Summer

Summer – National: The Next Step

The pay party scene takes a new direction as these parties move away from the inner-city nightclubs and the dirty, dodgy unlicensed warehouses and to the outdoors, the countryside. Never before has the countryside been utilised in such a way to have to gatherings of thousands of people converging in a different field, barn or hangar every weekend, but in all hindsight this was the next logical step.

Now there are six major protagonists on the pay party scene, we have Sunrise [ Tony Colston-Hayter and Dave Roberts ], Genesis [ Wayne Anthony, Andrew Pritchard and Keith Brookes ], Biology [ Jarvis Sandy ], Energy [ Anton Le Pirate, Jeremy Taylor and Quintin Chambers ], Back to the Future [ Dave Roberts, who is also a partner in Sunrise ] and Weekend World [ Tarquin de Meza ] who are all competing to pull in the most punters and have the biggest and best party yet.

Sometimes on very limited resources, these organisers are holding immense illegal parties with thousands of watts of sound, spectacular laser and light shows, fun fairs and food stalls who are serving thousands of hungry ravers, cladded out in the latest gear [ baggy tops, dungarees, flared jeans, smiley and tie-dye t-shirts, bandanas and kickers ] who are out for a good time every weekend, from all over the UK.

The term "acid house" becomes a tag reserved for the out-of-touch tabloid newpapers as these parties are becoming to be more widely known as "raves", the phrase "raver" is born. Not just restricting itself to London and the south, this cult and craze they call acid house is spreading like a virus with pockets of resistance popping up in far-flung northernly places like Blackburn, Manchester and Glasgow.

Due to the illegal nature of raves, the location of these events was a closely guarded secret up until an hour or so before the start of the event. Organisers would also arrange the meeting points and meeting times through the actual party flyer, pirate radio stations [ Sunrise - 88.75 FM, Centre Force - 88.3 FM or Fantasy - 98.1 FM ] or sometimes through the unreliable "word of mouth" scenario.

Mobile phones are still widely regarded as yuppy toys, reserved only for the rich and famous. But thanks to BT's messaging service, they became the ideal way to co-ordinate people to different meeting points [ motorway service stations, landmarks or car parks ] and eventually to the venue itself. Getting to a rave generally turned into a game of "follow-the-car-in-front" until you find the party.

By keeping the venue secret like this, the organiser could get the convoy to come to the venue straight away or head the convoy off in totaly the wrong direction if they needed to out-fox the authorities. As hardly anyone knew of the exact location of the particular party, the authorities would have no option but to go with the consensus and follow the convoy.

With military-like precision, all this careful planning would eventually lead to thousands of ravers quickly decending on the location [ the party ] within a matter of minutes. Once the capacity at any party goes past the magic "two-thousand" limit, there is in reality very little the authorities can do. As attendences at these parties starts to increase, the more vigorously the national media would react to the situation, eventually causing national panic by the end of the summer.

With tabloid reports of over twenty-thousand ravers at one Sunrise event, and futher reports of convoys of "crazed teenagers" tearing up and down narrow country lanes and running across busy motorways, something needed to be done. Chief Superintendent Ken Tappenden, area commander of Kent Police is chosen to lead the organiser's would-be nemesis, the "Pay Party Unit". Firstly, at his disposal are three-hundred specially trained officers who can be despatched at very short notice to shut down any illegal party within any area.

All forthcoming party information is sent to Kent Police's HQ in Gravesend, Kent to be analysed at detail and eventually collated. Major party organisers, possible party locations, security teams, known dealers and connected firms from nine constabularies around the south of England are investigated in their bid to try and thraught this growing "sinister youth cult" that is "acid house".

The team at the Pay Party Unit are very robust and thorough with their approach [ even to the point of creating a spoof pirate radio station to sabotage parties ] to this "menace" as their intelligence is futher enchanced with the "H.O.L.M.E.S" [ Home Office Large Major Enquiry System ] database.