Acid House
In the 1980s, unemployment, empty mills, football hooliganism and racial segregation were the hallmarks of many Northern towns. But Blackburn hit back. From the late 80s to the early 90s an underground movement emerged steadily but rapidly until its sudden crash and burn in 1991, with a single manifesto….‘Come together….and dance.’
Breaking and entering into the empty mills and factory spaces, Blackburn’s youth illegally gathered in numbers that are reported to have reached 10,000 and beyond. They changed the landscape of music and nightlife in the UK, and caused the implementation of new laws.
30 years on, this is now considered ‘heritage.’ 10,000 people were a part of Blackburn’s Acid House era. They all have a different story or perspective to share. Over 8 months, Jamie Holman and Alex Zawadzki have collated the stories of the people who lived and breathed it, telling you the good, the bad and the ugly of the scene from 1988-1991. They invited ravers, DJs, the organisers, the police and politicians to share their experience.
Flashback is an engaging archive that creates a snapshot of the rebellious spirit of 20th Century Northern England for those of you reading this now or 100 years in the future. We are telling these stories because we think these stories matter, making visible who we once were, are now and may yet become.
