Monday, June 12, 2023

rave, raver, raving (slight return return)

From a George Melly article on contemporary styles of dancing, written for the New Statesman, spring 1962: 

"An All-Night Rave at the Alexandra Palace"

An all-night 'trad' ball held in the echoing and chilly infinity of the great hall of the Alexandra Palace. Band followed band from 9-30 PM until 7-30 AM the next morning. The audience were dressed almost without exception in 'rave gear'. As the essence of 'rave gear'  is a stylized shabbiness, the general effect was of a crowd scene from a biblical epic.  To describe an individual couple, the boy was wearing a top hat with 'Acker' painted on it, a shift made out of a sugar shack with a C.N.D. symbol painted on the back, jeans, and no shoes.  The girl, a bowler hat with a C.N.D. symbol on it, a man's shirt worn outside her black woolen tights. 'Trad' dancing in the contemporary sense is deliberately anti-dancing.  When I first went to jazz clubs, there were usually one or two  very graceful and clever couples.  But today the accepted method of dancing to trad music is to jump heavily from foot to foot like a performing bear, preferably out of time to the beat.  I have no explanation to offer for this unattractive fad, unless it is to underline that they have no connection with the lovers of pop music, all of whom dance rather well in a somewhat mechanical way. Trad musicians have christened these self-made elephants 'Leapniks'.


And then in an old Newsweek article, reporting on the Beaulieu Jazz Festival. 

Among their fans is a teen-ager who, holding a container full of cider, whisky and gin. said the last word on the trad boom recently on BBC TV: "If it really comes to it.'' said the traddist, "I prefer jazz to sex."

Redolent of the classic pill-popping  born-again techno head who says they prefer raving to sex!



Beer-crazed Acker Bilk fans caused a riot at Beaulieu one year!

Tabloids confused about their youth categories - jumbling together leapniks and beatniks




























Beatnik youth with surprisingly long hair (the guys) for 1960, but very mild mannered and sweet




"Raver's Edge" by Mick Mulligan (king of the ravers) and chums - including George Melly







Melly interviewed in 1959


Interviewer says: "Many people see the world of jazz as hysterical teenagers and dope cigarettes..."



"Rhythm is the only stimulus..."

Apparently ravers in the tradjazz sense still could be found in the 1970s, according to this Chris Welch piece from Melody Maker in 1972.  (Unless it's some kind of spoof or parody of a trend watching field report).


2 comments:

Tall Guy said...

All these posts on rave etymology and no mention of "Drive In Saturday" yet? :)

SIMON REYNOLDS said...

I think it came up in the comments in a previous one!

But the Bowie reference postdates all this Sixties (and Fifties) usage - that's what he's archly playing off of - probably it was already dated by the time he did Aladdin Sane