One of the most annoying urban myths that presents itself time and time again in football factory type films and football nutter fiction books is that the rave and pills culture stopped football hooligans or at least slowed it down. I have fond memories of the London club scene and saw absolutely no difference in clientele. I went to raves from Ilford to Ibiza and saw no more than the usual types on the door and in the club. Where did English Hollywood get the idea that the Manchester music scene saved football? Heysal, Hilllsborough and CCTV did for the football nutter. Any thoughts?
Add in undercover policing (the proper stuff, not sh*gging GM crop protesters) to your list of three, typical and I'd pretty much agree with you.
I grew up going to football matches in the late 70s and then through the 80s. Even for Charlton, you knew that many matches would be lively. The most common practice in those times was to infiltrate the away end. Another favourite was the terrace surge, where you were swept off your feet as piles of herberts swept forwards from the top of the terrace behind you. I would say the introduction of seating had a huge impact on the way people behaved at football grounds. The worst single game i have been at for fighting in our end was Chelsea away in the play offs in 1988. Things got really tasty that day. Kings Road after the game was like Snipers Alley in Lebanon
I used to attend the 90s Friday night rave scene: Fusion at Pickett's Lock; Dreamscape at Milton Keynes; Desire at the Junction... Those were the days when real DJs were working the decks: Easygroove, Ray Keith, Big Black Cox, Slipmatt, Grooverider et al. The next day I would drag myself away from whatever park bench, bus shelter or alleyway I'd slept in/on for an hour, and then head for the football. Crazy, smelly days.
I was at that game and I do recall about 40 Chelsea being in our end and three CAFC including a rather large CAFC fan and his blonde girlfriend taking on Chelsea in the stand to our right. I don't recall the kings road but I do recall Earls Court being a bit like the opening 10 minutes of Private Ryan though. My mate reckons that the undercover coppers absolutely loved their jobs at the time, boozing, drugs, shagging, it all came crashing down though when three coppers actually tried to do the job seriously, realised that they would never get convictions and made up evidence against the Chelsea lot and the judge not only thre the case out of court but awarded £40k to some right nutty headhunters who then opened a bar in Thailand. PEA I did a few at Watford and I think I went to Fusion when it was something else. Proper DJ's and a proper culture, I hesistate to mention this but I was so into my dancing that I went to Madame Jo Jos and Heaven weeks nights, I used to meet Marcus Brigstock, (ONE OF OUR FINEST STRAIGHT COMEDIANS) in loads of clubs and we got on really well. The best rave I ever went to was somewhere unprouncable in Buckighamshire which went all night (and police free) and finished at 11am, straight to Euston and watched cafc play burnley to bring me down to reality nicely. I cannot see any justification for the argument that this stopped the violence.
I remember walking down the Kings Road after our 1-1 draw that day. Although I was not wearing colours, I felt as conspicuous as Graham Norton in Spearmint Rhino. The Old Bill were massively under manned.
