss with dry lips when we say goodnight

0:45:200:45:24

# End of the century

0:45:240:45:27

# Ohh, it's nothing special... #

0:45:270:45:29

This is my ticket to the Blur gig at Alexandra Palace.

0:45:290:45:33

This child's towelling top is the top I wore to this gig.

0:45:340:45:40

I was a lot smaller then.

0:45:400:45:42

And then these are my first pair of Adidas Superstar trainers,

0:45:420:45:46

or "shell toes", as I used to call them,

0:45:460:45:49

which I loved so much the first day I bought them that I slept

0:45:490:45:53

with them next to my head, next to my pillow.

0:45:530:45:55

Oh, I love these shoes. I think I met my husband in these.

0:45:550:46:00

# Looking for girls who are boys

0:46:000:46:03

# Who like boys to be girls

0:46:030:46:05

# Who do boys like they're girls

0:46:050:46:06

# Who do girls like they're boys

0:46:060:46:08

# Always should be... #

0:46:080:46:10

That's me wearing a tank top. I'm wearing a tank top today.

0:46:100:46:15

And I don't wear glasses.

0:46:150:46:17

My glasses were just shades and I poked out the sunglasses bits.

0:46:170:46:22

Everything had been very American in terms of popular culture

0:46:220:46:26

in the early '90s, and I'd previously been

0:46:260:46:29

really into Michael Jackson.

0:46:290:46:32

To have something that was from my country and felt like it had

0:46:320:46:37

roots in stuff that I understood much better,

0:46:370:46:40

it just seemed like it made so much more sense than

0:46:400:46:44

any other music I'd listened to previously.

0:46:440:46:46

MUSIC: Connection by Elastica

0:46:540:46:57

There was a whole indie girl fashion.

0:47:020:47:04

Yeah, it was very tomboy-like, but that suited a lot of us really well.

0:47:040:47:10

I've never liked wearing girlie clothes,

0:47:100:47:12

I don't wear heels ever, I'm still wearing towelling today

0:47:120:47:16

and Adidas shell toes and I'm 39 now, so...

0:47:160:47:19

Maybe that's quite sad, but... I still enjoy it, so...

0:47:190:47:23

# Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

0:47:240:47:26

# Yeah, yeah, yeah

0:47:260:47:28

# I'm in heaven... #

0:47:300:47:32

Like Hannah, I too fell in love with a music that was tailor-made

0:47:320:47:35

for those women who weren't into the whole

0:47:350:47:37

"boys wear blue, girls wear pink" thing.

0:47:370:47:40

My chosen music was led by a bunch of spirited feminists

0:47:400:47:43

taking their inspiration from grunge.

0:47:430:47:46

# What happened then?

0:47:460:47:48

# I asked him...

0:47:480:47:49

# Is this your car? #

0:47:490:47:51

The music that first caught my ear in the '90s was riot grrrl.

0:47:510:47:56

It's not the best-known genre of the decade.

0:47:560:47:59

Britpop is a household name, riot grrrl isn't,

0:47:590:48:01

but the influence that the music had was absolutely huge.

0:48:010:48:05

The music was political, it was forward-looking,

0:48:050:48:08

it was adventurous, it was opinionated,

0:48:080:48:10

and for a teenage music fan like me,

0:48:100:48:12

it was the very first time I'd heard music that felt like it was mine.

0:48:120:48:17

# I don't wanna be a boy, I wanna be a girl

0:48:170:48:21

# I wanna do things that'll make your hair curl... #

0:48:210:48:24

In 1996, a riot grrrl-inspired band called Shampoo

0:48:240:48:28

released an album called Girl Power.

0:48:280:48:30

# I wanna go out, I wanna go out

0:48:300:48:33

-# I wanna party

-Yeah! #

0:48:330:48:35

It was a slogan that was to be taken up by

0:48:370:48:39

a very different type of band,

0:48:390:48:40

one whose message to girls everywhere was to get out there

0:48:400:48:44

and tell everyone what they really, really wanted.

