Better Days – The Carlton Club
You don’t have to go far in Manchester to find a now grey haired 50 something who will become positively wistful should you mention words like Hacienda, doves and rave. They will enthusiastically monologue about the greatest years of their lives and the camaraderie they experienced amongst their peers. I have been guilty of this myself on occasion.
Ben Tagoe’s poetic story tells of 19-year-old Danny’s journey from the violent football terraces of the late 1980’s to the euphoric dancefloors of the early 90’s. The piece makes a seamless transference from the pleasure felt from the ‘threat of beautiful violence’ within the subculture of football hooliganism to the absolute joy experienced within the subculture of an emerging ecstasy fuelled rave scene.
Leaving his terraced home, clad i...