ecstatic geographies clubbing^ crowds & playful vitality - by - Benedict R. Malbon Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy 1998 University College London ProQuest Number: 10014869 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. uest. ProQuest 10014869 Published by ProQuest LLC(2016). Copyright of the Dissertation is held by the Author. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 Part One - Beginnings Abstract This thesis Is about the motivations for, the soclo-spatlo-tempora! and bodlly-emotlonal practices constituting, the cultures, spaclngs and mediations Influencing, and the vitality that may be engendered through, the experiences of 'clubbing' In contemporary central London. More specifically, the thesis sets out to answer three broad questions: how Is clubbing constituted through the practices. Imaginations and emotions of the clubbers themselves; how does music and dancing so powerfully affect our experiencing of spaces, of ourselves and of others; and, how Is clubbing, as a form of 'play', so Important to the wider Identities and Identifications of the clubbers, and In what ways can It engender vitality through Its playful practices? The clubbing experiences of eighteen clubbers are used In progressing three Interrelated literatures - on 'youth cultures' and being young, on consumption and consuming, and on Identity and Identifications - through the development of four broad but connected themes. First I am Interested In processes of Identification and the construction of notions of 'cool'. Second, I highlight the constitution, practices and spaclngs of musical and dancing crowds as central to clubbing. Third, I examine the 'moments of ecstasy' that can characterise clubbing - and especially dancing - experiences. Finally, I problematlse existing understandings of both 'play' and 'resistance' In elaborating a notion of'playful vitality', but I then also question often over-romantlclsed and Idealistic visions of the dance floor as constituting 'melting pot' communallty and facilitating the 'gathering of the tribes'. I conclude by focusing upon the Immediate post-clubbing experiences of the clubbers. Re-engaging with my original three sets of debates and literatures, I present clubbing as a temporary and alternate world, partly of the clubbers' own constructions and Imaginations, In which the everyday Is disrupted, the mundane Is forgotten, and the ecstatic becomes possible. Part One - Beginnings Contents Abstract 1 Contents 2 Thanks 5 Part One - Beginnings 1 Three Episodes 8 episode one - Bournemouth seafront, a balmy evening, summer 1986 8 episode two - Waterloo station, London, twilight, October 1995 9 episode three-The Tunnel Club, Saturday Night, August 1996 10 2 The Night Ahead i s 3 Clubbing Contexts 17 4 Three Starting Points 22 starting point one: geographies of young people and clubbing 22 starting point two: geographies of experiential consuming 32 starting point three: geographies of sociality and performativity 37 5 Researching Clubbing - Logics and Logistics 46 practical geographies 48 clubber-interviewees 51 inscription / transcription / description 55 evocation / re-presentation / intention 61 Part Two - Night Out 64 Chapter 1 - Getting Into It, Feeling Part O f It 65 1 Getting Into Clubbing 71 being in the city yet being out of the city 72 codes of social interaction - women, clubbing (and 'liberation'?) 75 belongings and identifications 80 2 Clubbing and Coolness - Distinctions and Belongings 86 cool and distinctions 89 cool and belongings 91 cool and COOL 95 cool crowds - selecting a Night 97 3 Getting into the Club 100 Part One - Beginnings Chapter 2 - The Dancer From the Dance: Musical and Dancing Crowds los 1 Crowds and Togetherness 110 2 Musical Crowds 115 the sound of silence - the neglect of sonic worlds 116 music matters 118 the social centrality of music to the practices of clubbing 120 making music together 123 listening to and understanding clubbing music 125 3 Dancing Crowds 128 dancing in the dark 128 4 Spacings of Dancing 134 territorialisations and régionalisations 140 mediations 142 techniques and competencies 143 emotional spacings 145 out of space, out of time 149 Chapter 3 - Moments of Ecstasy: Oceanic and Ecstatic Experiences i5 i 1 The Oceanic Experience 1 53 the nature of the oceanic experience in clubbing 1 57 2 The Ecstatic Experience 165 ecstasy (MDMA) and clubbing 166 3 A Night on E: the Use of Ecstasy (MDMA) in the Clubbing Experience 169 pre-clubbing - sorting, preparing, bonding 1 70 'dropping' / 'boshing' - taking the drugs 1 73 first experience as revelatory 1 75 'coming up' - starting to lose touch 1 75 stripping of defences - a 'natural' state? 1 77 elation and euphoria - experiencing the ecstatic 1 79 intensity and withdrawal 180 what goes up ... 