0:48:440:48:49

-ALL:

-# Yo, I'll tell you what I want, what I really, really want

0:48:490:48:51

# So tell me what you want, what you really, really want

0:48:510:48:53

# I'll tell you what I want, what I really, really want

0:48:530:48:56

# So tell me what you want, what you really, really want

0:48:560:48:58

# I wanna, I wanna, I wanna, I wanna

0:48:580:49:00

# I really, really, really wanna Zig-a-zig-ah... #

0:49:000:49:03

I'm Annalie and I was Baby Spice.

0:49:030:49:06

I'm Ellie and I was Ginger.

0:49:060:49:08

ANNALIE LAUGHS

0:49:080:49:09

I'm Becky and I was Scary Spice.

0:49:090:49:11

I'm Lizzie and I was Posh.

0:49:110:49:14

For some, the Spice Girls were plastic pop,

0:49:160:49:19

but these school friends have unearthed

0:49:190:49:21

a home video that shows how primary school girls were

0:49:210:49:23

"zig-a-zig-ah"-ing up and down the country.

0:49:230:49:26

-ALL:

-# Slam your body down and wind it all around. #

0:49:260:49:28

There had been things like girls singing together,

0:49:280:49:30

like Bananarama and Pointer Sisters and all that sort of thing before,

0:49:300:49:34

but Spice Girls was different because they were

0:49:340:49:37

younger and they were loud about it.

0:49:370:49:39

-SO loud.

-They were loud and proud.

0:49:390:49:40

And they looked just like us, didn't they?

0:49:400:49:43

-ALL:

-# If you want to be my lover, you have got to give

0:49:430:49:45

# You've got to give

0:49:450:49:47

# Taking is too easy but that's the way it is... #

0:49:470:49:50

I think a lot of the time women in pop are supposed to be pretty

0:49:500:49:53

and quiet, or not too opinionated, but they were,

0:49:530:49:56

they always made a thing of being really opinionated...

0:49:560:49:58

-Brash.

-Yeah.

0:49:580:50:00

# You gotta, you gotta, you gotta, you gotta

0:50:000:50:02

# You gotta slam-slam-slam! #

0:50:020:50:04

-It was always playful, wasn't it?

-That's the thing.

0:50:040:50:06

-They never took themselves too seriously.

-No.

0:50:060:50:09

# Slam your body down and... #

0:50:090:50:10

# Zig-a-zig-ah... #

0:50:100:50:12

INSTRUMENTAL SECTION

0:50:120:50:14

# If you wanna be my lover! #

0:50:190:50:21

Nailed it. Wahey!

0:50:210:50:23

Aww, I love us.

0:50:240:50:26

Hello, what do you call yourselves?

0:50:270:50:29

-ALL:

-Spicettes.

0:50:290:50:32

The Spice Girls spawned a nation of Mini-Me's.

0:50:320:50:36

I've got girl power because I don't care how the rest of

0:50:360:50:39

the world sees me, I follow me own instincts.

0:50:390:50:41

# Giving you everything, all that joy can bring... #

0:50:410:50:45

-Girl power.

-Girl power.

0:50:450:50:47

Girl power.

0:50:470:50:48

In Amy's pink plastic box are the memories

0:50:510:50:54

of a young girl's infatuation.

0:50:540:50:56

OK, so this is all my Spice Girls memorabilia. From when I was

0:51:000:51:04

about 10, 11 years old I literally had everything Spice Girls,

0:51:040:51:08

including a Spice Girls bedroom,

0:51:080:51:12

so I've still got the bed set here.

0:51:120:51:15

I was so chuffed when I got that,

0:51:150:51:17

cos I'd begged my mum for ages and ages.

0:51:170:51:19

I don't know if you'll be able to see, but that's me dressed as Geri.

0:51:210:51:26

And that's my little sister.

0:51:260:51:29

And then from that point, it was my ambition to properly

0:51:290:51:33

look like Geri, and that's when the Union Jack dress was purchased.

