'A bunch of c***s': A new battle in Hackney's long war on illegal raves

Plus: TfL's Wimbledon "embarrassment" and London cyclists vs red lights

A rave in Wick Woodland in 2019

Morning — “I’m literally from California and even I’ve heard of Hackney council’s dickish exploits.”

That’s how one commenter put it in an online discussion about Hackney’s long-running war on ravers — a reputation earned in the 1990s, when across the borough, sound systems were seized, squatters were evicted, and a beloved club was shut down.

But, more than two decades on, the fight is still going. Hackney council is preparing to extend a special order banning unlicensed music events in Hackney Marshes — the last holdout of east London’s once-thriving free party scene.

A deep dive into Hackney’s crackdown on illegal raves is below.

But first — a quick look at the big London stories this week:

🎾 TfL and Sir Sadiq Khan are facing criticism for Tube disruption during Wimbledon. Thousands of tennis fans were left waiting in hot carriages after four consecutive days of delays on the District line. Local MP Paul Kohler said the disruption “is an international embarrassment”.

🚲 The majority of London cyclists run red lights, according to a new survey. The stat comes from a study commissioned by e-bike provider Lime — overall, 52% of cyclists in the capital said they ran reds, rising to 58% of daily cyclists.

🔨 An exhibition honouring the Windrush generation in Brixton has been vandalised. The portraits, installed in Windrush Square, were found to have been smashed and covered in paint. The Friends of Windrush Square said the act was “not only an attack on public art but a blatant act of racial hatred directed at a community that has given so much to the life and spirit of the UK”.

🎥 The Met Police have now made more than 1,000 arrests using live facial recognition technology (LFR) in London. The force released the stats ahead of the imminent installation of the UK’s first permanent LFR camera in Croydon.

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‘Some things don’t change’: Hackney’s long war on illegal raves rumbles on

By the Spy

In November 1998, the techno duo Kektex released a track titled 'Hackney Council Are A Bunch Of C***s'.

It had been a bitter few years for east London’s rave community.

"I was just getting into this scene back then," recalls one veteran. "Hackney was known for its squat culture, both in terms of rent-free living and partying in abandoned buildings.

"This track epitomised the feelings of the people vs the inevitable crackdown by the council. It was a part of the fight against gentrification."

Tensions between ravers and the council had been building for a while. Back in 1994, a protest outside Hackney Town Hall against a new anti-rave law ended in clashes with police.

The council responded by seeking court injunctions to ban those arrested from council property — including public toilets — unless they got written permission.

The 1994 protest outside Hackney town hall. Credit: The radical history of Hackney

After that anti-rave law came into effect, Hackney began cracking down on parties across the borough.

That included ones involving Kektex's two members — the producers D.A.V.E. the Drummer and Lawrie Immerson.

Events were broken up, sound systems were confiscated.

Then there was Hackney council's decision in 1997 to shut down Club Labyrinth in Dalston, an indoor rave venue.

Since the early 1990s the club had hosted acid house, jungle and hardcore nights. The Prodigy had held their first ever gig there.

But the council had redevelopment plans for the building, which it had owned since 1977. It repossessed the premises and the club was closed.

Together, these actions earned Hackney council a notorious reputation — not just in London, but globally.

"I'm literally from California and even I have heard of Hackney council's dickish exploits," wrote one commenter on the YouTube upload of Kektex's track.

Today, the site of Club Labyrinth is part of a glassy residential new-build surrounding Dalston Junction station — the Dalston Square development.

Many of the Hackney warehouses that hosted the free parties of the 1990s have gone a similar way.

But there's one last holdout of the borough's mostly killed-off scene — a pocket of unauthorised partying that's become the latest battleground in Hackney's long war on raves.

It's a collection of green spaces on the eastern edge of the borough's borders, just to the west of the River Lea: the parks and woods of Hackney Marshes.