Romford exhibition charts suburb’s rise as a 1990s dance music hub
A new exhibition in Romford traces how the outer London suburb became a major hub for 1990s underground dance music. Its story centres on Boogie Times, a record shop opened by Danny Donnelly in 1989, which helped connect local ravers and DJs with the rapidly growing demand for house and rave records.
Romford’s scene grew alongside pirate radio, local parties and nights such as Culture Shock at the Hollywood nightclub, where DJs including Danny Rampling and Darren Emerson introduced energetic house music to mainstream club-goers. The exhibition, titled *Mega Mega: Romford’s Suburban Sound Revolution*, takes its name from Underworld’s 1995 track “Born Slippy”, which famously invokes the town. The supplied article text ends part-way through its account of DJ Uncle Dugs.
In short
- Romford became a hub for 1990s underground dance music.
- Boogie Times helped supply records to local ravers and DJs.
- A new exhibition charts the suburb’s musical history.
Explained simply
In the late 1980s and 1990s, house and rave music spread through clubs, parties and record shops across Britain. Romford, an outer London suburb, developed a local scene linked to this wider underground movement.
Record shops such as Boogie Times, opened by Danny Donnelly in 1989, connected local DJs and ravers with new dance records. Pirate radio and club nights, including Culture Shock at the Hollywood nightclub, also helped bring the music to local audiences.
DJs including Danny Rampling and Darren Emerson played at Culture Shock, while Underworld’s 1995 track “Born Slippy” gave Romford a place in dance music’s popular imagination. The exhibition explores how these shops, broadcasters, DJs and venues shaped the suburb’s role in the era.
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Originally published by The Guardian as “Mega mega mega, going back to Romford! How an outer London suburb became a metropolis for 90s dance music”.