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The Second Summer of Love
In the summer of 1988, the UK was faced with what has now been dubbed 'The Second Summer of Love'. The summer was when electronic dance music, with the rise of House and Acid House music and the prevalence of the drug MDMA fuelled an explosion in youth culture culminating in free parties and the era of the 'rave'. -
Criminal Justice Act passed
The 1994 Criminal Justice Act introduced a number of changes to the law, most notably in the restriction and reduction of existing rights, clamping down on unlicensed rave parties, and greater penalties for certain "anti-social" behaviours. This now meant that gatherings in unlicensed venues were now illegal. This caused uproar throughout the raving community. -
Rise of MySpace DJs
In 2004, MySpace became a place for DJs to start pushing their music out into the wider world. This now meant you could be self promoting online and gaining an audience yourself. -
The rise of Boiler Room - Internet Rave Phenomenom
Formed in 2010, Boiler Room began to post videos of DJs and their live performances, which eventually became a global phenomenon in 2016. This began a new era of digital DJ performance and saw a complete transformation into the scene, allowing DJs who have only been known due to their online presence to now perform to a global audience. -
Lockdown leads to virtual festivals, Zoom raves and rise of TikTok
In 2020 the Corona Virus hit , leading to months of global lockdown and a massive increase in the use of social media platforms. TikTok became a much wider platform, reaching 70 million users according to Seo.AI.com This saw a rise of online DJs and performances, which otherwise could not have performed live. -
TikTok DJs dominate festival lineups
The rise of TikTok's use has opened the doors for many DJs to gain a mass following. Now in most recent years these DJs have become major headliners in festivals across the globe. One TikTok DJ that has cemented himself in the hall of fame is Fish 56 Octagon, who has played at many festivals including Parklife and Warehouse Project. In 2024 Fish 56 Octagon had a sold out tour, all over the UK.