Tristan O’Neill
The Museum of Youth Culture describes itself as an emerging museum dedicated to the styles, sounds and social movements innovated by young people over the last 100 years.
Raid.R reporter, Charlotte, has spent the last few months volunteering with this exciting organisation, helping to catalogue and share the wonderful work of Tristan O’Neill, a photographer that documented the 1990s to early 2000s UK rave scene.
Originally given to The Museum of Youth Culture in shoeboxes, this stunning collection of work is made up of thousands of snapshots exploring the intoxicating world of rave. From DJs, to venues, to fashion, this collection is a vivid documentation of one of the UKs most explosive music scenes.
We have been working to get this collection uploaded to the digital archive so it can be shared and celebrated.
Follow Tristan O’Neill on Instagram at @tristanoneillphoto and look out for the upcoming events at The Museum of Youth Culture as well as check out their pop-up gallery and sub-cultural bookshop.
Thank you to the rave flyer archive Phatmedia, for providing such detailed contextual information surrounding the scene.
Thank you again to Tristan for chatting with me, it has been a pleasure to explore your work.
17/11/21 pre-interview thoughts
This time last year, clubs were still closed, and it felt like they would
never open. I reflected a lot on this idea of loss of culture and of the
loss of these spaces that offered escapism and inclusivity.
So many iconic venues have disappeared or are preparing to close down. Even
before the pandemic began-we’ve lost so much of this culture.
I remember the winter lockdown particularly being this really difficult
time. Of course, nothing was open and if you wanted to leave the house the
only option really was to go on a walk. I spent a lot of time walking
through Kings Cross and thinking about its recent history and
gentrification. I became fascinated with researching the area and learnt
about its relationship with rave and with rebellion. I couldn’t believe
Bagleys and The Cross were located just meters away from where my uni is
now.
I was interested in seeking out an artist or photographer that documented
this scene as it happened, rather than piecing it together years later.
I’ve always been interested in documentation and in objects like photos,
that carry the weight of memory and narrative which unless captured, often
impulsively, would have otherwise been lost or forgotten.
Hardcore Heaven 1988 Oblivion, held at The Sanctuary, Milton Keynes, 21/02/98 by Tristan O’NeillCharlotte Bendrey- I wanted to start by asking you about the actual process of taking of these
photos- So taking photos in a rave- I can’t imagine how difficult that it, with such
unpredictable lighting and sound...
Tristan O’Neill- I’ve often thought about that, taking pictures in a rave with the old school film
as well. It’s pitch black, lights flashing all over the place, people moving all over the place,
trying to compose something, getting the right lighting, getting the focusing right- is just
ridiculous.
CB- It sounds crazy, was there a process for how you set things up or was it kind of
accidental, just trying to get whatever you could?
TO- Accidental I tried not to be, because I only had thirty-six pictures in my role-
CB- And it’s expensive as well-
TO- Yeah, it was expensive.
Everything that I used to do... so, I would use the moments when the lights were flashing to see
if I was roughly in the right area and to be able to compose. Then I’d have my own flash and it
would freeze a scene as much as possible. I liked to do slow exposure to get the atmosphere, to
get the lights in the background and the colours, which added to the complication because I
could have just frozen it, but then it would have been really harsh, and you wouldn’t have had
the colours and you wouldn’t have felt the movement.
The portraits are easier because they’re frozen, and you can take your time. It’s more the action
shots that are tricky, people dancing, without getting too many faces being pulled and arms in
Hardcore Heaven 1988 Oblivion, held at The Sanctuary, Milton Keynes, 21/02/98 by Tristan O’Neill
the wrong place. Portraits are definitely easier. I used to like getting people in the foreground
and other people in the background, so it wasn’t just a portrait. I don’t really like portraits to be
honest, and portraits used to end up happening mostly because people would get in front of the
camera of course, which was fine, but I used to prefer taking pictures of people that didn’t
notice, and the action too. So, if I did do portraits, I enjoyed trying to get the background as well,
trying to get the lights, trying to get the inflatables, trying to get the DJ and the crowd in too.
Innovation held at Camden Palace, North London, 05/09/98 by Tristan O’Neill
CB- How did you fit into these environments as a photographer that was also a raver? Did
you feel present and treated as an insider, or were you just at work, was there a sense of
detachment?
TO- So first I was listening to pirate radio stations with my friends in our bedroom, and so I
never actually went to a rave until I went with my camera. So, I was never a raver. I just enjoyed
the music and I enjoyed taking pictures and I combined that together.
