IT SEEMS hard to believe but it's now ten years since the smiling face of Acid House first caused a restless new generation to start turning on, tuning in and chilling out. In the future, the period 1987-97 will be remembered as the decade of dance, ten glorious years of mad partying that spawned a whole new sonic spectrum of musical genres - from acid house and rave and techno, ambient and drum 'n' bass - not to mention a variety of different drugs, fashions and buzzwords. However, one thing the chemical generation hadn't produced in great abundance, however, was literature.
That all changed earlier this year with the publication of Disco Biscuits - an anthology of chemical fiction published by Sceptre to mark the tenth anniversary of Acid House. What began as an underground project has caused waves through the publishing industry and become one of the bestselling fiction anthologies of all time, shifting 60,000 copies in the UK alone. The book was a success because it captured the thoughts and excesses of a generation who had not previously been documented. Featuring the likes of Irvine Welsh, Jeff Noon, Alan Warner and Gavin Hills, it captured the highs and lows of a hedonistic decade.
The book was the brainchild of Sarah Champion, a 26-year-old former music journalist. "I'd been a dance journalist, working for MixMag, NME and Melody Maker for a few years," she explains in a broad Manchester accent, “and I was quite disillusioned after a while. I didn't think any of the writing really captured what the scene was about. Like, all the journalism seemed to be focused on the personality of the DJ, the BPMs of the record - real trainspotting stuff. Whereas all the best parties I ever went to, maybe you'd remember some of the big anthems but you wouldn't remember most of the records that were played. You wouldn't even care who was DJ-ing necessarily.
“All of the amazing experiences came from the people and from the crowd - and it was about the people and the crowd - and that was the whole point. It was getting away from celebrity and rock stars.”
After initially considering an oral history of Acid House inspired by a Woodstock book, Sarah hit on the idea of fiction as a format to document the craziness of the culture. She came up with 19 writers capable of capturing the pulse of the party in readable prose. The stories covered the scene from all angles - from football hooligans united by Ecstasy to raids on illegal outdoor raves; from Full Moon Parties in Thailand to a piece about jungle DJs hi-jacking a holiday jet to Alicante.
Promoted more like a record than a book, Disco Biscuits had its own club tour with readings from Irvine Welsh and Jeff Noon as well as DJs Marshall Jefferson and LTJ Bukem. The book won an award from Book Publicity Campaign of the Year (previously awarded for the Trainspotting hype). A number of spin-off projects also helped push the sales, including a companion compilation CD of dance anthems featuring the likes of Goldie, Orbital, FSOL and Leftfield (read more here) and a feature film based on two of the stories is currently being shot by Channel 4.
Now comes the news that an Irish version of Disco Biscuits is being compiled. Ace journalist and Radio Ireland DJ Donal Scannell will be co-editor of the book with Sarah as well as helping to compile a companion music project featuring tracks from the Irish scene's cutting edge producers and DJs. Donal is currently actively Seeking out Irish writers who can capture the vibrancy and energy of Ireland's club culture and dance underground
'There are two kinds of people - there's people who get club culture and there's people who don't," he explains, "Obviously we're only interested in those who get club culture. So basically we're looking for people who were steeped in club culture and can write fiction. Every single story doesn't have to be set to a fuckin' Billy Nasty banging techno set, but it has to be for or about someone who can relate to that or has been through it."
He sees the book as an ideal opportunity for young Irish writers to shake up our country's cosy and cosseted literary scene and give a voice to a previously unheard generation of writing talent.
“If you look at Irish publishing, there are no Irish publishers under 30 - I could count them on no fingers,” he fumes. “It doesn't really happen. Publishing is this cosy little world of people who sell 500 hardbacks and think they're fucking great. And the way I'm looking at the Irish version of Disco Biscuits is as a springboard. People got publishing deals through the first one, deals to write novels. I would see the Irish one the same way, it's just that people haven't had a platform and haven't had encouragement. Until now any way."
PS: Disco Biscuits , the movie, never happened – but the Irish fiction collection Shenanigans topped the bestseller list and discovered much new young writing talent several of whom gained book deals as a result.