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

They're sexy, they're fit.

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

they've got nice arses too.

# It's a good life

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

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

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

The fans.

# What I'm doing to you

# Ooh, ooh, ooh... #

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

some of their most treasured, rare and personal memorabilia.

Flyers, photos, a memento of a legendary nightclub,

and a favourite boyband in plastic.

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

All precious, and all with a wonderful story.

# Good life... #

This is my first album. Catch A Fire.

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

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

it just hits you.

You know, right in here.

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

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

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

synth pop or boybands, this is about us.

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

# Only glad times in the

# Good life

# Good life... #

As we neared the end of the '80s,

the pop music fan had become a bit cliched.

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

And mega-bands with their mega-fans.

SCREAMING

But there is another story to tell.

I think a much more interesting starting point is to take

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

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

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

You'd see every sight you could imagine.

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

The rave scene brought people together and gave us

smiley culture.

This is the decade we went from loving the sounds emerging

from the underground to embracing musical togetherness.

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

Kenickie.

So let's talk about

the smileys,

the freaky dancing,

and the zig-a-zig-a.

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

# In the good life. #

MUSIC: People Are People by Depeche Mode

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

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

there was really only one place for it -

Smash Hits.

# People are people so why should it be

# You and I should get along so awfully?

# People are people... #

This is an amazing thing.

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

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

'86. I would have been eight.

But 43p - bargain price.

And you get a lot of good stuff there.

As you can see, John Lydon is on cover,

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

Because it is still very much pop throughout.

There's A-ha.

Morten with a little kiss on his cheek.

# The sun always shines on TV... #

Then further, to the back of the magazine,

past the beautiful John Taylor centrefold,

which I am having for my wall...

# Notorious... #

..you've got the single reviews.

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

The interesting thing here

is that it seems like their sound has changed.

# Complicating, circulating

# New life... #

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

# New life, new life... #

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

like sex, politics, and the meaning of life.

"Depeche Mode were becoming very predictable.

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

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

"And bang goes their appearance on Saturday Superstore.

"Slow and atmospheric,

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

From synth pop, Saturday morning-friendly superheroes

to a darker, more oblique kind of music.

What on earth was going on?

# Come with me

# Into the trees

# We'll lay on the grass

# And let the hours pass

# Take my hand... #

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

and I feel a younger, more confident person

who can take on the world.

Lisa loved the band since their early days,

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

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

Soon as I got it,

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

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

The lovely thing about Depeche Mode is,

as they grew, I was also growing up.

I was of a similar age.

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

Black Celebration.

It was a record that challenged and intrigued her.

They were experimenting. Not only with different sounds,

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

and a little risque at times.

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

On the five-month Black Celebration tour,

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

# ..of another black day... #

You just have a horrible experience with a customer or something

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

Shed the work clothes, out would come the sweatshirt.

Let's have a black celebration.

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

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

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

intense adoration for their heroes.

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

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

amongst other things.

Album covers on the wall here.

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

This is one of my prized possessions.

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

and various promotional photoshoots.

MUSIC: Master And Servant by Depeche Mode

This might be a strange piece of memorabilia to some,

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

It just happened to come in my direction.

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

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

This is me trying to emulate Dave Gahan.

When I was younger, I was quite an introvert.

It kind of suited me,

getting into something that was considered away from the mainstream.

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

Depeche Mode knick-knacks and listening to my records.

It's a huge part of my life.

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

So, yeah, it's...

It's quite a passionate link.

MUSIC: Faith by Wee Papa Girl Rappers

Shutting yourself away, listening to records

wasn't for everyone though.

# I remember the time I would try to rhyme

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

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

# I know it don't fit

# So I asked my sis to find me a teacher

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

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

which was inspiring teenagers up and down the country,

both as fans and artists themselves.

This is some footage recorded in 1985.

That's me.

A very young me.

HE CHUCKLES

They were definitely fun days.

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

He was a million miles away from the Bronx,

but it hit home.

