OpenTube

The Biggest Rave In The UK! | Talk ’90s To Me

Talk ’90s To Me

9,725 views

The largest illegal rave in the UK!

The brand new podcast that dives deep into all things ’90s. In May, 1992, Fifty thousand people descended on Castlemorton Common for a week-long party that scandalized Middle England and rewrote the rules of British nightlife. This week, Miranda Sawyer sits down with filmmaker Aaron Trinder, director of Free Party: A Folk History, to dig into the delirious mayhem of Castlemorton, the legal fallout and the cultural shift away from raves and how the fallout changed nightlife culture to this day.

You can now support us on Patreon: Patreon: Talk90sToMe

Help support the podcast and get episodes early and ad-free, bonus content and some EXCELLENT merch.

00:00 Unpacking Castlemorton: The UK's Defining Free Festival
04:31 How Castlemorton Shaped Modern Festival Design and Ethos
09:38 The Unplanned Allure and Diverse Spirit of Castlemorton
19:13 From Stonehenge to Glastonbury: The Travellers' Journey
28:39 The Roundhouse and London's Lost Empty Spaces
37:36 Free Parties: A Catalyst for Diverse Human Connection
42:06 John Major's Crackdown and the Absurdity of Section 63
47:29 From Castlemorton to Glastonbury's Naughty Corner: A Global Legacy
50:33 The Enduring Fight for the Right to Party and Protest
53:02 Aaron Trinder's Film 'Free Party: A Folk History' & His ’Pick for the Talk ’90s Playlist

Follow us on:

BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/talk90stome....

Instagram: Instagram: talk90stomepod

TikTok: TikTok: talk90stome

Subscribe to our Spotify playlist

Buy Miranda’s book Uncommon People: Britpop and Beyond in 20 Songs: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/13277/97813... through our affiliate bookshop and you’ll be helping the podcast by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too.

Advertisers! Want to reach smart, engaged, influential people with money to spend? (Yes, they do exist). Some 3.5 MILLION people download and watch our podcasts every month – and they love our shows. Why not get YOUR brand in front of our influential listeners with podcast advertising? Contact ads@podmasters.co.uk to find out more

Image courtesy of Alan Tash, Lodge UK

Written and presented by Miranda Sawyer. Produced by Liam Tait. Audio and video production by Tom Taylor. Managing editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Soniq Branding from Artlist. Talk ’90s To Me is a Podmasters production.

www.podmasters.co.uk

#rave #ukrave #raveculture #ravelife #electronicmusic #dancemusic #festivalvibes #raveparty #ukfestivals #ravecommunity #mirandasawyer #castlemorton #glastonbury #glasto #talk90stome

20 Comments

@jamiebruce4924 11 months ago

I went to chipping Sodbury in 1991! Totally blew my 17 year old head off! I could still hear the music when I walked home.

@marcusstubbs6034 2 months ago

I was 16 when Castlemorton happened, and luckily for me and my mate, we lived in Malvern and could hear the music! My mate's mum dropped us off on Friday evening around 8 pm, and we had to run across a few fields and over fences to get in (the police had road blocks up at that time). All I can say is, the next 36 hours were insane! We were very young (and a bit stupid), but everyone was really cool. I remember a caravan with its door open, and on the door someone had sprayed with a spray can - weed, coke, pills, acid, step inside for a deal! I also remember walking past a dude who'd parked his Porsche 911 on the common; he was chopping out lines of coke on the huge rear spoiler of the car and selling them for 10 quid each! It was like a scene from Mad Max but with pounding techno rhythms. We were so lucky to experience the modern-day Woodstock.

