Max HeyraudThe first Thursday in March marks World Book Day, an annual charity event held in the United Kingdom and Ireland. We commemorate it by highlighting some crucial stories on club culture, including the murky waters of Manchester’s rave scene, the emergence of jungle, a compilation of the best flyers in rave history, and much more.
The Hacienda: How Not to Run a Club by Peter Hook
Peter Hook, widely known as the co-founder of Joy Division and New Order, tells the tale of Manchester’s legendary club, The Hacienda. As co-owner of the club, he helped to accelerate the rise of acid house in the late 1980s. The club had hosted a number of seminal acts, including Laurent Garnier and The Stone Roses, but in the 1990s, gangs, drugs, and violence damaged the club’s once-legendary reputation.
You can purchase it here.
Electrochoc by Laurent Garnier & David Brun-Lambert
Laurent Garnier’s ELECTROCHOC was a top seller in France, Spain, Russia, Germany, and Japan. The novel provides a firsthand account of the growth of the dance scene, beginning in the early 1980s in London’s Mud Club and Manchester’s Hacienda and continuing to Paris, Detroit, New York, Chicago, and beyond. It gives insights from industry legends Jeff Mills and Mad Mike, as well as François Kervorkian, James Murphy, David Guetta, and many more.
You can purchase it here.
Porcelain: A Memoir by Moby
Moby, tells a painfully frank yet humorous account of his journey from suburban poverty and isolation to a life of beauty, filth, and surprising triumph in the late 1980s and 1990s NYC club scene. Porcelain beautifully captures the early years of one of electronic music’s most formative artists. Stories that capture not only a scene but a period, as well as something timeless about the human experience.
You can purchase it here.
The Secret DJ by The Secret DJ
The enigmatic Secret DJ, a world-renowned DJ, gives readers an insight into the hedonistic fast lane of club culture over the previous thirty years, from the dawn of acid house to the sunset of EDM. The book weaves through the decades touching on pinnacle moments of playing to ten thousand fans in Ibiza’s superclubs to the earlier days of playing in pubs. An incredibly poignant and honest account of life as a DJ.
You can purchase it here.
Energy Flash: A Journey Through Rave Music and Dance Culture by Simon Reynolds
Energy Flash chronicles the tale of rave culture and the roots of dance music, tracing how its reverberations shaped 1990s pop. The book examines both the music and the drugs, tracing how Chicago house and Detroit techno ignited the rave and “Madchester” ferment of 1988-90, before following the music into the early 1990s. It includes interviews with 808 State, Stone Roses, A Guy Called Gerald, Primal Scream, Orbital, The Prodigy, Goldie, Aphex Twin, Jeff Mills, Carl Craig, Richie Hawtin, DJ Shadow and many more.
You can purchase it here.
All Things Remembered by Goldie
Goldie, one of Britain’s most significant DJs, producers, promoters, and record label owners, recounts the history of the UK rave scene in the 1990s and how he helped to establish jungle. From the care-home system to the snowy peaks of coke-crazed worldwide celebrity. All Things Remembers is an explosive story about abuse, retaliation, graffiti, and gold teeth.
You can purchase it here.
Clubbed: A Visual History of UK Club Culture
Clubbed honours the best graphic design in UK clubs. The book has logos, posters, photos, tickets, menus, cover art, signs, lanyards, typefaces, and, yes, flyers from the previous 35 years. The deluxe, diamond dust hardcover includes a stunning collection of previously unpublished items as well as a freshly commissioned editorial from Bill Brewster.
You can purchase it here.