# Breakdown... #

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

There was high unemployment. The miners' strike happened.

I heard Melle Mel on a record,

I think it was 1983.

Beat Street.

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

# It gotta be a better place for you and me

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

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

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

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

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

and then Melle Mel gets deep

and political like that.

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

MUSIC: Heat It Up by Wee Papa Girl Rappers

Faadil moved to Brixton in '84 and soon discovered

a thriving grassroots hip-hop scene.

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

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

So we had to go to special events.

Hip Hop Alliance put on events at Brixton Recreation Centre.

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

# It's like that, yeah

# It's like that, so hit it up

# It's like that, yeah

# It's like that... #

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

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

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

Because people accepted that.

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

RAPPING ON VIDEO

Faadil set up his own crew and made himself something of

a name on the circuit.

# Listen to the beat... #

It feels like yesterday.

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

looking at myself as a younger man.

I'm the same guy.

Just a few years older.

OK, this is an old-school rhyme.

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

# Everybody know that she wasn't that cool

# She-a mash up the nation

# Maggie Thatcher used to mash up the nation

# Pushing up the prices and the inflation

# Dole money can't bring satisfaction

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

# Perhaps it's cos of your black complexion

# Also, you have to have a good education

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

# Hey. #

-All right, we're done with that.

-HE LAUGHS

Whoo! Lovely.

POP MUSIC PLAYS

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

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

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

you'd probably end up at an establishment with

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

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

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

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

In this Suffolk garage, Paul Johnson has a treasure trove

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

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

This is where I keep my music memorabilia.

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

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

not only the start of my adult life,

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

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

I didn't like the way I looked.

I didn't like the way I spoke.

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

And Paul found it when he booked

a holiday to the Spanish islands Mallorca and Ibiza

with his girlfriend.

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

and fabulous music.

During that time, we went to the Pacha club.

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

at the start.

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

something that people still talk about.

In the late 1980s, across the Balearics,

a cosmopolitan set lost themselves in the sheer hedonism of

clubs like Pacha, Amnesia, and Glory's.

The vibe was absolutely amazing.

Back in the UK,

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

But there, it was much more relaxed.

People wearing baggy clothes.

It was all-encompassing.

And it made everyone feel welcome.

All the rules were torn up as DJs spun

a captivating mix of American house and weird Europop.

The music was absolutely astounding.

Like something you'd never heard before.

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

to what people were wearing.

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

with me throughout my life.

I was 19 years old.

And it was such a meaningful experience,

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

MUSIC: Voodoo Ray by A Guy Called Gerald

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

where he organised beach parties at his local.

He wasn't the only one to come back

with more than a sombrero and a suntan.

British DJs took home with them

an entirely new and egalitarian club culture - rave.

And a signature sound - acid house.

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

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

are down here on this bottom shelf.

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

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

Hidden away in these folders are the treasure flyers that gave

North Londoner Chelsea access to an underground scene

taking over her city.

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

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

They started off being scraps of paper that people would just

do a drawing on and then photocopy.

One of my favourites - Club MFI,

which was a crazy night. People talked about sweatboxes.

Literally there was water running down the walls,

the energy was incredible.

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

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

"We did such-and-such."

I think I'll love them forever.

Conditioned to the warehouses I've already mentioned.

Westside people, yeah.

Meet at Catford Station.

HOUSE MUSIC PLAYS

It was 1988 and Chelsea's flyers were taking her

to illicit open-air raves

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

It was that good.

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

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

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

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

I remember turning up at Heston's services

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

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

the motorway, ran through the petrol station,

and went and partied all night.

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

And we carried on.

HOUSE MUSIC PLAYS

It was crazy, mad music.

It was tribal, in a way.

And people would dance together.

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

But most ravers were too busy having fun

to care about the potential consequences.

I know that drugs are not to be promoted.

But at the time, they created a vibe.

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

but they did enhance it.

And people were loved-up.

It was a time of euphoric uprising, I suppose.

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

a bit of a hippy, bohemian guy.

