Genesis'88 was a party promotion crew who threw some of the first acid house parties also known as raves 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 Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

from 1988 to 1992. It was founded during 1988 during the UK's discovery 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 synt ...

. They were an organisation that staged acid house parties in empty industrial warehouses in London and within the

M25 motorway The M25 or London Orbital Motorway is a major ring road encircling most of Greater London. The motorway is one of the most important roads in the UK and one of the busiest. Margaret Thatcher opened the final section in 1986, making the M25 th ...

area. "Over the course of 1989, promoters such as World Dance, Genesis, Helter Skelter and Energy succeeded in setting acid house nights free of the urban core's constructions, staging ever more elaborate Orbital parties in borrowed and rented fields, the odd warehouse, or some other similarly vacant structure". At that point in time acid house parties were deemed illegal by authorities because most promoters of the period gained entrance into buildings by breaking and entering.

Overview and history

Fuelled by the drug

MDMA 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), commonly known as ecstasy (tablet form), and molly (crystal form), is an empathogen–entactogenic drug with stimulant and minor Psychedelic drug, psychedelic properties. In studies, it has been used ...

(Ecstasy),

nightclub A nightclub or dance club is a club that is open at night, usually for drinking, dancing and other entertainment. Nightclubs often have a Bar (establishment), bar and discotheque (usually simply known as disco) with a dance floor, laser lighti ...

goers in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

were desperate for events that catered to their needs and went on until the early hours of the morning. Genesis’88 found empty warehouses in

and transformed them into

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dance arenas that consisted of professional lighting rigs,

sound system Sound system may refer to: Technology media * Sound reinforcement system, a system for amplifying audio for an audience * High fidelity, a sound system intended for accurate reproduction of music in the home * Public address system, an institution ...

s and colourful decorations. Unbeknownst to the buildings' owners the Genesis promoters would wear their best business suits and convince police riot squads that the warehouses were acquired through legitimate channels. Matthew Collin writes in ''Altered State: The Story of Ecstasy Culture and Acid House'': "From their first party in October 1988 onwards, Genesis developed a prodigious reputation for cracking open huge warehouses and holding illegal raves, week after week, from Aldgate to Hackney, Tottenham to Walthamstow". To give themselves more credit they would assume official titles such as

George Michael George Michael (born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou; 25 June 1963 – 25 December 2016) was an English singer-songwriter and record producer. Regarded as a pop culture icon, he is one of the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling rec ...

’s

personal manager A talent manager (also known as an artist manager, band manager, or music manager) is an individual who guides the professional career of artists within the entertainment industry. The responsibility of a talent manager is to oversee the day- ...

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for a major

record company "Big Three" music labels A record label or record company is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and t ...

. Genesis enjoyed a succession of events that saw attendances rise from 300 to 15,000

people The term "the people" refers to the public or Common people, common mass of people of a polity. As such it is a concept of human rights law, international law as well as constitutional law, particularly used for claims of popular sovereignty. I ...

. Victims of their own success, Genesis were targeted by the UK government and the

criminal underworld Organized crime is a category of transnational, national, or local group of centralized enterprises run to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally thought of as a form of illegal business, some ...

attracted by

media Media may refer to: Communication * Means of communication, tools and channels used to deliver information or data ** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising ** Interactive media, media that is inter ...

articles of huge profits (£500,000) being made by such promoters. The Genesis organisers were

kidnap Kidnapping or abduction is the unlawful abduction and confinement of a person against their will, and is a crime in many jurisdictions. Kidnapping may be accomplished by use of force or fear, or a victim may be enticed into confinement by frau ...

ped and threatened with

death Death is the end of life; the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain a living organism. Death eventually and inevitably occurs in all organisms. The remains of a former organism normally begin to decompose sh ...

if they didn’t comply with the

gangster A gangster (informally gangsta) is a criminal who is a member of a gang. Most gangs are considered to be part of organized crime. Gangsters are also called mobsters, a term derived from ''Organized crime, mob'' and the suffix ''wikt:-ster, -st ...

s. They demanded 25% of all profits in return for 24-hour protection. This plight was shared by other promoters who had also encountered the same terror tactics.Collin, M. ' ''Altered State: The Story of Ecstasy Culture and Acid House''. p. 142. This, coupled with the government's label of "Public Enemy No.1", brought about the end of illegal acid house parties. Genesis continued arranging parties until 1992 before deciding to quit staging these events. One of the promoters Wayne Anthony, penned a book called ''Class of 88 - The True Acid House Experience'' ().

Genesis events

1988

1989

1990

1992

References

External links

Wayne Anthony's Acid House '88 Email List
{{Electronic music festival Acid house Rave Rave culture in the United Kingdom Electronic music festivals in the United Kingdom Electronic music event management companies