The Second Summer of Love was a late 1980s social phenomenon in the United Kingdom which saw the rise of

acid house Acid house (also simply known as just "acid") is a subgenre of house music developed around the mid-1980s by DJs from Chicago. The style is defined primarily by the squelching sounds and basslines of the Roland TB-303 electronic bass synthesiz ...

music and unlicensed

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 ...

parties. Although primarily referring to the summer of 1988, it lasted into the summer of 1989, when electronic dance music and the prevalence of the drug

MDMA 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), commonly seen in tablet form (ecstasy) and crystal form (molly or mandy), is a potent empathogen–entactogen with stimulant properties primarily used for recreational purposes. The desire ...

fuelled an explosion in

youth culture Youth culture refers to the societal norms of children, adolescents, and young adults. Specifically, it comprises the processes and symbolic systems that are shared by the youth and are distinct from those of adults in the community. An emphasis ...

culminating in mass free parties and the era of the rave. The music of this era fused dance beats with a

psychedelic Psychedelics are a subclass of hallucinogenic drugs whose primary effect is to trigger non-ordinary states of consciousness (known as psychedelic experiences or "trips").Pollan, Michael (2018). ''How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science o ...

, 1960s flavour, and the dance culture drew parallels with the hedonism and

freedom Freedom is understood as either having the ability to act or change without constraint or to possess the power and resources to fulfill one's purposes unhindered. Freedom is often associated with liberty and autonomy in the sense of "giving on ...

of the 1967

Summer of Love The Summer of Love was a social phenomenon that occurred during the summer of 1967, when as many as 100,000 people, mostly young people sporting hippie fashions of dress and behavior, converged in San Francisco's neighborhood of Haight-Ashbury. ...

in San Francisco. The

smiley A smiley, sometimes referred to as a smiley face, is a basic ideogram that represents a smiling face. Since the 1950s it has become part of popular culture worldwide, used either as a standalone ideogram, or as a form of communication, such a ...

logo is synonymous with this period in the UK.

History

The Second Summer of Love began in 1988 in UK, and rose from the

house music House is a music genre characterized by a repetitive Four on the floor (music), four-on-the-floor beat and a typical tempo of 120 beats per minute. It was created by Disc jockey, DJs and music producers from Chicago metropolitan area, Chicago' ...

British nightclubs dating from 1987 to 88

Shoom Shoom was a weekly all-nighter dance music event held at four nightclubs in London, England, between September 1987 and early 1990. It is widely credited with initiating the acid house movement in the UK. Shoom was founded by Danny Rampling, wh ...

(run by Danny Rampling) and Future (organised by

Paul Oakenfold Paul Mark Oakenfold (born 30 August 1963), formerly known mononymously as Oakenfold, is an English record producer, remixer and trance DJ. He has provided over 100 remixes for over 100 artists including U2, Moby, Madonna, Britney Spears, Ma ...

), Trip (run by Nicky Holloway),

Slam (DJs) Slam are a Scottish producer/ DJ duo from Glasgow, Scotland, consisting of Stuart McMillan (born 1966, Glasgow) and Orde Meikle (born 1964, Oxford). They are co-founders of Soma Quality Recordings. Their music style consists of house and techn ...

and

The Haçienda The Haçienda was a nightclub and music venue in Manchester, North West England, which became famous during the Manchester years of the 1980s and early 1990s. It was run by the record label Factory Records. The club opened in 1982, eventually ...

(run by

Mike Pickering Mike Pickering (born 21 February 1954) is an English musician and DJ. Career Pickering was a DJ at The Haçienda's Nude and Hot nights, and later Shine. He worked for Factory Records, where he signed Happy Mondays, To Hell with Burgundy a ...

and Graeme Park). It was though a cultural happening particularly associated with the quite sudden increase in independent gatherings outdoors in fields and in disused warehouses as well as with the quite new underground club scene, which had often become called

raves 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 ...

. The events were organised mainly in England at first and soon all over the UK, with very large numbers of distinct gatherings held weekly by late summer of 1988. There were both illegal and legal gatherings in terms of adherence to event planning laws. While the prime musical point of convergence throughout the phenomenon was

at first mostly imported from the US underground nightlife centres Chicago, Detroit and New York, also a basis for the scene was focused upon enabling people to open up to other genres of music. This was most typically music not seen as very commercial for the time, including music of the hippie eras and some folk derived music. These five DJs associated with the early British house music scene reported they were inspired to start these events after holidaying on

Ibiza Ibiza (natively and officially in ca, Eivissa, ) is a Spanish island in the Mediterranean Sea off the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. It is from the city of Valencia. It is the third largest of the Balearic Islands, in Spain. Its la ...

in the summer of 1987 with their friend Johnny Walker. Ibiza was where acid house music first became popular in Europe and the after-hours nature of the club scene emerged. In the early stages of the Second Summer of Love, the events and parties were often held in empty warehouses across the UK and were essentially illegal. Vague flyers around towns and cities advertised events and information travelled by word of mouth (as well as the newly popular mobile pager) between clubbers who were obliged to party incognito. Increasingly huge parties started to be put on around the M25 orbital of

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, 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 dow ...

by promoters including “Biology” (Jarvis Sandy, Micky Jump & Tarquin de Meza), “Energy” (Jeremy Taylor & Tin Tin Chambers), “Genesis (Andrew Pritchard, Wayne Anthony & Keith Brooks), “Sunrise/Back to the Future” (Tony Colston Hayter & Dave Roberts) and “Weekend World” (Tarquin de Meza). In London, events were put on by Raindance, and at Labrynth/Four Aces. The symbol of the time became a

face after the London crowd picked up the design when it was posted on one of the flyers from the third Shoom party. Revellers would soon become adorned in smiley t-shirts and badges. Water and

Lucozade Lucozade is a British brand of soft drink manufactured and marketed by the Japanese company Suntory. Created as "Glucozade" in the UK in 1927 by a Newcastle pharmacist, William Walker Hunter (trading as W. Owen & Son), it was acquired by th ...

were a common feature because of the dehydrating effects of marathon dancing due to MDMA use. Clubgoers wore baggy clothing to combat the heat inside the clubs, and staff handed out

ice pop An ice pop is a liquid-based frozen snack on a stick. Unlike ice cream or sorbet, which are whipped while freezing to prevent ice crystal formation, an ice pop is "quiescently" frozen—frozen while at rest—and becomes a solid block of ice. ...

