Manchester Metropolitan University focuses on three core aspects: teaching, research and knowledge exchange. This project supports the university’s mission to work with communities in and around Manchester to form partnerships for fruitful and long-lasting collaborations.

This project, which has evolved from a larger Lapsed Clubber initiative, explores and celebrates the heritage of Manchester’s 80s and 90s rave scene through the recording of spoken and written memories. Although Manchester and its popular music are famous around the globe, little is known about the communities that helped create that reputation. Popular culture has referenced rave culture in Greater Manchester in print, in major films, on TV and in theatre, but almost always from the perspective of the well-known expert insider.

The project has created an interactive map to engage people with this fascinating part of Manchester’s musical heritage. The map has been co-produced by those who experienced the scene first-hand and is hosted online by Manchester Digital Music Archive, affording the community an opportunity to actively shape the way in which its heritage is recorded and represented.