Fierce Dancing: Adventures in the Underground

It began with a small band of Hippies, clinging to the remnants of their summer festivals. Next came Punk, with its culture of anger and rejection. After that Rave, and everyone just wanted to dance and take drugs again. But when the Criminal Justice Act came along, Auntie Britain was seen as a kindly guardian no longer. Hippie idealism, punk anarchism, rave organization and New Age mysticism, forged in the fiery heart of dance culture, became melded into a new force. DIY culture was born. Or at least that's what the purveyors of post-rave politics like to claim. But is it true? Does hope really lie in the wearing of nose rings? Can we counteract the forces of repression by making sure that our margarine contains no animal fats? Are tattoos the answer? C.J. Stone, acclaimed columnist for the Guardian and the Big Issue, travels the land and investigates the curious state we're in.