Goldie and Paul Oakenfold star in new documentary​ celebrating 30 years of rave

A new Sky Arts documentary series will tell the story of the rave revolution through shared experiences of over 40 musicians.

The Agony & The Ecstasy will be presented by DJs Norman Jay MBE, Goldie MBE, Paul Oakenfold and Dave Pearce as they reminisce on the social, cultural and political influences over the rave scene and how it went from being something so underground to erupting across the world.

The programme will be spread over three episodes, with a bonus special show, as the landmark series follows the superstar DJs on a nostalgic journey, remembering the origins of house in Chicago and travelling with the revolution to the uprising in the UK and the now worldwide billion-pound industry.

The series also features exclusive interviews from The Black Madonna, Annie Mac, James Lavelle, Sasha and Orbital, as well as the founder of Cream and the founder of the Ministry of Sound Justin Berkmann.

Executive producer Debby Lee, who was a founding member of iconic club venues Bagley’s and Pacha, said: “This is a show I have wanted to make for a long time, as it is so rich in storytelling and has such wide appeal to many generations of music fans and party people.”

Goldie, who features in the series, said: “This series is huge – no one has ever explored dance music in such depth. Most of the key players from the scene are in this documentary, telling their stories from the rave movement and how it came to change music and youth culture over the last 30 odd years.

"It’s such an important time to get this documentary out there. Britain is the birthplace of Rave culture, and as dance music continues to grow as a global phenomenon why are we struggling to keep it alive here at home?”

The three-part documentary series will run every Friday starting on August 11 at 9pm.

[Photo: Tristan O'Neill]