Castlemorton Common: Britain's Biggest Illegal Rave

Witness History: Witness Archive 2017 - A podcast by BBC World Service

Categories:

In the summer of 1992, thousands of ravers and New Age travellers gathered for an illegal free festival on common land near the Malvern Hills in the English Midlands - to the horror of local residents. It was a high point for British rave culture, but also the beginning of the end. The Castlemorton Common event led to a change in the law giving police increased power to shut down events playing music "characterised by the emission of repetitive beats".Lucy Burns speaks to Lol Hammond, a former member of music collective Spiral Tribe, who played at the event.Photo: Murray Sanders/ANL/REX/Shutterstock: New Age travellers camping at Castlemorton Malvern Hills in 1992.