Wild Life Archive traces the history of UK rave sound systems through text and ephemera.

Foundation

The history of PA systems is a loud one, dating as far back as the 1800s when the first loudspeaker patents were filed. By the early 20th century, this new technology had made its way onto the grandest of stages with the Marconi Company amplifying King George V’s speech during the 1924 British Empire Exhibition for over 90,000 at Wembley. Fast forward to 1965, The Beatles attempted to tame the roar of 40,000 screaming fans at Shea Stadium in New York with a powerful (for its time) Altec Lansing sound system. Then two years later in 1967, sound engineer Charlie Watkins’ 1,000-watt WEM PA system blasted out Fleetwood Mac’s performance at the Windsor Jazz & Blues Festival to an enraptured crowd. This event marked a significant shift towards the use of high-powered amplification at British music festivals. The evolution of powerful PA systems, once used to amplify political speeches and rock concerts, now paved the way for a new kind of sonic experience.

Pioneers 

Commonwealth migration to the UK during the 1950s and 60s, brought Jamaican Sound System culture to British shores. Faced with unwelcoming pubs and radio stations that ignored their music, West Indian communities craved their own entertainment spaces. The answer boomed from mobile sound systems, which powered an underground network of parties held in living rooms, basements, shebeens and community halls. Shared by word-of-mouth, these vibrant gatherings in makeshift venues became a haven for Caribbean communities to connect and celebrate the sounds of their homeland. Early UK sound system pioneers included Duke Vin, Count Suckle, Duke Reid, Sir Coxsone, Neville the Enchanter and Count Shelley who were joined in time by a next generation including the mighty sounds of Channel One, Jah Shaka, Jah Tubbys World System, Aba Shanti-I and Saxon Sound International. Notting Hill Carnival’s initial embrace of sound systems in 1973 propelled this underground culture into the national spotlight, forever changing the British soundscape. With record and radio ownership out of reach for many, sound systems became a lifeblood of musical discovery. Acting as a singular gateway to new sounds, these systems wielded immense influence, acting as a crucial platform, shaping the birth of new musical movements.

Pre-Acid House

Soul DJ Steven Howlett, known professionally as Froggy, emerged as a key figure in British sound system culture during the late 1970s. Inspired by Emperor Rosko’s BBC Radio 1 roadshow, Froggy built his own sound system which initially powered both The Royalty in Southgate, and the first National Soul Festival. A defining moment came during a trip to the 1979 Billboard Disco Forum in New York City where Froggy met two influential figures: Larry Levan, whose DJ technique left a lasting impression, and Richard Long, the sound designer who significantly impacted Froggy’s design philosophy. Upon returning to London, Froggy arrived home carrying the first pair of Technics SL-1200MK2 turntables to hit the UK. Inspired by his experiences at the Paradise Garage, he embarked on a comprehensive upgrade of his A.S.S sound system which would eventually go on to amplify events at Knebworth and some early UK raves. Froggy also played a collaborative role in the design of the Matamp Stereo Supernova, a groundbreaking British made mixer with inbuilt crossfader, in the process helping to pioneer mixing in the UK alongside prominent DJs such as Greg James at the Embassy and Ian Levine at Heaven. 

As the 1980s progressed a new generation of UK sound systems emerged inspired in part by both their Jamaican influenced predecessors, soul all-dayers and the newly emerging hip hop culture out of New York. This new wave of sound systems spun a dynamic mix of reggae, soul, rare groove, hip hop, electro and house (when it first arrived). Top club DJs like Hewan Clarke, Jay Strongman, Colin Faver, Greg Wilson and the Watson brothers were also at the musical vanguard pushing this eclectic mix alongside pirate radio stations like Solar & KISS FM. Some of the more notable sound systems of this era include Mastermind Roadshow, Good Times (formerly Great Tribulation Sound System), Rapattack, Shock, Soul Control, Soul II Soul (formerly Jah Rico Sound System) and Heatwave to name a few. These sound systems alongside trailblazing promoters took the party into abandoned warehouses, basements and spaces in cities across the UK helping lay the foundations for the arrival of the Second Summer of Love.

