Adventures In Wonderland

The definitive history of the acid house explosion and its reverberations across popular culture, Adventures In Wonderland has been out of print for more than 20 years. This new edition has been updated slightly, with a new introduction and final chapter.

This is the acid house and rave explosion, as told by the people who lived it: door staff, dancers and drug dealers; gangsters, blaggers and promoters. From the real stories behind the huge illegal raves of 1989 to insider accounts from DJs such as Norman Jay, Trevor Nelson, Paul Oakenfold, Danny Rampling, Graeme Park, Mike Pickering, Carl Cox, Sasha and John Digweed. 

But this isn't just a book about the music. It's about being up for it. Out of it. And right in the middle of it.

It's about the Paradise Garage in New York, about dancing under the stars in Ibiza or Goa, about the house we built in the UK at Future, Shoom, Spectrum. Clink Street and the Ha§ienda. It's about Ecstasy and community and a scene that grew with breath-taking speed because we needed to feel that the world was changing.

It's about dodging the police to get the party started, and the joy of dancing all night in the British countryside, with thousands of others on the same high. About Madchester, Blackburn, and a new understanding between rock and dance music. And about what came after, from drum'n'bass to the rise of superclubs such as Ministry of Sound, Renaissance and Cream. 

But most of all, it's about having the time of your life. And who wouldn't want that?

"Adventures In Wonderland is the ultimate, definitive account of the scene. Precise factually and perfectly articulated, it transports the reader to that unique, life-changing period. Sheryl Garratt was there, reporting from the core energy of the scene that we collectively created." - Danny Rampling

"Gripping and vivid.. Garratt writes with the style and attitude of the feistiest club diva... Her personal memories are wedged between layers of insightful comment and thorough research." - The Times

"She has spoken to everyone involved - from the Chicago DJs of the 80s to the rave promoters and club moguls of the 90s ¬ and shows that it's possible to write popular culture without insulting our intelligence." - Daily Mirror

"The definitive account of contemporary dance culture.. If you weren't at Shoom in '87, then this is the best way to make up for it." - The Face

Long-listed for the 2021 Penderyn Prize for music books.