God Save Our Illegal Raves (VIDEO)

Recently in the UK there has been a resurgence in illegal raving that was popular back in the late 80′s which tied in with the economic downturn caused by Thatcher’s government. I managed to get a brief interview with one of the main organisers of these raves which have been covered by the British news since last Halloween. There was an event called ‘Scumoween’ which was held in an abandoned building in central London right by Oxford Circus. The Police tried to shut it down but due to the persistency of the young people who showed up it was just monitored until the next morning. The event was organised by a group of people that call themselves ‘ScumTek’. They organise raves over Facebook and other social networking sites. Here is how the interview went -

Q: When did you decide that you were going to start putting on free raves and why?

A: We decided that the only way to have the party we wanted was to do it ourselves, this was in the year 2000. We didn’t call it anything until 2005.

Q: When deciding on venues, what are the deciding factors?

A: That is classified, but the venue has to have an atmosphere to it, it does dictate the attitude of the party.

Q: Do you think that the internet has helped your events grow, and where can you see the events going…. in lets say 5 years time?

A: Well actually nowadays it takes a lot of effort to attract people; hype, good flyers, creating excitement. It used to just be a weekly occurrence. As for where we are in 5 years time, hopefully in some disgusting warehouse banging it out illegally because doing it with permission just doesn’t cut it!

Q: What is the demographic of people that attend the events?

A: Between the ages of fifteen and sixty years old, people come from all over europe and further afield.

Q: What is it about and illegal rave that beats a club, what is it that keeps you going?

A: Big ridiculous raves is our one and only goal, if people look on in disbelief then we have done out job. The music is also second to none.

Q: What would be your ideal location for a rave?

A: Our ultimate party venue would have been the old wembley football stadium before it was knocked down. We managed to get in but the pesky security was on it and we got kicked out.
YOU WIN SCUM YOU LOSE SCUM.

Q: Do you have a message for people who tell you what you are doing is illegal and that you are disturbing the peace?

A: Thats the fucking point!

I was surprised that these raves had been around since the early part of the turn of the century and yet had not been exposed nationally until only recently. Whether there is a correlation between the now not so recent economic downturn and the popularity of illegal raving is not for me to judge, but the demographics speak for themselves.
Personally I found this interview remarkably refreshing, his attitude towards what he does and what he stands for is so raw and reminded me of what I initially went into music for, the love of it.

VIDEO: SCUMOWEEN 2010 FREE PARTY ANIMAL

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