‘90s UK rave culture’s birth and evolution documented in new book, ‘Rave New World’
Kirk Field's book is described as being “told through a mixture of vivid first-person narrative, surreal insider anecdotes and incisive social commentary”
A book exploring the explosion of '90s UK rave culture by a journalist deeply embedded in the scene has been released.
Rave New World: Confessions Of A Raving Reporter (out now on Nine Eight) by Kirk Field is described as being “told through a mixture of vivid first-person narrative, surreal insider anecdotes and incisive social commentary” with “honest, hilarious and uncensored” accounts of hedonism.
After attending his first rave in Hackney in June 1989 as the acid house era took hold, Field spent the next decade of his life dancing, travelling, writing, singing and promoting some of London's biggest club nights. His reports landed in DJ Mag, Mixmag, NME, and beyond.
In 2000, Kirk travelled to Zagreb, Croatia for a DJ Mag cover story. He said: “The book covers the era '89-'99 and my job as a freelance journalist covering the rave scene as it exploded internationally. The chapter ‘Oh What A Lovely War’ tells of my trips to Zagreb during the war which appeared in DJ Mag as a cover story ‘Clubbing In Croatia’ – and was the first mention of the term ‘Rave New World’”. You can see a cutting from the piece below.
Highlights from the book include anecdotes about Genesis P.Orridge, Michael Eavis, the KLF, Diego Maradona, a Serbian air-raid, and Mr C telling the UK live on TV to “chill the fuck out and spark up a spliff”.
“Kirk's whirlwind account of the golden age of clubbing tells the story of what really happened in the 'naughty '90s', exposing the seedy underbelly of rave culture while also capturing the nostalgic spirit of the era,” the description of the book continues.
‘Rave New World: Confessions Of A Raving Reporter’ is one of several books exploring the history of UK rave culture in recent years.
A Kickstarter campaign was set up last year to help fund the publishing of a new book exploring '90s rave culture and activism, ‘Exist To Resist v2.0’. The book will follow MATTKO's previous volume, ‘Full On, Non Stop, All Over’, which was published in 2021 and took a close look at rave culture from the turn of the millennium.
Last May, a photobook capturing the rise of the UK rave scene was published by IDEA, while last March a book celebrating the history of '90s UK rave sound system, DiY Sound System, was published.