My friend bought a black and white unstapled magazine at a record shop, that wasn’t really a
magazine, there weren’t pictures in it. He said why don’t you contact them, see if you could do
their pictures. So, I did that, and we went with the camera to combine the music and the
pictures.
Did I feel separate? No, not really. I always had my camera, I was always taking pictures, I used
to go sober, I used to buzz off the crowd, I used to buzz off taking pictures. As soon as my film
ran out, that would be me deflated and I’d go home. So, it was taking the pictures and the music
of course, that kept me going and that I loved, and made me kind of part of the crowd. Certainly
didn’t feel separate. Yeah, people loved it, people loved having me around, they’d always be
asking me to take pictures, that was quite nice actually.
CB- A lot of the essays I have read in my initial research have often linked rave to religious
experience. For example, by outlining the profound experience through the trance like states
that are often achieved in rave through substance use or through dance and how your mind
and body can sync up to the music, or even through the relationships you make with fellow
ravers that share this journey with you.
For you, how real was this idea of enlightenment, did these spaces really offer an opportunity
to better yourself or was it just about going out and taking photos?
TO- I said before that I used to go just to take pictures but, really, I’d always take at least one
friend cos I’d always have one on the guestlist. Sometimes I’d take loads of friends and
sometimes on special occasions, like News Year’s Eve or birthdays I would have a drink and get
into it a lot more like as if I was a raver. So, enlightenment and all that, that’s a bit tricky for me.
Actually, when we were at home, me and my friends used listen to music and that was definitely,
I don’t know if you’d call it enlightenment or what, but sometimes it takes you somewhere else,
I suppose people would experience that in the rave, I didn’t really.
I absolutely loved the music though, I was particularly into jungle, hardcore jungle.
CB- What was the most memorable rave you have been to?
TO- I think it’s World Dance at Docklands Arena. It was New Year’s Eve, and I was there with
loads of friends. It was massive and yeah it was the best night ever.
Issue 5 of Dream Magazine covering World Dance, held at Docklands Arena, East London, 31/12/95 by Tristan O’Neill (photo taken from Tristan’s Instagram)
CB- I remember going through those photos, looking through the archive a few times a week
has allowed me to start remembering the different club nights, it’s great being able to visualise
what you’re talking about.
TO- Yeah, and actually my best picture of all time was taken that night and it’s called... I used to
do exhibitions, I did about ten exhibitions and I named all my pictures. This one was called
Shower in Heaven, I might have written it on the back of the picture, not sure if you’ve seen it
because I might have taken it out. It was black and whiteish and it had lights shining down on
the crowd from the left and lights shining down on the crowd from the right. Yeah, maybe you
haven’t seen it, I could try and find it...
CB- Is it on your Instagram at all?
TO- Yes, it is definitely
CB- I think I’ve found it, it looks crazy, how many people were there?
TO- Ten thousand
CB- I want to ask you about the photos as they are now, as artifacts or documents of a time
that has passed.
Recently I have been working with the photos digitally, and obviously the digital stuff is
essentially a copy of an original photo, they are not the original photo themselves. Do you
think the photos lose something or become less valuable once they are digitalised? Or do they
perhaps gain something?
TO- Oh god, no idea! Well, do they lose something... I don’t think so. I think if anything they
improve because you’re looking at them through a screen which is a bit like looking at a slide.
And slides just look more vibrant rather than a flat picture. That’s the only thing I can think of.
CB- In a way, by digitalising, you have the ability to share it with a lot of people and so it can
gain momentum in a way that the original photo might not be able to, if you’re exhibiting the
original, not everyone is going to be able to come down and see it.
TO- Yeah, there’s that as well, I’d rather that the picture be available to the whole world. I really
don’t think it loses anything, should I be thinking it loses anything?
CB- I don’t think so, I think it’s great that they’ve become digital because once they’re
uploaded, people will be able to find them and start talking about this time again, which I
think is really important.
TO- Yeah, I’m not a purist. I don’t hold onto the past like that. The only thing technically you
could say is that scanning from a photo is not a good idea, scanning off a negative would create
a better quality, but that’s just a technical thing.
Dreamscape 20, held at Brayfield Stadium, Northampton, 09/09/95 by Tristan O’Neill
CB- One of the first things I noticed when being introduced to your physical work were the
notes penned on the back of each photo. Not only do they give a sense of order by outlining
the date and event name, but at times they also reveal an insight into the conversations and
stories behind the individuals you've captured. How important are the notations to you?
You’ve added notations to pretty much every single photo which is really impressive.