And I lived a very dual existence.

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

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

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

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

It was a difficult time.

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

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

The rave scene brought people together,

which gave them that opportunity, spending time with people,

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

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

And that was great.

That was brilliant and perfect.

And something that gave us smiley culture.

Brighton Beach, after Zap Club.

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

The most surreal thing, dancing on that beach,

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

MUSIC: Big Fun by Inner City

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

by acid house.

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

The barmies. They would be up there,

jumping about like there weren't no tomorrow.

# Everybody gather around

# Listen to the Inner City sound... #

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

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

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

He took me off to the first

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

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

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

RAVE MUSIC PLAYS

Before this, Joe's recreational activities had been more

devoted to a punch-up than getting loved up.

'English football, you could be forgiven for thinking,

'has never had it so bad.

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

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

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

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

and bashing up the other team's supporters,

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

There is a bit of a debate about whether rave had

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

In the clubs, Joe felt the tensions

between the football firms melt away.

I don't recall hearing any stories

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

I can remember lots of instances

where there'd be Arsenal in the basement,

Tottenham in the back tunnel,

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

It was always sweet.

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

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

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

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

If I'm honest about it,

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

They're just nicer people.

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

MUSIC: Thieves Like Us by New Order

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

And the joy of acid was spreading

through the musical bloodstream of Britain.

When it mingled with the sound of Manchester -

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

and the legendary Tony Wilson's Factory Records -

something magical happened in the cavernous depths

of an old yacht warehouse.

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

the idea of spending the night raving in a warehouse

was a distant dream.

We were miles away from the London Orbital

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

with a bunch of friends and head to Manchester,

when we were really, really underage.

The bouncers spotted this pretty quickly

and turned us away at the door.

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

missing out on our place in music history.

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

hallowed doors of The Hacienda.

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

he never keeps far from his person.

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

What is it?

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

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

Oh, my goodness! Look at this.

This is incredible!

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

-Everything was numbered.

-The serial number for the club, The Hacienda,

so they call it FAC 51.

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

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

they didn't have a laminating machine

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

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

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

-It's 35 years old.

-..handle it too much.

There's loads of signatures on here.

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

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

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

# Hallelujah, hallelujah... #

-"All the best, Bez."

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

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

-Ian Brown.

# Hallelujah, hallelujah... #

There's photographers on there, DJs, managers,

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

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

-I actually was...

-Oh, God. Look at Mark E Smith!

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

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

'82 was when I joined. I was 16.

-Awww!

-This is me on this side here.

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

pulling each other around on the floor.

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

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

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

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

which weren't there originally.

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

rhythmic dance. All at the same time.

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

That's more of an Ian Curtis, actually.

Ian Curtis used to do...

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

-A bit looser?

-Yeah, exactly.

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

at the DJ, conducting the DJ.

And they're all wearing baggy clothes.

There's sweat dripping off them.

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

That became the anthem for The Hacienda.

As soon as that came on,

people were just freaking out on the dance floor.

You know, really just going for it.

MUSIC: Wrote For Luck by Happy Mondays

# And you were wet

# But you're getting drier

# You used to speak the truth

# But now you clever... #

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

did it broaden your horizons and change your outlook?

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

not being able to dance, not knowing how to,

to just not caring. Really throwing yourself out there

and just enjoying the music.

You know, it was an incredible place to grow into

a late teen and an early twenty-something.

To have had that as our club is very special.

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

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

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

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

bollards that you can make, and the pillars.

It's even got its own Factory number.

FAC 86.

In 1989, Kath moved to Manchester to study

and she discovered in the city

a young gay scene, determined to have fun.

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

We were dealing with HIV and AIDS.

We were also dealing with Clause 28,

which was basically the government saying that they weren't

going to see homosexuality in a positive light.

It was illegal to do that.

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

and forget all your worries and your troubles.

# My back is against the wall

# More bills than money... #

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

at The Hacienda.

This is a flyer.

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

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

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

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

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

It might have been on a Wednesday night,

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

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

it was such a small space.

