Fantazia was a
rave music
A rave (from the verb: '' to rave'') is a dance party at a warehouse, club, or other public or private venue, typically featuring performances by DJs playing electronic dance music. The style is most associated with the early 1990s dance mus ...
promoter based in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
. It was founded in 1991 by James Perkins, Gideon Dawson & Chris Griffin,
and held a number of seminal raves at the height of the
breakbeat hardcore
Breakbeat hardcore (also referred to as hardcore rave or oldskool hardcore) is a music genre of the very early 1990s that spawned from the UK rave scene. It combines four-on-the-floor rhythms with breakbeats usually sampled from hip hop. In ...
scene.
Fantazia first held a rave at Coventry's
Eclipse
An eclipse is an astronomical event that occurs when an astronomical object or spacecraft is temporarily obscured, by passing into the shadow of another body or by having another body pass between it and the viewer. This alignment of three ce ...
nightclub, but would soon become best known for its large outdoor events.
* ''Fantazia New Year Eve'' (31 December 1991 – 1 January 1992) at
Westpoint Exhibition Centre, near
Exeter
Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol.
In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal comm ...
(10,000 people).
* ''Second Sight'' (22 February 1992) at Westpoint Centre, Exeter (8,000 people).
* ''Summertime'' (15 May 1992) at Matchams Park Stadium,
Bournemouth
Bournemouth () is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council area of Dorset, England. At the 2011 census, the town had a population of 183,491, making it the largest town in Dorset. It is situated on the Southern ...
(16,000 people).
* ''One Step Beyond'' (25 July 1992) at
Donington Park
Donington Park is a motorsport circuit located near Castle Donington in Leicestershire, England. The circuit business is now owned by Jonathan Palmer's MotorSport Vision organisation, and the surrounding Donington Park Estate, still owned b ...
(28,000 people).
* ''Fantazia New Years Eve'' (31 December 1992 – 1 January 1993)) at
Littlecote House
Littlecote House is a large Elizabethan country house and estate in the civil parishes of Ramsbury and Chilton Foliat, in the English county of Wiltshire, about northeast of the Berkshire town of Hungerford. The estate includes 34 hectares of hi ...
(near
Hungerford
Hungerford is a historic market town and civil parish in Berkshire, England, west of Newbury, east of Marlborough, northeast of Salisbury and 60 miles (97 km) west of London. The Kennet and Avon Canal passes through the town alongside the ...
,
Berks) (16,000 people).
By 1993, Fantazia hosted club night tours across the UK. Its biggest event that year was ''The Big Bang'' at Glasgow's
SECC Centre in November.
In addition to raves, Fantazia also released a number of compilation albums, including "The First Taste" (1992), "Twice As Nice" (1993), and then moving into
house
A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...
compilations with the "House Collection" series (1994–1997).
In October 1997, Fantazia returned with ''Fantazia: The Return of a Legend'', at the
G-Mex
Manchester Central Convention Complex (commonly known as Manchester Central or GMEX (Greater Manchester Exhibition Centre)) is an exhibition and conference centre converted from the former Manchester Central railway station in Manchester, Engl ...
in
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
.
On 14 April 2019 Gideon Dawson was found dead in his Cheltenham home after suffering an overdose of cocaine and prescription drugs.
See also
*
List of electronic music festivals
The following is an incomplete list of music festivals that feature electronic music, which encapsulates music featuring electronic instruments such as electric guitar and keyboards, as well as recent genres such as electronic dance music (E ...
*
Breakbeat hardcore
Breakbeat hardcore (also referred to as hardcore rave or oldskool hardcore) is a music genre of the very early 1990s that spawned from the UK rave scene. It combines four-on-the-floor rhythms with breakbeats usually sampled from hip hop. In ...
References
External links
Archived Fantazia Websiteat
Wayback Machine
The Wayback Machine is a digital archive of the World Wide Web founded by the Internet Archive, a nonprofit based in San Francisco, California. Created in 1996 and launched to the public in 2001, it allows the user to go "back in time" and see ...
Fantaziaat
Discogs.com
Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the l ...
{{authority control
Music festivals established in 1991
Dance companies in the United Kingdom
Rave culture in the United Kingdom
Electronic music festivals in the United Kingdom
Electronic music event management companies
Rave
1991 establishments in the United Kingdom