Rewind 4Ever: The History of UK Garage, 2013.
Directed by Alex Lawton.
SYNOPSIS:
From the years of 1998 to 2002 UK Garage dominated the national charts. The most successful British dance genre to ever emerge from London’s underground, Rewind travels back in time to uncover the untold story of a genre of music that defined an entire generation, still prevalent in today’s music world.
The UK garage scene developed over the course of the 90s. Starting from auspicious beginnings, gaining an underground following, through to hitting the mainstream, Rewind 4Ever is a rare, in depth documentary chronicling the rise, fall, and resurrection of the genre. Produced and directed by Berkshire based film-maker Alex Lawton, this is a must for fans of UK Garage.
If you’re a garage aficionado you will be extremely well catered for, with a string of recognisable tunes backing the film, with enthusiastic contributions from a plethora of noted Garage acts. For those, like myself who aren’t huge fans of the genre, there is still plenty to appreciate. The evolution of UK Garage makes for interesting viewing. The humble beginnings of house parties, through to pubs, then clubs, from a London exclusive scene to worldwide, is fascinating. The likes of DJ Spoony, MC Harvey, Wookie, MC Creed and Grant Nelson talk passionately about the scene. What is evident, unlike other genres of music, particularly those that are heavily marketed and manufactured, or those which pretentiously claim an ideology, is a sense of community and family amongst the acts (particularly those who blazed the trail).
Of particular interest in Rewind 4Ever, the luminaries discuss the scene toward the end of the millennium going into the new century. At this point the music had evolved, the audience was far wider and it was becoming more main-stream. Groups like Artful Dodger and So Solid Crew were in the heady heights at the top of the music charts, whilst the music found a mass audience on stations like Radio 1 thanks to guys like DJ Spoony. With the increase in exposure and great deals of money being thrown at acts, many of the originators felt the music had lost some of its purity. Whilst a lot of violence around the time hit the headlines and was directly attributed to the Garage scene, because of an element, that before it had become main-stream, it didn’t attract.
The uninitiated will certainly recognise a few faces and a few tracks here. The film maintains interest throughout its runtime, again largely due to the passion with which it is made by Lawton and from the contributors who talk with great fondness about the music they made and loved.
Rewind 4Ever is due for release on July 15th on iTunes and Tesco Blink Box. Further releases on Love Film, Google Play and Sony Unlimited Entertainment will follow later in the summer. Garage enthusiasts will lap this up, whilst general music fans will surely appreciate what is a fascinating chronicling.
Tom Jolliffe
Originally published June 21, 2013. Updated April 11, 2018.
