As vital dance institutions in the UK continue to close their doors, filmmaker Bexy Cameron’s latest short film revives the peak of UK raving in a nostalgic look back at the club nights and kids who made nightlife as we know it today. A journey through unseen footage from the legendary UK rave scene of the late 80s and 90s, the film takes us back to where it all began.
Featuring footage from the last 30 years, YouTube Music produced Lost Club Culture reveals what those early years meant for rave pioneers like DJ Rap, A Guy Called Gerald, and Paul Oakenfold, who made clubs like The Roadhouse, The Tube, or Plastic People a home for all. Nostalgically, the itinerant documentary recalls countless hours on the dancefloors of Manchester, Bristol and London, as regular fixtures for old school party people who championed community, multiculturalism and diversity. “I think about the UK at that time and the political and economic climate – Thatcher, coal mines, strikes – and then we have an emergence of a scene about love and unity,” Cameron shares. “Rave was so important, and even 30 years on it’s still important.”
While celebrating the authenticity of the long-lost dance scene, Cameron says it’s inevitable to consider the influence of newcomers like BBZ and Resis’Dance, who are contributing to “more inclusive nights, safe spaces, female DJs and self-published music.”
Through the lens of 90s ravers, but also of the new generation collectives, Lost Club Culture delves into the future of UK’s music and clubbing scene and leaves us with only one question: what’s up next?
Watch the documentary film above.