TO- I am quite extreme in many ways, if I do something, I do it properly usually. And if I start
something, I often can’t stop.
I mean, I numbered the pictures so I could find the negatives, that was a practical thing. The date
corresponded to the pack and so the code is the date back to front and then I wrote the rave on
there, why did I do that? I think it was also just a practical thing to help me find the negatives.
And then very rarely I used to write. There’s one that I remember somebody showed me, about
that teacher, I really liked that (1)
.
CB- I know the one
TO- I don’t know why I wrote that- maybe to help the magazine at the time, to write a caption
for it and I just thought I love that particular story. I wish I’d written more of those; I don’t think
I have got many more apart from a few-
(1) This is one of the first photos that caught my attention. It shows a portrait of a middle-aged man
in a venue with blue club lights and silhouettes of ravers behind him. On the backside of the
photo it is captioned, ‘Pleasuredome Skegness 12/04/97, School Teacher (his son is there but
doesn’t know his dad is. In fact, his dad has been raving for years and his son hasn’t a clue.’
CB- There’s not many but there are a couple, they’re so interesting when you do find one
because it does really give this insight into the stories behind the people that were there.
TO- Yeah, I wish I’d done that more, written my thoughts or a summary of the night or what was
going on. I think it was more of a practical thing like I said, I just did that to help the magazine
out probably.
CB- A couple of times I've noticed the same people appearing in your photos across different
dates- did you ever see the same face again?
TO- Oh yeah. Not every time but yeah, most times, I’d often see the same people going there
and I’d get to know people.
EHM The Award Winners Showcase, held at Club UN, Tottenham, 27/04/96 by Tristan O’Neill
CB- Did you form any relationships with these people or memorable encounters?
TO- Yeah, I mean it was more really a going out relationship to be honest rather than away from
the rave, not sure why. I’m not really that friendly in a way. For me it takes quite a lot to make
friends with someone. But yeah, inevitably some people I would’ve made friends with. But it
was mostly every time you went there, you’d see them, and you’d talk and take pictures of them.
CB- One of the things that struck me most when looking through different found footage and
documentation of rave culture was this feeling of temporariness- this idea that no matter how
hard you cling onto night, dawn is always right there behind you. For example, the DJ sets
were often documented on VHS and advertised as merch or memorabilia on the rave flyers.
Even the phrase ‘hardcore will never die’ suggests a need to hold onto this movement, that it
may slip through your fingers unless you fight to grab onto it. Was this feeling of nostalgia
part of rave or is it something that we now project onto rave?
TO- Well it’s definitely now because for people that weren’t there, it’s something that they often
wish that they could have been a part of and so they look for anything they possibly can to get
that feeling of being there. I guess you want to replay a bit of something, if you’ve had a good
experience and you can take that home and relive it, that sort of thing a lot of people like. For
me, I take pictures because my memory’s not amazing and I just love to have a record of things,
even if I don’t look at the pictures, I like to know that I’ve got a bit of the past and it’s not going
away.
CB- I have often thought about what it would be like to revisit different sights of rave years
later and how that may feel, for example if you walked through IKEA in Milton Keynes
having attended Dreamscape there when it was The Sanctuary. Have you ever revisited a club
or a field or a venue where an iconic night had taken place years later?
TO- I’m not sure but I’d imagine to be honest it’s a bit like the end of the night where there’s no
one there, where’s it completely empty and it just feels completely dead and soulless. I’m not
superstitious, I don’t think there’s anything there, it’s just dead.
CB- If you had to pick a venue or a night that represented UK Rave in the 1990’s, what would
it be and why?
TO- Just the one?
CB- Yeah, just the one that encapsulated what rave was
TO- Maybe I’d pick World Dance because it was the biggest one and one that was the one that
stuck out in my mind. There was obviously One Nation and there was Desire- I’m not sure if
there’s just one really. Also, these raves were in different venues, so it wasn’t just one place...
what if I thought of my favourite venue? I think probably The Island in Ilford, I went there loads
of times.
CB- Isn’t that where Desire was held?
TO- Yeah and One Nation, Roast
CB- There are a lot of, as you can imagine, different articles and interviews where people try
and list the ultimate rave or the ultimate venue and of course everyone has a different
opinion, there’s not going to be one answer.
TO- There’s one called Club UN actually that I forgot about that I went to and when I think
about it, all these places just don’t exist anymore. I read an article online a while ago about the
places that had come and gone, and I’d been to practically every single one of those and they
don’t exist anymore. Do others open instead? Because we’ve still got quite a few raves these
days, but it must be different.