185 Chapter 4 - Clubbing and Playful Vitality 187 1 Play and Flow 189 play 190 play as flow 193 2 Resistance and Vitality 200 power and resistance 202 play as vitality 204 now everything is resistance? 207 3 Clubbing as Playful Vitality 209 clubbing and the politics of the self 210 clubbing and the unshackling of individuality 212 clubbing, difference and sentiments of inclusivity 214 'it makes you more free' 220 Part One - Beginnings Part Three - Reflections 226 1 Three Stories of Afterglow 22s Kim, Valerie and John - holding on to the Night? 229 Antonio - collusion and reflection 232 Bruce - holding on ... 234 other lives, other identifications - clubbing in the city 237 reflecting upon the Night Out 240 2 Playing — Consuming — Fluxing 240 (i) young people, fun, and vitality 241 (ii) experiential consuming 243 (iii) imaginations and fluctuations 246 3 Clubbing 249 Appendix i - Biographical Snapshots of the Clubbers 252 References 260 * * * * Part One - Beginnings Thanks My deepest thanks go firstly to the clubbers without whose help I could not have completed this thesis and with whom I had so much fun. I only hope that I have done their experiences justice. Many in the Department of Geography at University College London have given me their time and thoughts. O f these, Phil Crang has been an unfailing source of enthusiasm, momentum and patience amidst my confusion, while Peter W ood has always provided guidance and a much-valued alternative viewpoint. I have shared fierce arguments, more relaxing discussions, and gallons of coffee with Kemal Ahson, Tracey Bedford, Kevin Collins, Nicole Dando, Luke Desforges, Claire Dwyer, Minelle Mahtani, Mark Maslin and Simon Pinnegar - their comments have been useful and always encouraging and more importantly I have valued their friendships. Comments on earlier drafts by Peter Jackson, Simon Pinnegar and Mary Anna Wright were particularly incisive and helpful, while thanks for comments and guidance at my First Year workshop must go to Jacquie Burgess, Susan Smith and Sarah Thornton. I am also grateful to Gill Valentine for her enthusiasm for the project while I was still at Manchester. Away from academia, and important for different reasons, my thanks goes to all with whom I have lived over the previous four years - Jude Hill, Tim Malbon and Nick Oram. Each has offered their own contribution and they have been patient with my late-night wibble, piles of papers and constant whingeing. Carol Barrett, Bat, Martin Berger, James Petrie, Alexis Richardson and clubbing buddy numéro une, Katie, have all had otherwise excellent Nights (and plenty of days) marred by my confused mumblings and one-track mind. Sally Hardy at the Regional Studies Association has been tremendously understanding with her moodiest and most pre-occupied worker. The Face and i-D magazines were the only publications to print my letters requesting clubbing volunteers and I am indebted to the Editors of each for providing what turned out to be a vital break. Jon Malbon was there when it all began and may have been the wisest and coolest of us all. My parents have been brilliant throughout. Their role in the production of this thesis extends way beyond mere thanks for help over the last four years. They have always given me their love, encouragement and freedom. Part One - Beginnings W ithout the financial assistance of the Economic and Social Research Council (Award Number: R00429434210) and the University College London Graduate School 1 would not have been able to complete the thesis. 1 want to acknowledge their vision in providing me with this opportunity. Music must be acknowledged here as continuing to provide an extraordinary source of energy, stimulation and pleasure. In highlighting but a handful of those who continue to excite and invigorate me the following must be mentioned: Callier, Jobim, Morricone, Bacharach, Wonder, Joyce, Galaxie 500, Luna, Valle, The Orb, Orbital, Shaw, Riperton, Rotary Connection, Lobo, Sinatra, My Bloody Valentine, Mendes, and Gilberto. Patrick Forge and Gilles P (Kiss EM), Radio 4's Test Match Special Team, and the audio-chocolate box that is Melody EM have taken me to sunnier, happier places when I've needed a break and have often sustained me late into the night. Throughout the whole thing Katie has been there encouraging, listening, at times boogying, and trying more than anyone to understand me. Most importantly, she has kept me laughing. Most incredibly, she has stuck with me. I thank her for her patience and love and dedicate this thesis to her. Now, about that early night 1 promised myself... London and Manchester^ July 1998 Part One - Beginnings Part One Beginnings To be away from home and yet to feel oneself everywhere at home; to see the world, to be at the centre of the world, and yet to remain hidden from the world - such are a few of the pleasures of those independent, passionate, impartial natures which the tongue can but clumsily define.