The English couple who brought the rave to Melbourne

When English couple Richard and Hydi John arrived in Melbourne in 1988, the city’s bars were spinning pop and rock and closing at 3am — but for the Johns, it wasn’t enough.

Melbourne’s nightlife wasn’t enough for Richard and Hydi John, so they changed it. Picture: Mark Stewart

Not many people can boast a family pass to Chasers Nightclub, but Richard and Hydi John are among the privileged few.

When the English couple arrived in Melbourne in 1988, the town had no raves to speak of. The sweaty euphoria of London’s party scene was missing, but nobody seemed to be doing anything about it.

Melbourne’s bars were spinning pop and rock and closing at 3am, but for Richard and Hydi, it was not enough – they wanted a warehouse where they could dance to techno music until the sun came up.

After settling in Melbourne with their young children, the couple decided to take matters into their own hands: if there was no pre-existing party scene, they would be the ones to build it.

Forging a wide network of creative minds and talents from the ground up – including their close friend Phil Woodman – the tendrils of the rave scene in Melbourne began to unfurl.

Everyone was invited.

“The whole planet at that time was just bubbling,” Hydi says.

“It was history in the making, but we didn’t know it was – we were just having a good time.

“We were trying to lift the spirit and, being humans, that’s exactly what we want to do: we don’t want to be down all the time. It was all about having a laugh and seeing what we could do, how far we could stretch ourselves and what we could actually achieve.”

For the Johns, raving is all about the community and the freedom. Picture: Supplied

Decades later, Richard and Hydi – now 70 and 68 years old respectively – are still regular partiers and have no intention of stopping or slowing.

Why would they? For these groovers, partying and raving is all about the community and the freedom.

With three children and more than three decades of marriage under their belts, Hydi and Richard’s warmth, laughter and East London charm is infectious.

“When we started up in Melbourne, I was 15 years older than most of the people coming to the parties – I was 35 and they were barely 20, some of them,” Richard says.

“To this day, people come up to me in the streets, and they say, ‘are you Richard? You changed my life!’ And I say to them, ‘you changed my life’ – and it’s amazing, how much love we all have for each other.

“It’s one big family, so everyone’s always looking out for each other. There’s so much division in this world, but parties have no segregation.

“One of our messages on the flyers when we hosted the parties was ‘not one thought, race, colour, belief’ … Everyone was always welcome.”

Transcending the division of day-to-day life, Richard says partying is the best uniting agent in the world.

Living an artist’s dream in Northcote, Richard and Hydi’s friend Phil, 54, used to do interior design installations for nightclubs and met the English couple by chance on a night out.

The trio have remained firm friends since they first bumped into one another, united by the power and passion of the dance floor.

Scenes from raves across Melbourne in the early 90s. Picture: Suppled

The inaugural Cyber Circus at Falls Festival. Traditionally a rock event, the couple were invited to create a rave option at the festival. Picture: Supplied

“When you can actually get thousands of people together in the same room, all feeling the same beat and the same energy, it’s something really special,” Phil says.

“It’s not the same as going to a club or a bar.

“What people don’t always realise is that a real party is a creative wonderland; it’s a creative outlet for people that incorporates music, sound, installation, art – and as such, it attracts and brings in like-minded artistic people.”

More than just a group of people listening to music, Phil says the spirit of raving is an “interweaving of inspiration” and draws together tight communities of innovation.

As with many pioneers of the rave scene, all three brought their children up immersed in party culture.

“Everyone in the network knows each other, so you have a huge techno family and that’s why you felt really comfortable – I had the children with me but I felt completely relaxed, completely chilled, because I knew my kids were safe,” Hydi says.

“My daughter will tell you about her childhood, that she grew up in the most amazing wonderland that you could ever experience – most people will obviously never get that.

“She wouldn’t change one day of that, as she tells me. All of our kids have grown up in this environment, and it’s so wonderful.”

While Richard and Hydi’s two daughters are still very much “party people”, their son and Phil’s daughter have grown less enthusiastic as they’ve grown up.

Richard said raves and partying transcend the division of day-to-day life.

“My daughter only likes music with words,” Phil says, disdain dripping from his voice.

The partying scene in Melbourne was also the first to normalise safety measures considered routine these days, like hiring security and St John’s paramedics to events, and informing police about their parties.

“We never had any issues whatsoever. We actually had a really nice relationship with the coppers and the ambos because we were being proactive,” Richard says.

“Just letting them know what we were doing wasn’t hard – and it meant that they knew us and we knew them. They actually used to love when we had events because it meant they got to get involved with the party, to an extent.”

Ultimately, Hydi says raving brings about an unrivalled feeling of freedom.

“There are no inhibitions, because everyone … is in there together being weird and free together,” she says.

“Simple fact: I love life. I love living life, and at a party everyone is just living in the moment.

“It’s all about the moment and the dancing and the music – and once you first feel that connection to the sound, to the environment you’re in, to the people you’re with, you’re changed forever.

“Why do I carry on? Simple: because I love to go partying. I love it. I’m a long time in a box, right? So, I’ll do it all while I’m here on the planet. Life is about experiences and I want to live as much as I can while I’m still breathing.”