Second Summer of Love

Having started out on a few select dance floors in cities like Manchester, London, Sheffield and Nottingham during the mid 1980s, acid house quickly scaled into a national phenomenon. Momentum fuelled by pirate radio stations like Sunrise, Centerforce, and Fantasy FM in addition to the cutting-edge record stores racking up hot house imports from Europe and America. Carl Cox started assembling a mobile sound system while still in his teens with a view to hiring it out to upcoming promoters on the premise that he would get a spin as the warm up DJ. When acid house broke Cox was quick to embrace the new sound installing his system at two of the most iconic nights in London: Shoom at the Fitness Center in Bermondsey and The Project Club in Streatham. As was his deal Cox also DJ’d at both parties. Carl Cox – “I supplied the sound system for the first two Shoom club nights. Danny Rampling asked me to come down because he knew I was already into the music. It was in a fitness centre on Southwark Street in South London, but what happened in there was like nothing that had gone before. This whole rare groove movement had lasted for years in London but it couldn’t really go any further, whereas house music pointed the way forward”. Shoom would go on to hire in Norman & Joey Jay’s Good Times sound system alongside strobes and dry ice for the remaining parties at the Fitness Centre. Over at Heaven in Charing Cross, the Pyramid, Spectrum and Rage nights were powered by the clubs flagship Turbosound system. DJ Storm – “Rage had an amazing sound system, big bass bins on the floor and mids and tops flying around the balcony”. Shock Sound System held court in the back room at RIP on Clink Street and Soul II Soul rolled their system into Hedonism to take over the party at 7am when sound operator John Dean needed to truck his sound system off to another rave. DJ Colin Faver who played Hedonism that night reminisced that his abiding memory was “the roar from the crowd when the music restarted”.

This early period saw only a few early sightings of sound systems listed on flyers like Zone 2’s London warehouse party advertising “3,000 watts of heavy acid house”, In Search of Space in Hackney promoting “15k Turbo Sound, 3D Lazer, Bouncing Castle & Space Heaters” and the Acid Warehouse party in NW10 offering ravers a “Massive Sound System, Lazer Lighting & Big Fun”. As the Second Summer of Love moved into 1989 and competition started to heat up with DJs playing multiple raves each weekend, promoters looked for new ways to entice ravers their way. DJs were of course top billing, but now the sound system alongside other attractions made their way onto the flyer offering all who came highs beyond the dance. Major rave promoters like Sunrise, Biology and Energy started to migrate out of the city and into the countryside to accommodate more ravers, evade the authorities and add a further sense of adventure to the proceedings. Weekend World’s Rave to Rock the Grave Part 1 in Oxfordshire mentioned “a venue paradise in the English Countryside – 30k sound (kickin’), complete fun fair and amusement park”, Energy’s Pushing up the Power in London announced “30k of turbo sound, 25k of projections and 15k of water cooled systems”, Sunrise & Back to Future’s Dance Music Festival in Buckinghamshire boasted a “100k sound, bouncy castles, go karts, fairground, multi color Lasers and Fireworks” while Karma Production’s Dance ’89 in Suffolk publicized a “50k sound system, 100 watt lasers and full fun fair”.

It was one thing to make the walls of a city warehouse rattle, it was quite another to fill a vast space like an aircraft hanger or a multi-acre farmer’s field with sound. PA systems grew in tandem with the promoters ambitions. Professional sound installers were hired in to kit out 40ft flat bed articulated trailers stacked high with walls of sound while also being portable should the police arrive and a quick exit be needed. As Shut Up & Dance’s 1990 LP title explains “Dance before the police come’! Shut up and Dance had themselves been part of the aforementioned Heatwave Sound System with DJ Hype in the early 80’s.  

Some of the main loudspeaker brands installed at UK raves during this period were Turbosound, Martin, Court and EV Electro-Voice who had collectively been powering clubs, concert halls & stadiums around the country before amplifying acid house for the masses. Turbosound became the flagship loudspeaker brand of the era and was name-checked on scores of flyers (even when a different sound system was being used!). Many ravers thought the name just referred to the sound system’s power without realizing it was an actual brand. Tony Andrews and John Newsham, the owners of Turbosound,  went on to found Funktion-One which has been employed by some of the world’s best dance music clubs including Space (Ibiza), Berghain (Berlin), LUX (Lisbon), De School (Amsterdam),  Cielo (New York) and Smart Bar (Chicago).

Freedom to Party

Alarmed by the scene’s rapid growth, authorities formed the Pay Party Unit (PPU), a special task force charged with policing illegal raves. However, promoters countered by using hotlines that announced locations at the last minute, bypassing the need to list the venues on flyers. They also prepared backup locations to outsmart the PPU. In response to the crackdown, promoters began collaborating and in January 1990, under the banner “Freedom to Party”, some of the biggest promoters along with 8,000 ravers converged on Trafalgar Square to protest the imminent introduction of the Entertainments (Increased Penalties) Bill, also known as the Bright Bill, after MP Graham Bright. Despite the growing momentum of the Freedom to Party campaign throughout the year, the threat of hefty fines of up to £20,000, imposed by the Bright Bill, ultimately proved effective in shutting much of the illegal outdoor and warehouse rave scene down.