0:51:330:51:38

I think it is an exact replica of it, it's got

0:51:400:51:42

the big Union Jack on the front, it's got the peace sign on the back.

0:51:420:51:46

SHE LAUGHS

0:51:490:51:52

That's proof, if ever there was, that I was a Spice Girls fan.

0:51:520:51:56

# The race is on to get out of the bottom... #

0:51:560:51:59

My mum always says I was just this ball of energy when

0:51:590:52:02

I was a kid, and when the Spice Girls came along, they were just

0:52:020:52:07

so cheeky and so outspoken, but they got away with it.

0:52:070:52:11

They were all great friends and they were, like,

0:52:140:52:16

this force of girl power,

0:52:160:52:17

and it was something that was then translated through young girls

0:52:170:52:21

that would have that with their friends

0:52:210:52:24

in the '90s as well, I think.

0:52:240:52:25

# You have got to

0:52:250:52:27

# Swing it, shake it, move it, make it... #

0:52:270:52:29

Through the Spice Girls, it was just like an instant connection

0:52:290:52:32

with the rest of the girls in my peer group at school.

0:52:320:52:36

It was something we could all chat about, we could all sing

0:52:360:52:39

their songs and we'd do the dances

0:52:390:52:41

and dance in the playground at school,

0:52:410:52:43

so, for me, I found the Spice Girls and I found a group of friends

0:52:430:52:46

as well, which was a really great thing to be a part of at the time.

0:52:460:52:50

# You have got to reach on up... #

0:52:530:52:57

It's just nice to have it to go back to and remember who you are

0:52:570:53:01

and where you came from and what those influences were, and just...

0:53:010:53:05

Just...girl power.

0:53:070:53:11

The Spice Girls were a curiously British mashup of

0:53:170:53:21

glittery pop and sparky feminism -

0:53:210:53:23

minidresses and trackie bottoms.

0:53:230:53:26

They were utterly manufactured,

0:53:260:53:28

but they were also genuinely inspirational.

0:53:280:53:31

By 1996, we were well and truly loved up with British pop music.

0:53:350:53:40

That summer, one in 20 of us applied for tickets to see

0:53:400:53:44

Britpop's biggest band play at Knebworth.

0:53:440:53:47

-Mad for it!

-Best group.

-I'm mad for it!

0:53:470:53:49

In just a few years,

0:53:510:53:52

Oasis had become as big as any band since the '60s.

0:53:520:53:55

They would even go on to win over the politicians.

0:53:590:54:01

-Hello.

-Hiya.

-How are you?

-I'm good, thank you.

0:54:070:54:10

'Before he was an Oasis fan,

0:54:100:54:11

'Craig Gill was the drummer of

0:54:110:54:13

'Madchester band the Inspiral Carpets,

0:54:130:54:14

'and he played a crucial part in the band's history.

0:54:140:54:18

'He has a precious piece of memorabilia to prove it.'

0:54:190:54:22

Thanks for bringing your bag of tricks to see me, Craig -

0:54:250:54:27

-what's in it?

-I've got a poster here.

0:54:270:54:31

Basically, originally, Oasis were called The Rain.

0:54:310:54:34

Then Noel started taking the mickey out of his brother, saying,

0:54:340:54:37

"You can't be called The Rain, you're from Manchester."

0:54:370:54:40

And they shared a bedroom, and they had a few Inspiral Carpets posters

0:54:400:54:43

on the wall, and one of the posters was our tour dates from 1991.

0:54:430:54:47

So there it is, the Inspiral Carpets poster, and there,

0:54:500:54:54

right down at the bottom there...

0:54:540:54:55

-Oh!

-..Sunday 28th April,

0:54:550:54:56

Swindon Oasis, which is a leisure centre there.

0:54:560:55:00

-Brilliant.

-And Liam said to Noel, "What about Oasis?"

0:55:000:55:03

And Noel said, "It's still rubbish, but it's better than The Rain."

0:55:030:55:07

And history was made. This is great.

0:55:070:55:10

So I'm right in thinking that Noel was

0:55:100:55:12

a roadie for the Inspiral Carpets?