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

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

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

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

or completely naked.

A lot of girls had their tits out.

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

But everyone would really, really make an effort.

# The pressure

# The pressure Pressure of the world

# The pressure... #

The younger me found it really important

to have social networks and friends

and have a closeness to people,

and so, that...

So the whole club scene suited me very well indeed.

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

and had set up her own night with a mate.

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

of the Hacienda decks herself.

If you had to pin down one song

that really had the spirit of Flesh,

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

Still sounds ace. Still sounds brilliant.

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

-What a tune.

-# Like atmosphere

# Never take reflection

# Come in my direction... #

Goose bumps! Still.

How does that work?

# Never take reflection

# Come in my direction... #

Lovely to hear that again.

I've not played that for ages.

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

Flesh was out and proud,

bringing gay clubbing

to the heart of Manchester's music mainstream.

But soon the pink pound was being eyed up

by the rest of the pop industry.

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

onto the club circuit.

Apparently this lot were booked to play Flesh back in 1992

for the bargain fee of £50.

This band were being marketed at gay men and schoolgirls

at the same time.

Think five cheeky Mancunians with beaming smiles

and glistening codpieces.

Fame beckoned.

# Do what you want... #

This is a limited-edition collector's box

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

the action movie in you pocket.

I'm hoping it still works.

So, you look in...

BOX WHIRS

And it plays the Do What You Like video.

And I remember wearing the batteries out.

This was before YouTube -

this was great at the time!

Victoria Hastings was working her teen job

at the local shopping centre

when this shimmying lot entered her life.

Weighs a ton.

In here I've got so much stuff.

Mugs, tour programmes from every tour.

And then this photo here

is the first photo I ever took of them.

This is before they got really, really famous,

when they were at the Metrocentre

and they were there as part of National Smile Week,

and they were throwing free toothbrushes out.

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

looking down.

I think there was a gap in the market.

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

# Step by step Oh, baby... #

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

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

..and then Take That came on the scene

and they had accents that we could relate to.

-Robbie!

-What?

-There's somebody here to see you.

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

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

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

-We will make it.

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

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

We're all prepared to do it,

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

-Definitely.

-Take that!

# Sun... #

For millions of us,

there was something refreshing about these irrepressible lads

who didn't take themselves too seriously.

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

And thanks to the fans,

they were stacking up the number ones.

Take That's my favourite band.

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

And what else can I say about them?

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

I think when you're a teenager

you always feel just a little bit vulnerable,

you don't want to stand out.

To be part of something so big and so massive,

and to feel like you had that family there,

was really, really lovely.

# Someday... #

And Victoria was seduced by a pop factory

turning out every kind of merch

for eager fans with pocket money to spend.

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

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

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

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

I would've bought that.

Anything that was branded.

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

having that Take That ring binder,

having the Take That pencil case,

the Take That Filofax.

You always wanted to be their number-one fan.

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

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

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

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

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

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

now seared in her memory...

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

We all know it.

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

in pivotal teen moments.

We've decided that the time is right,

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

And from today...

there's no more.

When they split up, it was on the news,

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

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

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

They were saying that there was a helpline,

if people wanted to ring the helpline...

I just can't even put into words,

I was so, so upset.

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

Well, I was really devastated at the time,

and we had to come straight here to see Jason.

But other fans have started fasting

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

until the group get back together.

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

you look back and think, "Oh, well,

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

But at that time, Take That were my life,

I just loved everything about them.

And it was a horrible, horrible, horrible day,

and a horrible ten years after!

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

on branded Filofaxes,

ravers had become the subject of

a full-blown moral panic,

under attack from all sides.

You can't do that.

-We were all enjoying ourselves.

-Yeah, we can see that.

So why aren't you letting it go on?

I think the most worrying thing about the rave parties

is the illegal use of drugs at them,

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

on the drugs issue specifically.

And by '94 the party was over.

Parliament legislated against

"persons attending or preparing for a rave".