Music

Acid house Acid house (also simply known as just "acid") is a subgenre of house music developed around the mid-1980s by DJs from Chicago. The style is defined primarily by the squelching sounds and basslines of the Roland TB-303 electronic bass synthesiz ...

and

hip house Hip house, also known as rap house or house rap, is a musical genre that mixes elements of house music and hip hop, that originated in both London, United Kingdom and Chicago, United States in the mid to late 1980s. British group the Beatmas ...

was typical of the Second Summer of Love. Acid house was characterised by the "squelching" bass produced by the

Roland TB-303 The Roland TB-303 Bass Line (also known as the 303) is a bass synthesizer released by Roland Corporation in 1981. Designed to simulate bass guitars, it was a commercial failure and was discontinued in 1984. However, cheap second-hand units were ...

and loud repetitive beats. It originated in Chicago and took on new qualities when it came to Europe. Songs from the time period include "

French Kiss A French kiss, also known as cataglottism or a tongue kiss, is an amorous kiss in which the participants' tongues extend to touch each other's lips or tongue. A kiss with the tongue stimulates the partner's lips, tongue and mouth, which are sens ...

" by Lil Louis, "On & On" by Jesse Saunders, "Mystery of Love" by Fingers Inc., " Love Can't Turn Around" by Farley "Jackmaster" Funk & Jesse Saunders (featuring

Darryl Pandy Darryl Pandy (born December 24, 1962, died on June 10, 2011 at age 48Gregory Paratore: "Darryl ...

), "I've Lost Control" by Sleezy D, and "Your Only Friend" by

Phuture Phuture is an American house music group from Chicago, founded in 1985 by Earl "Spanky" Smith Jr., Nathaniel Pierre Jones aka DJ Pierre, and Herbert "Herb J" Jackson. The group is famous for inventing and defining the sound of acid house, a subge ...

. Hip house would become a popular cross-over of a rap and house music, with tracks such as "Turn Up The Bass" by Tyree Cooper, "Who's In the House" by The Beatmasters, " Let It Roll" by

Doug Lazy Doug Lazy (real name Gene Douglas Finley) is an American hip hop and dance music producer and DJ from Washington, D.C. Lazy scored a number of hip house hits in the late 1980s and early 1990s on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart, including ...

, and "That's How I'm Living" by

Tony Scott Anthony David Leighton Scott (21 June 1944 – 19 August 2012) was an English film director and producer. He was known for directing highly successful action and thriller films such as '' Top Gun'' (1986), ''Beverly Hills Cop II'' (1987), ''Da ...

Radio

The raves and music were promoted by

pirate radio Pirate radio or a pirate radio station is a radio station that broadcasts without a valid license. In some cases, radio stations are considered legal where the signal is transmitted, but illegal where the signals are received—especially ...

stations, including Kiss FM, Sunrise and Centreforce.

Drug use

Ecstasy was the drug of choice during the time. LSD was still present, just not as prominently. Mark Moore, of group

S'Express S'Express (pronounced ''ess-express''; sometimes spelled S'Xpress or S-Express) were a British dance music act from the late 1980s, who had one of the earliest commercial successes in the acid house genre. " Theme from S'Express", which contai ...

, said: "It definitely took ecstasy to change things. People would take their first ecstasy and it was almost as if they were born again." Violence was uncommon due to the feelings of euphoria, love and empathy caused by ecstasy. Ecstasy use in raves is often linked to the reduction in

football hooliganism Football hooliganism, also known as soccer hooliganism, football rioting or soccer rioting, constitutes violence and other destructive behaviours perpetrated by spectators at association football events. Football hooliganism normally involves ...

at the time. The drug also increased the enjoyment of the music and encouraged dancing. Nicky Holloway, a DJ from the time, said: "The ecstasy and music came together. It was all part of the package. ... That may sound a little sad, but there's no way acid house would have taken off the way it did without ecstasy."

Media attention

British news media and tabloids devoted an increasing amount of coverage to the hedonistic scene, focusing increasingly on its association with

club drug Club drugs, also called rave drugs or party drugs, are a loosely defined category of recreational drugs which are associated with discothèques in the 1970s and nightclubs, dance clubs, electronic dance music (EDM) parties, and raves in the 198 ...

s. Early positive reports such as running articles on the "acid house" fashion would soon become sensationalist negative coverage. The moral panic of the press began in late 1988, when ''The Sun'', which only days earlier on 12 October had promoted acid house as "cool and groovy" while running an offer on acid smiley face t-shirts, abruptly turned on the scene. On October 19, The Sun ran with the headline "Evils of Ecstasy," linking the acid house scene with the newly popular and relatively unknown drug. On 24 June 1989, the newspaper ran its infamous "Spaced Out!" headline after a Sunrise party.

History

Music

Radio

Drug use

Media attention

See also

References

Further reading