0:55:120:55:14

Yes, Noel came down to audition to be our singer initially,

0:55:140:55:17

he was a friend of mine.

0:55:170:55:18

He turned up late for the audition and started laughing at the lyrics.

0:55:180:55:21

LAUREN LAUGHS

0:55:210:55:23

Said he could do better, you know.

0:55:230:55:25

So we said, "Look, you've not got the job as our singer,

0:55:250:55:27

"but you can come and be our roadie."

0:55:270:55:29

# Slip inside the eye of your mind

0:55:290:55:33

# Don't you know you might find... #

0:55:330:55:38

Four years later, Noel was a stratospheric rock star.

0:55:380:55:42

# You said that you'd never been

0:55:420:55:45

# But all the things that you've seen

0:55:450:55:49

# Will slowly fade away... #

0:55:490:55:51

But only a few were privy to Oasis' first performances,

0:55:510:55:55

and Craig was one of them.

0:55:550:55:58

-I've got what was touted round as the first demo tape, in '92.

-Wow.

0:55:580:56:03

We found out they were playing,

0:56:030:56:05

must have been about ten people in the audience,

0:56:050:56:08

and shortly after the gig, he was in our office,

0:56:080:56:10

where he was using our facilities to copy cassettes, and he

0:56:100:56:14

gave me a copy, hand-coloured in with felt tips and highlighter pens.

0:56:140:56:18

Look at that! This is amazing. I think it's almost...

0:56:180:56:23

If it was a bit more on a slant, that's not far off the logo.

0:56:230:56:25

Just put a box round it, yeah.

0:56:250:56:26

So this tape is too precious for us to put into

0:56:260:56:29

a tape deck and play, but what's on it?

0:56:290:56:32

It opens up with Columbia, which back then was an instrumental.

0:56:320:56:36

It kind of fades in, they do a 20-second, 30-second loop

0:56:360:56:39

of the track, it fades out, but you just hear Liam go, "'ello."

0:56:390:56:44

I mean, this isn't the Antiques Roadshow, Craig, but this must

0:56:440:56:47

be worth a fair bit of money - have you ever had it valued or anything?

0:56:470:56:51

-I think it's possibly worth about £5,000.

-It's a lot for a C90.

-It is.

0:56:510:56:56

MUSIC: Champagne Supernova by Oasis

0:56:580:57:01

When Oasis fans belted out Some Might Say and Wonderwall,

0:57:080:57:12

they were singing songs that brought together so much of this decade.

0:57:120:57:17

From acid house's promises of a better future...

0:57:170:57:20

# How many special people change?

0:57:200:57:23

..to the swaggering good times of Madchester...

0:57:230:57:27

..and the catchy pop that united so many of us.

0:57:290:57:32

# Some day you will find me caught beneath the landslide... #

0:57:320:57:38

By the middle of the '90s,

0:57:380:57:40

we were nearing the end of the century that had given us pop music,

0:57:400:57:43

and for music fans, this was a time of more diversity than ever before.

0:57:430:57:47

# Caught beneath the landslide... #

0:57:480:57:51

By '96, you didn't have to look far to find a music for you.

0:57:510:57:55

# A champagne supernova... #

0:57:550:57:58

Fans had their pick of records on shelves and music experiences

0:57:580:58:01

out there, whether it was a warehouse rave, superclubs,

0:58:010:58:05

your local disco, stadium rock or indie gigs.

0:58:050:58:09

But what all this marvellous mixture had in common was

0:58:100:58:14

the camaraderie at its heart.

0:58:140:58:15

Sounds not for loners but for bonding with your mates,

0:58:150:58:19

or even your enemies.

0:58:190:58:22

For me, it was a really exciting time to be a musician,

0:58:220:58:25

but it was an even more exciting time to be a music fan.

0:58:250:58:28

# How many special people change?

0:58:510:58:54

# How many lives are living strange?

0:58:540:58:57

# Where were you while we were getting high? #

0:58:570:59:01

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