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borosix.co.uk → Rave History → 1989 → Page 04
April - National: A Guy Called Gerald
After many months of waiting, ex-808 state band member Gerald Simpson, now under the pseudonym "A Guy Called Gerald" gains international popular notoriety as his signature offering "Voodoo Ray" is released officially in the UK. In what is now seen as a major coup for his record label, Gerald signed away all rights to his track for the princely sum of two-hundred quid.
In another scene reminiscent to the heady carefree days of Chicago, Phuture and Ron Hardy, Gerald's track was first aired [ and played three times in-a-row on that same night ] at the Haçienda late last year, quite a few months before it's official UK release. Since then, a guy called Gerald had been severely championed and had an unbelivable cult following since that first airing.
With the anticipation for this release reaching cult status, local radio DJ Stu Allan was given a white label of this track for his show on Manchester's Key 103 FM, the constant requests for the record to be replayed led him to famously ask for "a guy called gerald" to contact him in the studio.
Voodoo Ray is quite literally a snapshot of a rather chaotic but vibrant time in rave culture and was one of the first and could be one of the finest acid house records ever to be produced in the United Kingdom.
Known local faces Tommy Smith and Tony Creft are left to take over the organising of the illegal parties in Lancashire after most of the original party organisers are arrested during a huge dawn raid on Blackburn's main protagonists. Now with better organisation, convoys of cars would all be now tuned into 102.5 FM as Blackburn's parties quickly grew in size and reputation.
Now seen as the escape from thatcherite britain, groups of northern clubbers are inspired by the weekend when empty buildings, pubs and warehouses in Blackburn and Lancashire are seen as fair game and broken into by clubbers who are out for the crack and basically, a good free night out. Pump Street, The Sett End, Bubble Factory, Unit 7 and even an old abattoir where used over the coming months to host parties, to the simmering annoyance of the local authorities.
April 29th – South Warnborough: Back To The Future II
After discovering that the authorities have found his original venue, Back To The Future's Dave Roberts quickly finds another location and ends up hosting his party in a couple of grain silos near the village of South Warnborough in Hampshire.
May
May 1st – London: Sin
All roads led to the London Astoria in central London where the second summer of love officially started at Nicky Holloway's Sin.
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