Raindance are British

rave 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 ...

event organisers. They were one of the best known rave names on the

scene in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

The start

The first event was held at a circus tent on 16 September 1989 at Jenkins Lane,

Beckton Beckton is a suburb in east London, England, located east of Charing Cross and part of the London Borough of Newham. Adjacent to the River Thames, the area consisted of unpopulated marshland known as the East Ham Levels in the parishes of Bark ...

in east

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. This was Britain's first legal all night rave. DJs such as

Carl Cox Carl Cox (born 29 July 1962) is a British house and techno club DJ, as well as radio DJ and record producer. He is based in Hove, Sussex, England. Cox has won and been nominated for numerous awards. He has performed at numerous clubs and ele ...

Dave Angel Dave Angel (born David Angelico Nicholas Gooden; 13 May 1966) is an English techno musician. Angel was born in Chelsea, London, England.Cooper, SeanDave Angel Biography, AllMusic, retrieved 15 June 2011 He is the son of a London-based jazz mus ...

LTJ Bukem Daniel Williamson (born 20 September 1967), better known as LTJ Bukem (), is a British drum and bass musician, producer and DJ. He and his record label Good Looking are most associated with the jazzy, atmospheric side of drum and bass music. ...

Mr C Richard West (born 2 January 1965), known as Mr. C, is an English house music DJ, producer and rapper. He was the resident DJ at the early acid house "RIP" nights at Clink Street, London, and later was the co-owner/co-founder of London's The E ...

DJ Rap Charissa Saverio (born 7 December 1969), and better known as DJ Rap, is a British drum and bass, house and progressive electronic music producer and DJ. While the majority of her work is in the jungle style, her more successful work is in ...

John Digweed Thomas John Digweed (born 1 January 1967) is a British DJ and record producer. ''DJ Magazine'' voted him World No 1 DJ in 2001. As well as achieving success as a solo act, he has collaborated with Sasha as Sasha & John Digweed, and with Nick M ...

, Kevin "Reece" Saunderson,

Slipmatt Matthew Nelson (born 22 April 1967 in Loughton, Essex, England), better known as DJ Slipmatt, is a British electronic music producer and DJ. He was one half of breakbeat hardcore group SL2, who had a 1992 UK hit with " On a Ragga Tip". Biogra ...

Fabio Fabio is a given name descended from Latin ''Fabius'' and very popular in Italy and Latin America (due to Italian migration). Its English equivalent is Fabian. The name is written without an accent in Italian and Spanish, but is usually accented ...

and

Grooverider Raymond Bingham (born 16 April 1967 in Streatham, London, England), better known as Grooverider, is a British drum and bass DJ. He and DJ partner Fabio are regarded as "originators" of the scene.

started out at Raindance. Live acts such as Shades of Rhythm,

N-Joi NJOI is an English production duo from Southend, Essex, England, consisting of Nigel Champion and Mark Franklin, (who met at Alleyn Court Prep School) with vocalist/ front person Saffron. Champion went to Framlingham College and Franklin to Fe ...

and

The Prodigy The Prodigy are an English electronic dance music band formed in Braintree, Essex, in 1990 by producer, keyboard player and songwriter Liam Howlett. The original line-up also featured dancer and singer Keith Flint and dancer and occasional l ...

have all played at Raindance. Raindance MA2

From 1989 to 1993, Raindance went on to hold large-scale events across

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East of England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and North ...

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ; postal abbreviation Leics.) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East Midlands, England. The county borders Nottinghamshire to the north, Lincolnshire to the north-east, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire t ...

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

and even Spain. The venues Raindance used held up to 10,000 ravers. DJ Slipmatt's brother, Paul Nelson, was one of the original promoters. The original idea to hold a rave came from Slipmatt himself. But, by 1993, with pressure from the authorities (

Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 The Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 (c.33) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It introduced a number of changes to the law, most notably in the restriction and reduction of existing rights, clamping down on unlicensed ...

) and the

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 ...

scene splintering into different dance genres, Raindance took a break from holding mass events. Between 1993 and 1998 there were one-off events, then the promoters returned hosting regular indoor events in clubs around North and East London.

SE One

In 1999, Raindance started hosting raves at The Drome, an unused car park underneath

London Bridge railway station London Bridge is a central London railway terminus and connected London Underground station in Southwark, south-east London. It occupies a large area on three levels immediately south-east of London Bridge, from which it takes its name. The m ...

. They would get regular attendances of over 2,000 people at this venue. In 2002, The Drome was renovated and seOne was born. Over the next eight years, SeOne would be Raindance's home and with a 3,000 capacity with seven different arenas (Jenkins Lane 89-90, Old Skool 91-93, Jungle/Drum & Bass 93-10, Hardcore 95-10, Hard House, Breakbeat, House & Trance). Raindance continues to put parties on all over the UK.

References

External links

Raindance - Old Skool/Rave - Fantazia.org.ukRaindance 1990 Part 7 Old Skool Rave - YouTube
{{Electronic music festival Music festivals established in 1989 Dance organizations Music promoters Event management companies of the United Kingdom Rave culture in the United Kingdom Rave Electronic music festivals in the United Kingdom Electronic music event management companies

The start

SE One

See also

References

External links