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Ecstasy: The Battle Of Rave

<p>When Ecstasy and Acid House first swept Britain, a group of lives would be changed forever.  One Story. Half real life. Half drama. Welcome to Ecstasy: The Battle Of Rave.</p>

BBC Radio 5 Live

When Ecstasy and Acid House first swept Britain, a group of lives would be changed forever.  One Story. Half real life. Half drama. Coming soon... Ecstasy: The Battle Of Rave.

#BattleOfRave: Coming soon...

The very first MDMA pills hit Britain. Ecstasy fuses with the music of Acid House - and four ordinary people's lives are changed forever. #BattleOfRave
 
This podcast contains strong language and references to drug use.Credits 
Presenter: Chris Warburton
Series Producer: Emma Forde
Additional Production: Nicola Dowling and Jane Andrews
Sound Design: Sam Turner
Digital: Eleanor Layhe and Alex Entwistle
Editor and Executive Producer: Ciaran Tracey

Ep1. I Need Your Love

She's Mrs Ordinary now. But offer her an E, and she might just bite your hand off. All because there's a hole she has to fill... #BattleOfRaveAll characters portrayed by the dramatic actors are fictional. This drama contains strong language and references to drug use. Credits
Performed by Meera Syal
Written by Danny Brocklehurst
Producer and Director: Gary Brown
Sound Design and Mixing: Steve Brooke
Editor and Executive Producer: Ciaran Tracey

Meera Syal as The Raver

In the music and drug underground of Manchester, the pills have changed everything - all helped along by a famous name. In the Acid House dives and clubs, a special romance begins. #BattleOfRave
 
This podcast contains strong language and references to drug use.Credits
Presenter: Chris Warburton
Series Producer: Emma Forde
Additional Production: Nicola Dowling and Jane Andrews
Sound Design: Sam Turner
Digital: Eleanor Layhe and Alex Entwistle
Editor and Executive Producer: Ciaran Tracey

Ep2. Wizards Of E

It started with a few bags of weed on the estate: but the pills turned it into a multinational operation. And the money... was mad. But so too was the life. #BattleOfRaveAll characters portrayed by the dramatic actors are fictional. This drama contains strong language and references to drug use.Credits 
Performed by Ian Hart
Written by Danny Brocklehurst
Producer and Director: Gary Brown
Sound Design and Mixing: Steve Brooke
Editor and Executive Producer: Ciaran Tracey

Ian Hart as The Dealer

Where do you get a million E's to bring into Britain? At the start, there was one answer: Amsterdam. And this is exactly how the deals were done. #BattleOfRave
 
This podcast contains strong language and references to drug use.
 Credits 
Presenter: Chris Warburton
Series Producer: Emma Forde
Additional Production: Nicola Dowling and Jane Andrews
Sound Design: Sam Turner
Digital: Eleanor Layhe and Alex Entwistle
Editor and Executive Producer: Ciaran Tracey

Ep3. Pump Up The Volume

She doesn’t believe in God anymore - but behind the decks she was a messiah. When the dancefloor's fuelled by the pills though... the devil can come too close for comfort. #BattleOfRaveAll characters portrayed by the dramatic actors are fictional. This drama contains strong language and references to drug use. Credits 
Performed by Monica Dolan
Written by Danny Brocklehurst
Producer and Director: Gary Brown
Sound Design and Mixing: Steve Brooke
Editor and Executive Producer: Ciaran Tracey

Monica Dolan as The DJ

An empty warehouse... a disused mill... the search is on for anywhere to rave, in the unlikeliest of towns. The technicolour Acid House revolution though will soon meet darkness. #BattleOfRave
 
This podcast contains strong language and references to drug use.Credits
Presenter: Chris Warburton
Series Producer: Emma Forde
Additional Production: Nicola Dowling and Jane Andrews
Sound Design: Sam Turner
Digital: Eleanor Layhe and Alex Entwistle
Editor and Executive Producer: Ciaran Tracey

Ep4. Blackburn Ravers

He saw the need to party - and the cash that could be made from raves. He'd hit it big on both, running parties for thousands every week. Until, as 88 turned to 89, the politicians got involved. #BattleOfRave
 
All characters portrayed by the dramatic actors are fictional. This drama contains strong language and references to drug use.Credits 
Performed by Adrian Edmondson
Written by Danny Brocklehurst
Producer and Director: Gary Brown
Sound Design and Mixing: Steve Brooke
Editor and Executive Producer: Ciaran Tracey

Adrian Edmondson as The Entrepreneur

It's the second summer of love. E is everywhere, and Acid House has its new national anthems. Warehouses and car convoys come alive. After deaths, the media is outraged: and a battle of wills begins between the police and the ravers. #BattleOfRave
  
 This podcast contains strong language and references to drug use.Credits 
Presenter: Chris Warburton
Series Producer: Emma Forde
Additional Production: Nicola Dowling and Jane Andrews
Sound Design: Sam Turner
Digital: Eleanor Layhe and Alex Entwistle
Editor and Executive Producer: Ciaran Tracey

Ep5. Call The Cops

Policing the doors used to be easy - but with Ecstasy came a new breed of dealer. Younger. Harder. Just not as hard as his undercover unit. #BattleOfRave
 
All characters portrayed by the dramatic actors are fictional. This drama contains strong language and references to drug use.Credits
Performed by David Morrissey
Written by Danny Brocklehurst
Producer and Director: Gary Brown
Sound Design and Mixing: Steve Brooke
Editor and Executive Producer: Ciaran Tracey

David Morrissey as The Undercover Cop

Through the illegal parties, gangsters muscled in on supplying the pills. The ravers are now caught in their grip. The police have to move in. The early years of Acid House - its Ecstasy and its lifelong imprint - are left as a memory. #BattleOfRave
 
This podcast contains strong language and references to drug use.Credits
Presenter: Chris Warburton
Series Producer: Emma Forde
Additional Production: Nicola Dowling and Jane Andrews
Sound Design: Sam Turner
Digital: Eleanor Layhe and Alex Entwistle
Editor and Executive Producer: Ciaran Tracey

Ep6. The Last Dance

How do you change after a life of dealing drugs? Former criminal John Burton is candid about the life he leads now. 
Danny Brocklehurst also reflects on writing the dramas and the influence of the Rave years. #BattleOfRave
 
This podcast contains strong language and references to drug use.
 Credits
Presenter: Chris Warburton
Series Producer: Emma Forde
Additional Production: Nicola Dowling and Jane Andrews
Sound Design: Sam Turner
Digital: Eleanor Layhe and Alex Entwistle
Editor and Executive Producer: Ciaran Tracey