World Peace Party
Encyclopedia
It is a widely held belief that the World Peace Party was the first warehouse Rave
in Africa. The date was Friday, 13th of September, 1990.
The event was produced in South Africa, by Cape Town
based UFO productions. Founders Carl Mason and Jesse Stagg
teamed up to start UFO (alleged to stand for alternately: Unlimted Freak Out or Unity of People, Freedom of Expression, Original Ideas). The event featured live musical acts in the form of proto punk-rappers the MC's from UNCLE, other local Rap and early House acts, and headlined by DJ Giorgio (?). The event ran for about twenty hours and was attended by approximately 3,500 people.
The venue was the Nautilus soundstage in the Paarden Eiland industrial zone, an area on the edge of Cape Town, reclaimed from the ocean. The location came with a 40 foot by 10 foot Infinity Curve, which was incorporated as an elaborate fluorescent mural that depicted the "journey of the beat" from Africa through Europe and the West and back to Africa in the form of a UFO. The mural was painted in a Hip Hop
style and incorporated at that time state-of-the-art Commodore Amiga custom computer animations promoting positive affirmations and distinctive UFO branding. This level of artistic sophistication was revolutionary in the early years of the international Rave
scene.
The World Peace Party featured an inside and outside area complete with the soon to be ubiquitous fun park of: inflatable castles, human gyroscopes
and vendors serving fast foods and miscellany.
Given the political context of the time and with a heavy handed Apartheid regime still in power and Nelson Mandela
still in prison, security was a major concern. The promoters assembled a large team of well trained and mixed race security personnel, who managed with great finesse and respect the overwhelmingly mixed race crowd who had rarely, if ever, partied together with such abandon.
The following dawn many hundreds of participants lined the sided of the N1 highway as they walked the 5 miles back to Cape Town, hours after their transport had left.
As much a Posse as a production company, the UFO team comprised a loose band of artists, designers, students, models, engineers and partygoers. UFO comprised in part: Nik Jevons, Brendan Smithers, Roger Young, Ray and Andrew Mackay, Nicole Abel, Toni Dorfman, Edward Petersen, among others.
The UFO production team went on to open several permanent venues to promote Electronic music, most notably the first dedicated Dance Club of its kind on the continent Club Eden
.
Vandalism: During the ubiquitous marketing campaign, the signature black and white teaser posters, emblazoned with a strong 3D graphic of a Peace symbol
and only the date, Friday the 13th of September, were vandalized with green paint across the city of Cape Town. Evidence suggested it was the work of a Christian fringe group, who took issue with the Peace sign, claiming Satanic influence. Ironically, the promoters used this controversy to their advantage and enlisted the State media to publicise the event.
Rave
Rave, rave dance, and rave party are parties that originated mostly from acid house parties, which featured fast-paced electronic music and light shows. At these parties people dance and socialize to dance music played by disc jockeys and occasionally live performers...
in Africa. The date was Friday, 13th of September, 1990.
The event was produced in South Africa, by Cape Town
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
based UFO productions. Founders Carl Mason and Jesse Stagg
Jesse Stagg
Jesse Stagg is a trafficker in pop culture with a background in advertising, design, guerilla marketing.Born in New York, educated in London and Cape Town, he was raised in a commune in England....
teamed up to start UFO (alleged to stand for alternately: Unlimted Freak Out or Unity of People, Freedom of Expression, Original Ideas). The event featured live musical acts in the form of proto punk-rappers the MC's from UNCLE, other local Rap and early House acts, and headlined by DJ Giorgio (?). The event ran for about twenty hours and was attended by approximately 3,500 people.
The venue was the Nautilus soundstage in the Paarden Eiland industrial zone, an area on the edge of Cape Town, reclaimed from the ocean. The location came with a 40 foot by 10 foot Infinity Curve, which was incorporated as an elaborate fluorescent mural that depicted the "journey of the beat" from Africa through Europe and the West and back to Africa in the form of a UFO. The mural was painted in a Hip Hop
Hip hop
Hip hop is a form of musical expression and artistic culture that originated in African-American and Latino communities during the 1970s in New York City, specifically the Bronx. DJ Afrika Bambaataa outlined the four pillars of hip hop culture: MCing, DJing, breaking and graffiti writing...
style and incorporated at that time state-of-the-art Commodore Amiga custom computer animations promoting positive affirmations and distinctive UFO branding. This level of artistic sophistication was revolutionary in the early years of the international Rave
Rave
Rave, rave dance, and rave party are parties that originated mostly from acid house parties, which featured fast-paced electronic music and light shows. At these parties people dance and socialize to dance music played by disc jockeys and occasionally live performers...
scene.
The World Peace Party featured an inside and outside area complete with the soon to be ubiquitous fun park of: inflatable castles, human gyroscopes
Aerotrim
An aerotrim is a gyroscope large enough to contain a human being, used for cardiovascular workout and equilibrioception training in pilots and astronauts. Aerotrims enjoyed worldwide popularity in gyms during the 1980s, but are now out of production outside of professional applications...
and vendors serving fast foods and miscellany.
Given the political context of the time and with a heavy handed Apartheid regime still in power and Nelson Mandela
Nelson Mandela
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, and was the first South African president to be elected in a fully representative democratic election. Before his presidency, Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist, and the leader of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing...
still in prison, security was a major concern. The promoters assembled a large team of well trained and mixed race security personnel, who managed with great finesse and respect the overwhelmingly mixed race crowd who had rarely, if ever, partied together with such abandon.
The following dawn many hundreds of participants lined the sided of the N1 highway as they walked the 5 miles back to Cape Town, hours after their transport had left.
As much a Posse as a production company, the UFO team comprised a loose band of artists, designers, students, models, engineers and partygoers. UFO comprised in part: Nik Jevons, Brendan Smithers, Roger Young, Ray and Andrew Mackay, Nicole Abel, Toni Dorfman, Edward Petersen, among others.
The UFO production team went on to open several permanent venues to promote Electronic music, most notably the first dedicated Dance Club of its kind on the continent Club Eden
Club Eden
Club Eden was the first electronic dance music club in Africa. Located at 54 Waterkant street in Cape Town, South Africa.Eden opened 1990 on Friday 29th of November and ran for only one successful season, introducing a new era in nightlife for South Africa...
.
Vandalism: During the ubiquitous marketing campaign, the signature black and white teaser posters, emblazoned with a strong 3D graphic of a Peace symbol
Peace symbol
A number of peace symbols have been used in various cultures and contexts, one of the most ancient being the olive branch. The dove and olive branch was used by early Christians and was later adopted as a secular symbol. It was popularised by Pablo Picasso in 1949 and became widely used in the...
and only the date, Friday the 13th of September, were vandalized with green paint across the city of Cape Town. Evidence suggested it was the work of a Christian fringe group, who took issue with the Peace sign, claiming Satanic influence. Ironically, the promoters used this controversy to their advantage and enlisted the State media to publicise the event.