Then one of his mates took him down to a club in the Elephant & Castle called The Rave In The Cave which was run by Ellis Dee. 

"There was a lorry parked up in there," he says with wonder "covered with people waving their arms, going crazy, shouting 'mental, mental, mental."!  That was it, I was hooked."  He started going out not just at the weekends, but every night.  The week began at Spectrum with Paul Oakenfold and Johnny Walker on a Monday and ended chilling out on Clapham Common after a full on all nighter.  Going out to massive raves like Sunrise, and DJing at his own small scale parties opened Jarvis up to wider possibilities and in Spring '89 he ran his first full scale warehouse party - Biology - at Linford Film Studio in Battersea.  3000 people squashed into the venue.  A few months later he threw a second party in farmland outside Watford.  This time 10,000 people turned up to hear a DJ line up that included Paul Oakenfold, Trevor Fung, Grooverider, Paul Trouble Anderson and Nicky Holloway amongst a who's who of today's clubland legends.

"Now that's what I call a line-up" says Jarvis, with justifiable grin.  "My one memory of that night is turning up in a stretch limousine, coming round a corner and seeing thousands and thousands of people all dancing as the sun came up.  There was no attitude, no pressure.  We started that party at ten o'clock on Saturday night and stopped it at six - o'clock on Sunday afternoon.  Not because we had to. but because we wanted to."

After the success of that first major outdoor party, Jarvis wanted to hold a massive spectacular, bringing over US hip hop stars like Public Enemy and EPMD to play alongside British act like Richie Rich.  Police pressure forced the event's cancellation and put Biology back to square one.  Jarvis decided it was time for a change of track.  Time to take it back underground.

The next few months were spent breaking into warehouses throwing free parties, dodging the police, paying for the sound system by handing around a collection bucket.  Passing on the location by Vodafone at the last possible minute.  "I've done lots of legal parties," says Jarvis, but you can't beat illegal raves for pure excitement".

Of all  the rave promoters of those glorious, mental days, Biology stood out because, unlike events like Energy they weren't run by a consortium of public schoolboys, or a well off professional gamble like Sunrise's Tony Colston Hayter.  They were run by a geezer.  A ducker and a diver.  A raver, the same as his crowd, if a bit more sussed, a bit more streetwise.

"I saw the other promoters as toffs," he grins, "and we were the scruffs.  But we were doing it from our hearts.  You couldn't beat that.  At out parties you could have a barrister dancing next to someone on the dole, but they could be best mates.  They were equal."

Pirate radio advert for Biology:

"This is a Party Political Dance Broadcast on behalf of the Biology Party. Here are the following requirements for this Saturdays DJ Convention and gathering of young minds...

Firstly, you must have a Great Britain road atlas. YES THATS A GREAT BRITAIN ROAD ATLAS.

Secondly, a reliable motor with a full tank of gas

Lastly, you must have a ticket and you must be a member.

So we now end this Party Political Dance Broadcast on behalf of the Biology Party. Don't waste your vote: stand up and be counted.. because... BIOLOGY IS ON!
 

Partyography

Biology - DJ's Convention (8 Jul 89)
Biology - Brothers Of The Same Kind (21 Oct 89)
Biology - Telethon 90 (8 Sep 90)
Biology - (4 Apr 92)
Biology - The Tough Get Tougher (12 Jun 92)

Memories of a Ravers - 1989 - T

Hi ravers I would like to tell you my story about 88 well I was in Holloway prison doing a two year sentence, after being there a few months all the new arrivals were coming in in florescent clothes every night they'd be hanging out the windows shouting ACCIDDD! the rest of us thought these girls have lost the plot........then I was moved to a open prison in Kent my brother and boyfriend came to see me one day the prison was a big Georgian mansion.....it was still prison though .....

Anyway you could see the visitors pull up in the car park and we use to watch them through the window anyway my brother and boyfriend decided to change there clothes in the car park all the girls were watching and screaming I mean
we were all doing bird then we have these two good looking guys stripping in the car park oblivious to everything going on around them even I was screaming get your @#%$ clothes on what you doing they were oblivious....then visiting time be4gan I went down on my visit and asked them what they were doing they
did not have a clue about what they had just done in the car park. 

I was thinking what’s happened they are loosing the plot and then my brother says we have just come from a rave in a field with 30.000 people I was like what the @#%$ you talking about they then explained they were off there heads on ecstasy
which I'd never heard of...........they were a right mess they were even passing me my draw blatantly I had to get them out of there asap before I got nicked with my gear.....

They went off saying they would pick me up next weekend as I was allowed home for the weekend......The next weekend I went to a biology party which my brother helped organise .....no names please........

well i took my first e all I remember is being really happy leaving my brother at the party without telling him where I was going and he stayed there all night looking for me up to this day I do not know where I went all I remember is going back to the prison on the Monday everyone was like what was it like well I said it was great but I don't remember anything that was the first of many wicked nights.............. I hope this gets on the notice board .....thank you for letting me share this experience........TT....XX