CB- There’s definitely new things happening, I just don’t know if it’s happening at the same
rate that it used to.
TO- Yeah
CB- I wanted to know what it is like to revisit these photos 10 years, 20 years, 30 years after
taking them?
TO- It makes me feel emotional, it sometimes makes me feel a little bit sad. It was times that
were good and amazing music. I used to be very close with my friends then in a different way
than now. The music was absolutely amazing, I don’t really go to anything quite like that these
days. And the fact that the music has changed- actually there’s lots of modern artists that are
adding bits of the old sounds in and making it kind of come alive again. But it’s completely
different, you can’t bring back that exact sound and whatever was going on in the same way, can
you. It’s a different time. You can add influences and bits from it, but it’s the past, it’s what it is,
there’s no point in being- I mean I’m not really sad about it, it’s fine, it’s past. My sister says it’s
sad that people from his generation will never experience anything like that. It was different to
what happens now, but they’ve got similar things now, don’t they?
Hardcore Heaven 1988 Oblivion, held at The Sanctuary, Milton Keynes, 21/02/98 by Tristan O’Neill
CB- Yeah there’s definitely similar stuff now, and new and exciting stuff too, although at
certain events there’s a fixation with rave culture as it was. It can kind of feel nostalgic,
whereas when rave was happening for the first time, I mean I wasn’t there, but I imagine
it felt like a new sound, a forward-facing sound that hadn’t happened before. I often
wonder what it would have been like to hear jungle for the first time having nothing to
compare that to. Now people recycle a lot of the same sound, and they make new stuff with
it, but it often sounds nostalgic.
TO- That music was created at that time, so you’re part of something new which is quite special.
Whereas now they try and recreate the sound or carry it on- there’s nothing like being at the
beginning.
CB- Why was it important that The Museum of Youth Culture see and work with your photos?
TO- Because then it doesn’t feel like it was a waste, I mean it wasn’t a waste at the time, but I
feel like now the pictures can be part of history. I was just so excited when they basically took
practically every single picture that I’ve got apart from some of them that I’m missing. Yeah,
that was just amazing, that the photos will be recycled and carry on and won’t just die in a box.
CB- Yeah, that’s really important.
Desire, held at Bagleys, Kings Cross, 10/07/98 by Tristan O’Neill
CB-My final question is, if you had an unlimited budget and unlimited time and you had to
showcase your work, how would you do so?
TO- I’d have a website with all my favourite pictures on it, I’d link them to the flyers, I’d link
them to the magazines, to bring them to life. I’d possibly get the people who were in the
pictures, back in some way again and interview them now, a bit like you’re doing. I’d make it a
three-dimensional thing and make it a historical kind of thing and just put as much as possible in
there, so you’d be coming at it from all different angles. On a completely separate note, I used to
like taking pictures of things in real life and then taking something from that picture and I love
the idea of one day having pictures up and then having a piece of that there, tied together. In that
way, I’d like to make it as three dimensional as possible and have everything all piled in there so
that if you’re looking from a historical way you’ve got as much information as possible. And
even have the music of the time, the mixtapes playing and have some videos. Just throw
everything in one big pile but really well organised so you could navigate it and go from one
thing to the next and just get lost in it and learn about it.
CB- Thank you so much for talking with me, it has been a real honour to handle and work
with your photography. I can’t believe how well this project has related to my research and
Desire, held at Bagleys, Kings Cross, 10/07/98 by Tristan O’Neill
what I’ve been exploring in my own work. I would love for this to get people talking about
rave and this time and the sounds too.
TO- It’s funny that people are so interested in it because for me, I didn’t really think about it
much at the time but when something is gone it kind of becomes a bit more valuable, like when
an artist dies it’s like- that’s it, there’ll be no more. Of course, with the music you can still carry
it on, the music can still either evolve or have some bits from the past in it. My mum always
used to say this will be history one day, so she was right about that. At the time I was like, yeah,
whatever, but she did used to say that and know what she was talking about. That does make me
feel emotional though, the thought that it’s now history.
CB- It’s interesting, a lot of my peers are obsessed with his culture but it’s funny because
many weren’t even born when it was happening. It feels strange to be nostalgic for a time that
I didn’t experience, I wasn’t there. It’s an odd kind of feeling.
TO- The other thing I like about it is that it’s a British thing, it’s quite nice to be part of
something rather than for example, American hip-hop or something that comes from somewhere
else, it’s nice to feel that it came from here. That feels quite special.
Desire, held at Island Music Arena, Ilford, 11/05/96 by Tristan O’Neill