You know you’re getting old when two moments from your life flash before you in a documentary film.

I stumbled on artist Jeremy Dellar’s ‘Everybody in the Place’ on YouTube this week. 

In it, he talks to VI form students about Acid House and the impact it had on Britain.

It marked a moment when people seized the means of production. In other words, people bought cheap samplers, made the music and organised the parties where it would the music would be danced to. Karl Marx would have understood this. 

It was the moment when the 21st century started. 

In 1990, Britain was a different country

People made-up their own networks using the technology that was in their hands.

Dellar reckons it marked the moment Britain changed from an industrial economy to a service economy. Quite literally, people were dancing in the warehouses where their ancestors operated lathes.    

I was involved in all this from 1990 to 1992 when dance had moved from warehouses and into nightclubs. The two moments? Dancing at Shelley’s in Stoke-on-Trent and one bizarre night when the Hit Man and Her was filmed at The Eclipse in Coventry.

Thinking about it, lessons I learned then endure.

You don’t need permission.

You just need the means of production.

Anyone can build a network.

It always goes a bit rubbish when money is involved.

Let there be house

“In the beginning there was Jack and Jack had a groove and from this groove came the groove of all grooves and Jack declared: ‘Let there be house.’ And house music was born. I am the creator and this is my house and in my house there is only house music but I am not so selfish because once you enter my house then it becomes OUR house.”

– Jack Roberts, ‘My House (In the beginning there was Jack)‘ , 1988. 

To be a decent communications person you need to understand all this and how networks work.

This documentary is a good place to start: 

Picture credit: Flickr / Documerica

Original source – The Dan Slee Blog » LOCAL SOCIAL: Is it time for a Local localgovcamp?

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