New book documents acid house and UK rave membership cards

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  • Out in September, Members Only features 500-plus items of '80s and '90s memorabilia from events like Eclipse, Rage, Raindance and The Haçienda.
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  • A new coffee-table book documenting the membership cards and passes of the acid house and UK rave eras is coming out on September 1st. Spanning 424 pages, Members Only features more than 500 pieces of memorabilia from the late '80s and '90s. As well as contributions from legends such as Danny Rampling (Shoom), Justin Berkmann (Ministry Of Sound) and Joe Wieczorek (Labyrinth), there are in-depth articles from Kiss FM and BBC Radio 1 DJ Sarah HB, a rare Q&A with Shoom's Jenni Rampling and an interview with the person who says they invented glow sticks. Some of the legendary events featured include Amnesia House, Eclipse, The Haçienda, Labyrinth, Rage, Raindance, Jungle Fever and Ministry Of Sound. "The acid house and rave eras changed my life," author Rob Ford told Resident Advisor. "I actually dropped out of society in many ways after going to that first rave." Ford gave up his day job in a bank after attending Amnesia House at Donnington Park in 1991. He then began collecting flyers that he found crammed under windscreen wipers and in record shops like Luton's Soul Sense. "In my 20s, I was having a moment and threw away a big box of nostalgia when trying to find a meaning to life in other places—like UFOs," he said. "The only items I didn't throw away were my personal membership cards." Ford soon started looking into other peoples' collections, unearthing the occasional membership card and quickly earning a name among the rave flyer collectors' community. "People were keen for me to acquire their personal cards as they knew they'd become part of a large collection—one that I believe is the largest in the world of its kind," he said. The idea for Members Only emerged in 2019 and became a full-time project during the pandemic. During this period, many people cleared out their attics and sheds, resulting in a surge of content. The earliest membership card in the book dates back to 1874. "I decided to include this as it clearly shows how long these types of physical items have been around," he said. "But the acid house and rave eras used membership cards to help circumnavigate the legal system and hold 'private' parties." Ford said the book will bring "a massive natural high of nostalgia" to those who experienced the '80s and '90s, while younger generations will see its historical importance, especially as physical rave memorabilia is becoming a distant memory in the face of the digital revolution. "It's pushed everything onto devices," he said. "So I feel it's a shame that people partying in 2022 and beyond will have little physical memories for their nostalgia hits when they reach their fifties." Check out the cover and some photos.
    Members Only will be published by Velocity Press in September 2022. Correction, July 6th: Justin Berkmann is affiliated with Ministry Of Sound, not Biology as previously stated.
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