The Bristol sound of the underground

Chris Burton was clearing out his loft, when he came across some boxes that had not been opened for years.

"There was one box full of old flyers for parties, and two boxes of old tapes," he says.

"I looked at them and I knew there was no way I could throw them out."

The contents of the boxes were like a time capsule of the Bristol underground scene from the mid-Eighties to the early-Nineties, when crews such as The Wild Bunch, FBI and Fresh 4 would hold parties in empty houses and warehouses around the city.

Nearly three years after Chris, 36, found the boxes as he was preparing for a loft conversion in his home, some of their contents have formed the basis for a book called The Art and Sound of the Bristol Underground, co-written by Gary Thompson.

"There was no internet and no mobile phones then, so the flyers were a way of getting a message out about the parties," he says. "A lot of them were designed by really brilliant artists like Nick Walker, 3D, FLX, and Inkie – people who played a pivotal role in inspiring Banksy, and most of the graffiti artists in Bristol today.

"We thought it would be a really good idea to get the flyers out there again, because that era was really important in our lives, and also important in terms of the history of the music and art scene in Bristol.

"Quite a few people had kept flyers. Gary had a collection of flyers, too, and he'd been thinking the same thing as me, so we decided to write a book looking at the Bristol scene from the angle of the parties as no one had done that before."

The book documents the Bristol underground scene through the words of the individuals who were behind the impromptu parties that were a feature of the music and art scene in the city from the Eighties to the early Nineties.

"The only part of the book that's in our words is the introduction.

"The rest is in the words of the people who are the unsung heroes of the Bristol party scene – it's about their memories, their opinions," said Chris.

"This was before house and warehouse parties were turned into 'raves' and became more organised and profitable. They weren't holding parties for the money, but because it was something they believed in and loved."

Although Chris's own memories are not documented in the book, he has many colourful recollections of the parties that took place in Bristol in the days before the 1994 Criminal Justice Act came into effect, making it possible for police to disperse large gatherings of people.

"I suppose the main thing was that no matter where the party was being held, it was never big enough. People would always spill outside into the street, and often they'd end up having their own party.

"There'd be about 300 partygoers in a house. I can remember being in one house and the floorboards were warping because there were so many people dancing on them.

"It's amazing a floor didn't collapse killing hundreds of people. At the time, though, you're having such fun that you don't think about the dangers."

He continues: "The Wild Bunch – which became Massive Attack – had the best parties.

"They had the records and the skills and everyone looked up to them. At St Paul's Carnival they'd set up on Campbell Street, and the sound would be incredible.

"The FBI Crew also did some amazing house parties, a lot of which were in Clifton and Redland – in those days a lot of the houses weren't as smart as they are now – and Fresh 4 had some classic parties in St Luke's Road."

So why did Bristol have such an active party scene among hip hop and DJ crews in the Eighties and early Nineties?

Chris replies: "The city centre night clubs were playing stuff like Kajagoogoo and Wham! If you wanted to hear something different you had to go to underground parties.

"These guys organised the parties themselves in any building that was available, which was possible then as there were a lot more empty and abandoned properties in Bristol.

"There used to be a lot in a warehouse where @Bristol is now, and in a warehouse on Feeder Road.

"The police didn't know how to deal with it, so they weren't particularly hostile. I can remember at one party the police actually helped to start a generator."

Chris – who is now working on a heritage project for St Paul's Carnival, and has also worked as a writer and producer in radio and television – believes Bristol's multi-cultural heritage was also a key factor in the growth of the underground party scene.

"The sound systems were already in Bristol because of the reggae," he points out.

"There was such a diverse mix of people at the parties. I got to hang out with people I'd never have got to meet if it wasn't for the party scene, as they came from different parts of Bristol to me, both geographically and socially."

Chris, the youngest of 10 children, was brought up in Montpelier, where most children went to local schools. However, he got a place at Cotham Grammar after passing the 11-plus in 1983.

"I went there and I saw a whole different way of life. I'd cross Cheltenham Road [the A38] to get to school and be in another world," he recalls. "Now it seems normal, but at the time it was a kind of different for a black kid from Montpelier to be in Cotham. I used to get stopped by the police on my way to and from school."

Chris was at Cotham Grammar when he started going to parties in the mid-Eighties.

"I think the first nightclub I went to was the Moon Club. Although I was really too young for going to clubs, I usually got away with it because I was quite tall.

"I often went with my older sisters and brothers, but they didn't really like me going with them because if I got turned away because I was too young they'd have to take me home."

The work involved in tracking down and interviewing people involved in the Bristol party scene has meant it has taken Chris and Gary around two years to write The Art and Sound of the Bristol Underground.

"There were a lot of interviews. We had to track down some people in places like Los Angeles and New York. And I did so much typing – I've never typed so much in my life!" he says. "It wasn't difficult to do the interviews because it's a subject so close to our hearts, and to other people's hearts. But that meant there was a lot of pressure to get it right in the way it was written.

"I think there's a lot of creativity in Bristol that results from the party scene. For a city of its size, Bristol has a huge percentage of people who have been influential on the national and international music and art scene."

● The Art and Sound of the Bristol Underground by Chris Burton and Gary Thompson is published byTangent Books.

Price: £10 hardback (ISBN 978-1906477066). For more information go to www.tangentbooks.co.uk.