The Second Summer of Love crashed in to unite a generation in 1988 with acid house and illegal raves. It continued into 1989's scorching summer with a hedonistic rush of new music and consequently a youth explosion that was just as big as punk. Younger clubbers who weren't spawned in time to have been a part of the tribes that sent shivers of fear up the spine of middle England are usually riddled with jealousy over the fact.
If you missed out, no doubt you pour over old videos, desperately seek original mixtapes and develop a highly active imagination for what could have been. But, this summer we might be able to temporarily ease up on the nostalgia button by instead booking a flight to Ibiza as a heavy dose of old school returns to an island where the dance scene is immortal. If you haven't already heard, Sankeys owner David Vincent has gone to some decade stretching lengths for the club's new Dance 88/89 residency.
PLAYLIST | 10 aural teasers for the parties upcoming season.
Wednesdays will be taking the plunge to decades past when acid house and Balearic beats ruled the rave roost. For 19 weeks from the 25th May, two legendary artists, Matthew Benjamin, aka Just Be/Bushwacka (Layo & Bushwacka), and Amnesia's DJ Alfredo (Godfather of Balearic Beats) will take the reigns on taking you back to when the explosion of dance music acted like an all purpose medicine of euphoria. Joining this dynamic residency duo is an impressive list of originators set up from the very beginning on the opening date. May 25th will see Alfredo reunited with Danny Rampling and Nicky Holloway who he had a huge influence on back in 1987 in Amnesia. It was a meeting over music that led to the Balearic influence spilling into the UK with the opening of Shoom (Rampling) and Trip (Holloway), which are hailed as two of the country's cherished, groundbreaking clubs. We have a lot to thank these guys for and without them, you might not be planning Ibiza 2016. Joining this pack is Mr.C who is known as being a pioneering force in the house music scene in 1987 and one of half of The Shamen, known for big classics Ebeneezer Goode and Move Any Mountain. Ibiza gained a six year residency with him in the form of Superfreeq which began in 2002 at Underground.
From what is no doubt going to be an absolute stellar opening, the best of the best keep coming in the form of line-ups that invite fanatic clubbers to do their homework (if needed) and go on a revival spree. Some of you will have fond memories, old and new, of being a prisoner to one of the scene's most icon tracks, Pacific State and its creators 808 State, will be flying into Sankeys for a gig you can't miss. Also inviting nostalgia will be Fabio & Grooverider, Terry Farley, Trevor Fung, Judge Jules, The Ratpack, Robert Owens and Colin Dale.
Spread throughout Dance 88/89's first Ibiza summer are a series of reunions from A Musical Recreation of a Midsummers Night Dream at Ecstasy Airport with Evil Eddie Richards, Frankie Valentine and Trevor Fung on 22nd June and another that nods to where UK rave mania began with the Hacienda reunion bringing in its mainstay resident Graeme Park, Todd Terry and a very special guest on 27th July. There's two more reunions (24th August and 21st September) and also a number of special guests making appearances (13th July, 27th July, 17th August, 14th September).
The second summer of love saw ravers unite to change the world with happiness and that's a sentiment which clubbers through the years don't appear to have lost great sight of. Let's keep the high spirits rollin as 2016 meets the most important years of dance.
Tickets available now via the links on this page.
Sankeys is also set to host a special ‘Dance 88/89' event in the UK, to be held at a secret location near Manchester on Easter Sunday March 27th from 5pm - 5am. The killer line-up for the UK event mirrors those of the earliest, most influential raves of the summer of love, bringing back such artists as Adamski, Alfredo, Colin Dale, Evil Eddie Richards, Fabio and Grooverider, Frankie Valentine, Graeme Park, MC Kinky, Marshall Jefferson, Mr C, Nicky Holloway, Terry Farley, Trevor Fung and 808 State. Info here.
