Chaptercast 1 – Sydney, Australia, 1989. Dance Party Capital of the World

This is a musified version of Chapter 1, Craze: An Insider Account of Sydney's Early Raves, Doofs & Festivals. Join the mailing list at crazethebook.com to help choose which part of the book gets the next 'chaptercast' treatment. 

_________

By the birth of Sydney's warehouse raves in 1991, there’d been an all-night dance party scene in Sydney for decades, with a few dedicated, promotional teams, and DJs blazing the way with the “biggest dance parties in the world” by 1989. 

This episode dives into Sydney’s early rave culture and how it connected with the wider global movement. From the wild, art-soaked RAT parties at the Hordern Pavilion (where Grace Jones once stormed the stage after a cash dispute and a stolen jacket) to the DIY warehouse gatherings you had to chase down on a 0055 number, the scene was already buzzing by the late ’80s.

We’ll touch on the queer and creative energy that fueled the city’s biggest dance crews, the tape-edit pioneers who brought First Wave House and Techno to local ears.

It’s also about the cultural backdrop — the way ecstasy changed the dance floor, how “repetitive beats” freaked out governments from Sydney to the UK, and why rave felt like the great democratisation of dance music. No velvet ropes, no exclusivity: if you were there, you were part of it.

Think of it as a crash course in how Sydney plugged into the global rave network — loud, messy, and impossible to ignore.

_______________________

TRACKLIST

1 | Men Without Hats | The Safety Dance
2 | Queen | Who Wants to Live Forever
3 | NJOI | Malfunction
4 | Prodigy | Jericho
5 | BBC Radiophonic Workshop | Tardis Landing Sound
6 | Frankie Knuckles | Your Love
7 | JS BACH | Toccata and Fugue in D Minor
8 | LATIN RASCALS | KISS FM MEGAMIX
9 | Humate | 3.1 (Mijk van Dijk Mix)
10 | Underworld | Underneath the Radar
11 | Prodigy | Your Love
12 | Rage Against the Machine | Killing in the Name Of
13 | Enigma | Sadness Part 1
14 | Kicks Like a Mule | The Bouncer
15 | NWA | She Swallowed It

Head to crazethebook.com to get the paperback, e-book or audiobook. Sign up to the mailing list to help decide which part of the book gets the 'chaptercast' treatment next.

APRA LIC OL-2801