FEATURE DISCO BISCUITS
A decade after acid house exploded in the UK, the clubbing experience is being celebrated with Disco Biscuits, a collection of fiction by some of the nation’s most exciting writers. Jim Byers salutes the most important musical innovation since rock ’n’ roll, and (over) Thom Dibdin looks at the rise of Ecstasy. Plus, we bring you an exclusive Kevin Williamson extract from the book.
10 The List 24 Jan-6 Feb I997
hen house music swept into the UK to frenzied cries of ‘Acieecdl'. few thought it would last. Ten years on. dance music is being celebrated in fiction by a new generation of hip young writers. The words of Irvine Welsh. Alan Warner. Kevin Williamson. Jeff Noon and others are being published to the beat of some of house music’s classic tracks. as the Disco Bis-unis book. CD and tour hits the road.
Music journalist and editor of the Disco Biscuits short story collection. Sarah Champion has been partying since the age of fifteen. Acknowledging that clubbing has dramatically altered her life. she explains why she compiled Disco Biscuits. ‘I didn’t want to do a history of acid house.” she says. ‘Everyonc’s doing that. but they'rejust lists of records and clubs. which entirely misses the point.
‘Clubbing is such a personal thing for people. Someone could be off their face at a club in a small town somewhere dancing to an unknown DJ. but they still have the same experience as the person in a big club listening to a huge DJ. I wanted the book to be varied and reflect these personal experiences.‘
Ten years after the birth of house in Britain. the club scene is at a crossroads. The music is as vital and potentially astonishing as ever. but for better or worse. clubbing has become a sophisticated. cynical business. DJs. promoters. punters. businessmen. dealers. criminals, police and the Government are all guilty ofexploiting the club scene. It has been transformed from a naive. hedonistic underground movement into a playground for the masses. The initial euphoria over ‘acid house' has been replaced by marketing ploys. over exposure and main- stream acceptance.
ASHLEY WALKER