@simonthompson27 11 months ago (edited)

I remember that Glastonbury 90. Adamski was fine. He travelled with us later in a few cars through service stations. There was a system there which I think was TONKA ? We already knew the roads across Wiltshire and Oxfordshire - we travelled out from nottinghill. CIRCUS WARP were my sound. Lechlade through to Bicester etc. we still hit London - roundhouse, Camberwell, Lewisham library… sure. But free raves were where it was at. Many an airfield, a lot of empty barns and farms. Travellers ? Always got on well with em. Saw some people lost to SPIRAL. Roundhouse was important. Felt like the end was nigh. First time I saw a gun in the rave. Felt dark. Drugs shifted over to different markets. Suddenly all the boys who had given up being hooligans for rave were needed again. Lol. Mobbing up returned. Casualties amass. For me - 92 …and it’s done. It stretched from Ibiza up to 92 uk. Yeah - the railway line power cable. 😂 police were in the rave. Dressed as ravers. You outed them because they firmly wouldn’t chip in for diesel / generator. You asked them on purpose to test them, see who they were. And yeah - I was at art school. Some great raves in Camberwell bus garage. Maybe BEDLAM did that one ?
Anyhow
For the firms outfitted in ponchos

https://youtu.be/CpKYoiEuAXs?si=uFmXHhw4oJFFDRIR

@Darbs1 1 month ago

As someone who went, I always praise the old bill for allowing us to party, and furthermore, directing the traffic in. However, for the old bill the worst thing that happened for them but the best thing for us ravers, was the fact that BBC and ITV News, gave this event loads of free publicity. And it was because of that publicity that prompted me and my old crew to go, and safe to say the same applied to thousands more.
We only stayed there for about 18 hours though, of which gave us enough time to explore, do our gear, and chill before making the trek back home to Berkshire.
As mentioned, and something that gets mentioned every time......the trailers/caravans with boards outside advertising some wonderful substances.....brilliant.

@garytaylor222 11 months ago

Roundhouse Camden. Spiral Tribe. Over a week of madness.. Beautiful Times for me.. 22 yrs old. Bedlam , DIY . Love guy's

@IndaloMan 11 months ago

In 1989 I was working at Wiltshire Constabulary HQ. My boss was the guy in charge of 'The Battle' in 85. He had been moved sideways to Head of IT.

@eugenemclemmont4045 11 months ago

One of the first 50 to arrive, last 12 to be evicted.

@paullawson8610 11 months ago

it was packed and it was amazing i was there for about 4 days

@ghostinthetagine 11 months ago

I have to disagree a bit with that take. I was born in ’75 and grew up on a bus, we would leave Devil’s Bridge and be on the road for a few months each year. Quite a few would travel by horse and cart back then (5th wheel.)

The punks started showing up around ’77 they left the squats (Moss Side / Hulme, Stokes Croft & St. Paul’s, Brighton, Birmingham, Leeds, London, Sheffield & Scotland) the structure of the festivals was already there created by the hippy and free festival movement. We already had communal kitchens, craft stalls, fire circles, sound systems, and a shared sense of community. The festivals like Windsor, Watchfield, and Stonehenge had set the pattern years before.

@BongoBaggins 11 months ago

It wasn't illegal. That's was the point. It was criminalised in 1994

@alexholding46 11 months ago

I went to that rave in the round house one of the best days of my life😊

@tompugh388 1 month ago

Getting the dole on site. Perfect.

@finsbury8919 11 months ago (edited)

What’s always surprised me is the lack of story telling of the rise and reign of circus warp. Imo and from my perspective living in Stroud at the time circus warp were the system for all of us followed by spiral tribe but being them being London based we were always at warp parties, it wasn’t even the fact they came from Bristol, it was the music, hardcore techno was so much more popular amongst us that fluffy diy that had much more of an older crowd than us lot.

Ps I went to the round house and remember someone from spirals on the Mic in the morning as some Xmas presents got nicked. That party had a dark edge that night weird one

Great talk though and I love Aarons perspective on those magical times, and yes service stations stock levels went a bit haywire

@garytaylor222 11 months ago

Namaste 🙏 Beautiful Humans. I was at the Roundhouse Camden and a warehouse in Brixton. And to top it. At the end she asked favourite tune of the era. And I shouted papa new Guinea. And synchronicity smashed it again.. love you all ❤❤❤

@GlobalBroadcastParty 4 months ago

F.S.O.L for the win , my standout tune from that time too

@johnaghydon1 11 months ago

Super transmission of the generational experience of that formative era and so many cultural threads touched upon that I’ve been enjoying learning about too. Thank you! : )