Illegal House Parties And Secret Raves – Lockdown 2 Is Looking Very Different

Last month, Nina’s* 14 friends started arriving at the Airbnb she had rented in Belfast for her 30th birthday. They flew in from Liverpool (which was under the strictest Tier Three restrictions), London (which was under Tier Two), Croatia (from where you had to self-isolate when you arrived in the UK) and Greece. Despite a ban on ‘unnecessary travel’ and indoor mixing of households in Belfast, the group hugged and started partying. The drink- and drug-fuelled celebration continued into the early hours, with more joining on Saturday, taking the group up to 17.

‘There were a lot of people from a lot of countries, which is the naughtiest bit I reckon,’ says Nina. ‘I planned it ages ago and I was constantly talking to the group to see if people still felt comfortable to go ahead. Everyone wanted to. The only thing hanging over us was the fact the neighbours might hear, but I might have had that paranoia anyway, without it being about the police coming because we’re in lockdown. Other than that, it felt like normal times... although we made sure only two cars were parked in the driveway, we didn’t put anything on social media and went to Tesco two at a time.’

If history has taught us anything, it’s that prohibition doesn’t work. Make fun illegal and people will find a way to defy the rules. The ban on selling alcohol in 1920s America only pushed drinking underground to the glitz and glamour of the speakeasies. Now, the 21st-century speakeasy is that secret party in your friend’s house – with the blinds down and noInstagram stories to document it.

In lockdown 1.0, many of us stuck to the rules, didn’t see our friends and only opened the door to the postman, before swiftly hosing down our letters in anti-bac. But lockdown 2.0 has seen patience wear thin and frustration boil over, leaving the dial on our moral compass swinging somewhere between ‘protect thy neighbour’ and ‘what’s another tequila slammer off the chest of my friend’s ex?’

Prime Minister Boris Johnson was on to something when he said last month that compliance with the virus restrictions had been ‘high at first’ but then ‘probably... everybody got a bit, kind of complacent and blasé’. In Smithdown, a student area of Liverpool, Hannah*, 20, says young people are wising up to new rules for parties in the Covid era. ‘You can get away with anything if your house has a basement,’ she says. ‘Semi-detached houses are good too. We make sure we stagger arrivals and don’t do fancy dress any more.’

Hannah is in her second year and she and many of her friends have already had the virus and assume they have antibodies. There have been a number of parties since term started in September, including one with over 60 people after Liverpool had moved into Tier Three.

‘I was at the top of the house with friends and someone downstairs shouted “police”. Everyone hid in bedrooms and we heard them busting open all the doors, working their way up the house. There were 20 police and the nine people who live in the house were fined £100 each. We all had to leave. I don’t blame the police, I know they don’t want to be doing this. But restrictions aren’t going to stop parties, they’re just going to make them more secretive. I see on Instagram that loads are still happening.’

Hannah says she knows businesses aren’t sticking to rules either. When restrictions meant you could only buy drinks with a meal, many of her friends were served alcohol after they had finished food in bars and pubs. ‘Venues are turning a blind eye, probably because they’re desperate and struggling,’ she adds.

For some, the thrill of the illicit is part of the fun and people will always find their way around the rules. In the ’80s and ’90s, raves were officially forbidden – but it didn’t stop them happening. So when faced with a disease that is unlikely to cause you serious harm if you’re young and healthy, it’s unsurprising young people’s desire to have a good time can only be quelled for so long. We have, however, already seen the virus spread to older sections of the population when social distancing is relaxed.

Restrictionsdidn’t dampen Sabina’s* 32nd birthday celebrations at the end of September. She had a 12-strong party in her east London flat at a time when only six people were allowed to meet indoors. She feels the ban is an infringement on civil liberties. ‘I comply in shops and on the Tube, but I find it absurd the state can tell me what to do inside my home,’ she says. ‘I sent a message around my friends before the party saying it was up to them to do what they felt comfortable with. I treat my friends like adults, which I don’t think the Government is doing.’ She thinks the rules are out of proportion. ‘You can’t live life without risks. But we’re treating it as if our health is so paramount it exceeds everything else. I care about passing it on to vulnerable people so I’m careful outside and I wear a mask, but these restrictions are more at home in totalitarian countries.’

When it comes to why some people are breaking the rules, behavioural psychologist Martin Lindstrom says three factors are at play, one of which is that we are dependent on a sense of touch. ‘By suppressing touch, we are suppressing our sense of belonging, which is so inherent in all of us,’ he says.

He also explains we live in tribes, which we have suddenly become excluded from. ‘We are losing our connection to others. People of course want to break the rules and reconnect with their tribe.’ The cherry on the cake is that we are a generation who have never been told ‘no’ before. ‘Now it’s “no” and so people are rebelling. It is the combination of these three things that overrides any sense of logic.’

Nina thinks the restrictions might actually encourage people to party more. ‘If anything, we stayed up later, drank more and did more drugs than we would have done had bars and pubs been open and we had all been kicked out at 2am.’

Generally, people in Liverpool are so fed up now that there’s a sense of solidarity, Hannah explains. ‘So many people feel so hard done by. All my summer events were cancelled, we’re paying £9k a year for an online course. Partying is our “just let us have this”. It’s going to keep happening.’

Sabina hopes more underground parties, bars and a new rave scene continue to emerge. ‘A lot of my friends started off taking lockdown really seriously. Now I know about three people sticking to the rules,’ she says.

‘My party felt really relaxed, but it was always on my mind,’ she adds. ‘It’s not like you can forget or be totally normal right now. My boyfriend and I had to discuss what we’d do if the police came and made sure no one loitered in the corridors or outside. But I’d 100% do it again.’

Whether it’s drinking, drugs or raves, the hedonism of youth culture always finds its own outlet. In 2020, the new illegal high turns out to be surreptitiously hanging out with all of your friends.

Download Martin Lindstrom Travel Truth and Lies Unmasked at intertek.com/protek-ebook

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