That was until a new crop of dedicated dance music sound systems entered the fray in the UK including Spiral Tribe, DIY and Bedlam who followed on from earlier trailblazers like Tonka Sound System (formerly TDK). These renegade systems looked to reset the agenda with one defining mission – set the music free. As Spiral Tribe proclaimed on a xeroxed flyer – “free country, free music, free party”. Each sound system had its own hardcore following who were kept up to date on events and party locations via flyers and telephone hot lines. Two major events brought about a gathering of the tribes in the early 1990s. First, the 1990 Glastonbury Festival saw DIY take over the Pyramid Tent in the travelers field, while Tonka commandeered the Circus Warp tent, offering festival goers a unique experience of the burgeoning acid house scene alongside headliners like The Cure and Happy Mondays. Then came Castlemorton. When a police roadblock forced travelers away from the planned Avon Free Festival in May 1992, they converged on the Malvern Hills, settling on Castlemorton Common. Within hours, sound systems began arriving en masse, powering a five-day party for an estimated 30,000 ravers. Iconic crews like Spiral Tribe, DIY, Bedlam, Adrenaline, and Circus Warp soundtracked the mayhem. Harry from DIY described their approach: “Unlike the others playing techno for days, we changed our music, with jazz and funk early on, then hip-hop and house, building to a rocking party by midnight. On Saturday night, with the crowd so huge, it was impossible to tell where one system ended and another began.”

The Next Chapter

This event proved to be the last straw for authorities, who eventually broke up the party, confiscated sound equipment, and took names. The Criminal Justice Bill of 1994, a direct response to Castlemorton, outlawed gatherings of 20 or more people where music included “sounds wholly or predominantly characterized by the emission of a succession of repetitive beats.” Sim Simmer, Spiral Tribe’s MC, declared “Castlemorton was massive and put the fear of God into the authorities.” The enforcement of these new laws signaled the end of an era for the UK free party scene, driving sound systems onto new frontiers. Spiral Tribe’s Teknival events went on to kickstart a huge wave of free parties across Continental Europe, sparking what Sebastian from Spiral Tribe called “the biggest example of illegal sound system activity in Europe, if not the world.”

The UK’s dance music scene would migrate back indoors giving rise to the ‘super club’ era with iconic venues like the Ministry of Sound leading the way. Justin Berkmann, co-founder of Ministry of Sound: “My idea for the Ministry was purely 100% sound system first, lights second, design third. In that order, usually the inverse of everyone else’s idea”. Richard Long & Associates alumni Kenny Powers and Austen Derek were brought in to handle the sound system install at Ministry using mostly EAW and JBL components with stacks that included the legendary Levan Sub-Bass horn design. The main room, ‘The Box’ was designed by Keith Slaughter, a well respected recording studio engineer, who modeled it after the Paradise Garage. 

The turn of the millennium ushered in a new breed of sound system in the UK, one heavily influenced by New York’s 1970s downtown party network, adopting both the aesthetic and speaker choices of that era. London-based collectives such as Giant Steps and Lucky Cloud formed part of the worldwide renaissance of Klipschorn, the loudspeaker brand favored by David Mancuso, founder of the Loft, for its accurate and warm sound. While Leeds-based Cosmic Slop built their sound system using the blueprints from Richard Long’s Paradise Garage design. Notably, they also incorporated an Alex Rosner-style tweeter array, originally commissioned by Mancuso for the Loft. 

Today, UK sound systems prevail as powerful sonic platforms, uniting communities and shaping the course of dance music culture. Their enduring legacy underscores the ability of sound systems to transcend their function as mere technological tools, instead acting as catalysts for social connection and cultural exchange.

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Quotes:

1/ Guardian ‘A second summer of love’ – 2008

2/ Hedonism1988 ‘The story of Hedonism’ – 2016

2/ Red Bull Music Academy ‘Fabio & Grooverider’s Rage’ – 2015

3/ DJ Mag ‘Dance in protest: 30 years of the UK’s anti-rave Criminal Justice Bill”-  2024

4/ DJ Mag ‘Free Party Politics’ – 2014

5/ DJTimSpins ‘Justin Berkmann on the History of the Ministry of Sound 1991’ – 2020

6/ DJ Mag ‘History of Spiral Tribe’ – 2022

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Revisit our interview with Wild Life Archive founder Steve Terry: https://insheepsclothinghifi.com/wildlife-archive-interview/