And listen to this dry and spartan description

of the life-changing, dynamic, beautiful sound

that so many of us loved.

"Music includes sounds wholly or predominantly characterised

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

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

But our demand for repetitive beats was unstoppable.

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

from drum and bass to happy hardcore and jungle.

And one band of hardcore ravers were now actually so big

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

Like any self-respecting fan,

my Bible was Smash Hits.

Therefore it was crucially important

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

put together by the Smash Hits staff.

I got it on cassette, took it home,

slipped it into my pastel-coloured ghetto blaster

and had a good listen.

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

it was nestling improbably

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

# Stop for a minute

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

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

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

# Summer, summer Summertime

I was familiar with the hook,

because that appeared to be taken from a public information film

that as a child I'd found terrifying,

warning us about stranger-danger.

There was a cat in it,

and it was by a band who called themselves Prodigy.

MUSIC: Charly (Alley Cat Mix) by Prodigy

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

you know, giving them what they want.

When they see all of us,

they just see four people that,

ten minutes ago, before they got on stage,

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

In 1993, Prodigy were on the verge

of dominating dance music in the mainstream.

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

I'm at the former legendary nightclub Limelight,

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

he had gone from raver to club promoter.

He has some very rare footage

from the most epic party of his life.

These are the original tapes, as it were,

that I took way back then,

and this is the original footage from Prodigy

when they played at Bagley's, October 1993.

Oh, man.

MUSIC: Out Of Space by Prodigy

I remember that very, very well indeed.

-I know that one.

-Yeah.

The first beat of that tune, it erupted.

HE SHOUTS

Can you see this long hair?

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

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

-Tell me.

They were starting to be really, really well established,

they were bringing out albums.

You know, they'd already crossed over,

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

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

-I've got them, actually!

-Seeing it.

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

No better feeling.

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

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

It's a feeling, being in a room,

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

-Unbelievable.

You know, sitting here now,

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

you know, happening right now,

because they are moments of your life.

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

I hope so, but I doubt it.

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

That spirit of togetherness was also animating the fans

of a new version of British music

that looked back for inspiration.

# Trying not to be sick again... #

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

going out on the weekend, telly,

and being rudely awakened by the dustman.

# On a seamless line

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

So we got the bus here

and walked up that hill over there,

and the queue was snaking around the block,

but it was so exciting.

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

and that night she discovered a whole new style.

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

and they were my favourite band.

I remember distinctly there was a guy standing over there

who was wearing brown flared cords

and a vintage anorak

and some really cool Adidas trainers,

and I just thought,

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

CROWD CHEERS

# She says there's ants in the carpet

# The dirty little monsters

# Eating all the morsels

# Just picking up the rubbish

# Give her effervescence

# She needs a little sparkle

# Good morning TV

# You're looking so healthy... #

I've never topped this gig,

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

It was just amazing.

# We kiss with dry lips when we say goodnight

# End of the century

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

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

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

I was a lot smaller then.

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

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

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

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

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

# Looking for girls who are boys

# Who like boys to be girls

# Who do boys like they're girls

# Who do girls like they're boys

# Always should be... #

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

And I don't wear glasses.

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

Everything had been very American in terms of popular culture

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

really into Michael Jackson.

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

roots in stuff that I understood much better,

it just seemed like it made so much more sense than

any other music I'd listened to previously.

MUSIC: Connection by Elastica

There was a whole indie girl fashion.

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

I've never liked wearing girlie clothes,

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

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

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

# Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

# Yeah, yeah, yeah

# I'm in heaven... #

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

for those women who weren't into the whole

"boys wear blue, girls wear pink" thing.

My chosen music was led by a bunch of spirited feminists

taking their inspiration from grunge.

# What happened then?

# I asked him...

# Is this your car? #

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

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

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

but the influence that the music had was absolutely huge.

The music was political, it was forward-looking,

it was adventurous, it was opinionated,

and for a teenage music fan like me,

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

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

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

In 1996, a riot grrrl-inspired band called Shampoo

released an album called Girl Power.

