‘90s London rave adverts gathered on new compilation, 'Pause for the Cause'

Death Is Not The End is releasing a compilation of London rave ads from ’90s pirate radio broadcasts.

‘Pause for the Cause: London Rave Adverts 1991​-​1996, Vol. 1’, out now on cassette and digital, collects 31 ad breaks boosting hardcore and jungle raves under the track titles of ‘Longest Music Event Ever’, ‘Ultimate NYE Experience’, ‘Pulse Competition’ and ‘Calling All Promoters’. 

Label head Luke Owens, who also hosts the outlet’s NTS show, tapped music journalist Simon Reynolds for the release notes. “This volume focus[es] on the audio equivalent of the rave flyer: MCs breathlessly hyping a club night or upcoming rave, listing the lineup of deejays and MCs, boasting about hi-tech attractions like lasers and projections, mentioning prices and nearest landmarks to the venue, and occasionally promising ‘clean toilets’ and ‘tight but polite security’ (‘sensible security’ is another variation),” Reynolds wrote. “Some of these ads are etched into my brain as lividly as the classic hardcore and jungle tunes of that time. (Most rave ads incorporate snippets of current music, of course — big anthems and obscure ‘mystery tracks’ alike).”

This will be the first part in an archival ad series, according to the label’s Instagram. Death Is Not The End previously compiled pirate radio adverts of the mid ’80s to early ’90s for two collections. Its last collections celebrated the improvisations of Iranian pianist and composer Morteza Mahjubi. 

Check out the compilation on Bandcamp.