Rave and politics: from banning "repetitive beats" to cultural heritage

Britain 1994: a law against beats

After the 1992 festival on Castlemorton Common, mentioned in the acid techno lesson, the British authorities decided to end free parties. In 1994 Parliament passed the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act. Its section 63 gave police the power to break up open-air gatherings of 20 or more people listening to amplified music. It defined music as sounds "wholly or predominantly characterised by the emission of a succession of repetitive beats".

The musicians' answer

The scene answered with music. The Prodigy recorded the protest song "Their Law". The duo Autechre, on Warp, released the "Anti EP", with proceeds going to a civil liberties organisation. The sleeve warned that two tracks contained repetitive beats, while the third, "Flutter", was programmed so that no bar repeats. The law came into force anyway, and free raves moved into clubs or abroad.

Love Parade: from 150 people to tragedy

Berlin's Love Parade, which began in 1989 with about 150 people, drew more than a million in the 1990s. From 1997 each parade had its own anthem. The first was "Sunshine" by Dr. Motte and WestBam. Over time the parade became a commercial event and moved to other cities. In 2010 in Duisburg, 21 people died in a crush at the entrance. The organiser announced that the Love Parade would never take place again.

Bassiani: rave as protest

On 12 May 2018 armed police entered Tbilisi's Bassiani club and other venues in an anti-drug operation. Dozens of people were arrested, including the club's co-founders. In the following days "protest raves" took place outside the Georgian parliament: thousands of people danced in the street. The interior minister apologised for police brutality. For young Georgians the club became a symbol of freedom.

From ban to heritage

In March 2024 Berlin's techno culture was added to Germany's national inventory of intangible cultural heritage, run together with the German UNESCO Commission. The application came from Rave The Planet, backed by Dr. Motte, founder of the Love Parade. Media often call it a "UNESCO listing", but it is a German list. In Poland, Łódź's Freedom Parade, banned in 2002, returned in 2022.