Star of BBC 3 documentary and Britain’s best known ‘sober raver’ makes first trip to Scotland
Renowned raver and all-round music lover Mr Bradley Gunn, who has Asperger’s syndrome, will make his first trip north of the border tomorrow (Tuesday 24th October) to do what he loves most at one of Edinburgh’s favourite weekly parties, Hectors at Cabaret Voltaire.
A software developer by day, the 21-year-old Bristolian has made a name for himself across the country for his love of music and is regularly flown around the world to attend raves. Known as the ‘sober raver’, Bradley loves to dance for hours on end purely for the enjoyment of the music and for the way it makes him feel.
The subject of a BBC 3 documentary, Bradley fuels his raving with water alone and despite some pre-conceptions about the rave culture he wants to encourage more people to dance and to be themselves. At a typical rave, Bradley will cover the equivalent of a marathon and a half, around 60,000 steps. The furthest he has raved is 42 miles and he hopes to beat his record soon.
Asperger’s is a form of autism, which affects one in 100 people in the UK. The condition can leave many people feeling socially isolated and Bradley attributes raving to increasing his self-confidence. He said: “Raving gave me the ability to do my own thing. Before I was very bad at social situations, but once I started raving that all changed.”
Hectors has run every Tuesday at the Cabaret Voltaire in the Cowgate since May 2012. Having been voted Edinburgh’s favourite club night (The Tab), as well as Red Bull Music naming it one of the best parties in the UK, the weekly event has welcomed influential artists such as UK rave/club pioneers, Danny Rampling, Terry Farley, and Graeme Park (who hails from Aberdeen); Scottish dance music legends, Harri & Domenic; the number two DJ in the world, Jackmaster; the female voice of house music, Jocelyn Brown; the French ambassador of house and disco, Dimitri from Paris; the musical national icon of South Africa, Black Coffee; and the man who brought electronic music to Scotland in the mid-to-late 1980s, Yogi Haughton.
Commenting ahead of his Scotland debut, Bradley said: “I’m really looking forward to my first time in Scotland and to experience their rave scene.”
Luke Anderson, the Edinburgh-based promoter who is bringing Bradley to the Scottish capital, said: “We pride ourselves on originality and have secured a number of Scotland and Edinburgh debut performances from various DJs and artists over the past 5 years, but this is arguably our most unique feat to date! We’re excited to welcome Bradley north of the border for the first time and to show him what goes down on Blair Street each and every Tuesday.”
VIDEO: BBC 3 Documentary www.youtube.com/watch?v=eSx_
Bradley Gunn Raver will be at Hectors this Tuesday (24th October) at Cabaret Voltaire, Edinburgh. Doors open at 11am and entry is free on the guestlist until 11.30am.
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