Rave on! Film recalls East Lancashire's acid house scene (From Lancashire Telegraph)

Rave on! Film recalls East Lancashire's acid house scene

10:30am Thursday 1st September 2011 in Altham By David Watkinson, Deputy news editor

A FILM recalling the controversial rave scene in East Lancashire in the late 1980s and early 1990s has been produced.

Piers Sanderson’s documentary High On Hope includes previously unseen footage from illegal raves in warehouses in towns including Blackburn, Altham and Nelson.

The acid house scene at the time saw thousands of ravers travel to the area from surrounding towns and cities after nightclubs like Manchester’s famous Hacienda closed at 2am.

At the time, the Lancashire Evening Telegraph reported on the outrage of residents as thousands of party-goers descended on the area for the raves.

Mr Sanderson said: “The acid house scene was probably the biggest single influence of my life and I wanted to make a film that gave an honest testament to that time.

“I felt that, although Blackburn was just one chapter of acid house, it best summed up the spirit and ethos that made it so special.

“I just wanted to make a film about acid house and Blackburn was the ideal way to tell that story.”

Already the movie has been shown at the NXNE film festival in Canada, Beat Festival in Russia, IMS in Ibiza and Distrital in Mexico.

The film shows raves at Whitebirk and at the Altham Business Park, as well as footage of the job centre in Blackburn town centre and scenes of the most-deprived parts of the area.

Mr Sanderson added: “The thing that really sets Blackburn apart from what was happening around the M25 at the same time is that these guys were not in it for the money.

“They had some amazing exploits, very brave and incredibly innovative acts that would have got them in a lot of trouble had they been caught and all for £3 on the door, which just about covered the costs of the party.”

For more information on the film, click on the link below.