# I wanna go out, I wanna go out

-# I wanna party

-Yeah! #

It was a slogan that was to be taken up by

a very different type of band,

one whose message to girls everywhere was to get out there

and tell everyone what they really, really wanted.

-ALL:

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

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

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

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

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

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

I'm Annalie and I was Baby Spice.

I'm Ellie and I was Ginger.

ANNALIE LAUGHS

I'm Becky and I was Scary Spice.

I'm Lizzie and I was Posh.

For some, the Spice Girls were plastic pop,

but these school friends have unearthed

a home video that shows how primary school girls were

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

-ALL:

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

There had been things like girls singing together,

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

but Spice Girls was different because they were

younger and they were loud about it.

-SO loud.

-They were loud and proud.

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

-ALL:

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

# You've got to give

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

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

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

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

-Brash.

-Yeah.

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

# You gotta slam-slam-slam! #

-It was always playful, wasn't it?

-That's the thing.

-They never took themselves too seriously.

-No.

# Slam your body down and... #

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

INSTRUMENTAL SECTION

# If you wanna be my lover! #

Nailed it. Wahey!

Aww, I love us.

Hello, what do you call yourselves?

-ALL:

-Spicettes.

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

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

the world sees me, I follow me own instincts.

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

-Girl power.

-Girl power.

Girl power.

In Amy's pink plastic box are the memories

of a young girl's infatuation.

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

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

including a Spice Girls bedroom,

so I've still got the bed set here.

I was so chuffed when I got that,

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

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

And that's my little sister.

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

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

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

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

SHE LAUGHS

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

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

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

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

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

They were all great friends and they were, like,

this force of girl power,

and it was something that was then translated through young girls

that would have that with their friends

in the '90s as well, I think.

# You have got to

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

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

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

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

their songs and we'd do the dances

and dance in the playground at school,

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

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

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

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

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

Just...girl power.

The Spice Girls were a curiously British mashup of

glittery pop and sparky feminism -

minidresses and trackie bottoms.

They were utterly manufactured,

but they were also genuinely inspirational.

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

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

Britpop's biggest band play at Knebworth.

-Mad for it!

-Best group.

-I'm mad for it!

In just a few years,

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

They would even go on to win over the politicians.

-Hello.

-Hiya.

-How are you?

-I'm good, thank you.

'Before he was an Oasis fan,

'Craig Gill was the drummer of

'Madchester band the Inspiral Carpets,

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

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

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

-what's in it?

-I've got a poster here.

Basically, originally, Oasis were called The Rain.

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

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

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

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

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

right down at the bottom there...

-Oh!

-..Sunday 28th April,

Swindon Oasis, which is a leisure centre there.

-Brilliant.

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

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

And history was made. This is great.

So I'm right in thinking that Noel was

a roadie for the Inspiral Carpets?

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

he was a friend of mine.

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

LAUREN LAUGHS

Said he could do better, you know.

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

"but you can come and be our roadie."

# Slip inside the eye of your mind

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

Four years later, Noel was a stratospheric rock star.

# You said that you'd never been

# But all the things that you've seen

# Will slowly fade away... #

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

and Craig was one of them.

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

-Wow.

We found out they were playing,

must have been about ten people in the audience,

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

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

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

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

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

Just put a box round it, yeah.

So this tape is too precious for us to put into

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

-It's a lot for a C90.

-It is.

MUSIC: Champagne Supernova by Oasis

When Oasis fans belted out Some Might Say and Wonderwall,

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

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

# How many special people change?

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

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

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

By the middle of the '90s,

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

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

# Caught beneath the landslide... #

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

# A champagne supernova... #

Fans had their pick of records on shelves and music experiences

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

your local disco, stadium rock or indie gigs.

But what all this marvellous mixture had in common was

the camaraderie at its heart.

Sounds not for loners but for bonding with your mates,

or even your enemies.

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

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

# How many special people change?

# How many lives are living strange?

# Where were you while we were getting high? #