1988

JULY

In the summer of 1988 whilst holidaying in Tenerife, Murray Beetson and Richard Clark (DJ Clarkee) had a chance meeting with Craig Campbell. Craig, also from Northampton, had been organising small parties at the Roadmender in Northampton under the name of ESP, which the pair had visited on many occasions and loved. Murray – with his charm and massive personality – instantly clicked with Craig and soon the talk was how he could help Craig with making ESP bigger and better.

1989

Upon returning back to the UK, Murray went on the search for a suitable venue where they could hold regular events. Castaways (later changing it's name to Milwaukees) was a small club on the outskirts of a village called Souldrop in the Bedfordshire countryside, about 5 miles from Rushden.
The venue was perfect, and due to rural location there was no noise restrictions. It had a low ceiling so it was hot in there and that made it a sweat box, but hundreds of ravers would travel there every fortnight see and listen to resident DJs Clarkee, Dougal, Matersafe and Swanee and guest artist like Carl Cox, Jumping Jack Frost, Frankie Valentine and Grooverider to name but a few.

1990

JULY

You had to get there early for a chance to get in, ravers would start queuing at 7 in the evening before the doors opened at 9pm. Those who went to Milwaaukees will also have great memories of that Cerwin Vega Sound System, which was so loud when the bass kicked in you could feel your chest vibrate. It was incredibly tribal and the atmosphere was electric. This was the humble beginning and start of one of the most successful and influential rave organisations of our time. After a short period Craig decided he wanted to pursue other ventures and left ESP, giving Murray full control.

1991

AUGUST

ESP was fast out growing Milwaukees and with ravers being turned away each week due to the limited capacity, it was time to find a bigger venue. Murray set up a meeting with Tarquin De Meza from Weekend World and this was the big break he was looking for. It was agreed that ESP and Weekend World would co-promote a 15,000 capacity open air rave called 'Heaven on Earth' at Brafield Stadium (a stock car racing track just outside Northampton).
Those who remember that event will never forget that massive inflatable octopus over the main stage, or the huge planet Earth in the middle of the crowd. 'Heaven on Earth' was voted the best Rave of 1991 by Mixmag readers poll. Always keen to learn from his peers, Murray took on board all this experience and his next project would be one of the biggest contributions to rave history, The Sanctuary dance complex in Milton Keynes and Dreamscape was born.

1991

DECEMBER

Always keen to learn from his peers, Murray took on board all this experience and his next project would be one the biggest contribution to rave history, The Sanctuary dance complex in Milton Keynes and Dreamscape was born.
When Murray  first came across this venue it only had a legal capacity of 400, he knew it would make a legendary dance venue but he wanted a 4000 person capacity to give it that true warehouse feeling. Out of his own pocket he paid for extra fire exits to be constructed so that the capacity could be increased and making the Sanctuary a mecca for ravers and their second home. If you went raving during 1991-2002 then you were probably one of the millions that went through those great glass doors.
The result was the birth of Dreamscape – and along with it perhaps the most iconic rave flyer of all time.

1992

DECEMBER

The success of the Sanctuary events saw a collaboration up north with Dreamscape 5 hosted at Evolution in Hull. An old converted City Centre department store with over 40,000 sq ft over two floors saw 20 of the country's top DJs and MCs and 5000 ravers unite north and south.

1993

AUGUST

With the Sanctuary events selling out every time and the Dreamscape's name getting bigger, Murray soon set the bar even higher. He was going to organise the first 3-day dance festival for 30,000 people which featured 60 of the world's best artists and DJs playing 37 hours of non-stop music. Billed as "Woodstock 2" this would have been the ravers version of that famous 60's festival. All the preparations were in place, the location Fenn Farm in Milton Keynes was booked, all artists confirmed and all the production ready with a staggering 500,000 A2 (4x the size of A4 photo copying paper) flyers printed.

1993

AUGUST

Tens of thousand of pounds had already been spent on what would of have been the greatest rave of all time. The entertainments license which at first was refused on it's application, was later granted on appeal at the magistrates courts. The ticket price for the whole weekend was a unbelievable £33.00 and sales were going well, over half had already been sold with 6 weeks til the event. But something didn't feel right, Murray became increasing concerned about the behaviour of his financial backer and fearing that he was going to do a runner with all the ticket money, Murray had no choice but to cancel Woodstock 2.

1993

NOVEMBER

To protect his reputation and all the hard work building Dreamscape, Murray refunded all the monies for tickets already purchased and honoured all deposits for production, print, advertisements and artists from his own packet. This was one of the lowest point of his career, financially broke, he took on his biggest gamble yet. Not knowing how much damage "Woodstock 2" had done to the Dreamscape's name or even if anyone would attend another one of his raves, Murray convinced the Sanctuary to let him host another rave there with the proviso that he would pay them after the event. All his fears were soon forgotten, Dreamscape 7 "Back to our Roots" sold out within 2 weeks of the flyer release.

1993

DECEMBER

The love for Dreamscape was not just still there but bigger than ever. Murray later pioneered the multi arena concept at the Sanctuary first adding Rollers and then the go-kart track increasing the capacity to 10,000 people.

1995

SEPTEMBER

In 1995 Murray returned to Brafield Stadium for the Dreamscape 20  "The Big Outdoors" for 20,000 ravers with huge success and great reviews. This was the pinnacle and crowning moment of Murray's career.

1995

DECEMBER

Dreamscape 21 — New years eve 1995 — The Sanctuary vs Shepton Mallet. Murray gave us the first live satellite link between the Sanctuary and Shepton Mallet on New years eve 1995 and setting the standard for others to follow. However, it was to be Murray's last event. No one could have predicted what happened next. On 16th March 1996 just before midnight Murray was involved in a car accident in his Porsche with another car less than a mile from his home. Due to his injuries he sadly passed away the following day. This shocked and left the rave community in mourning over the loss of a great man. The funeral service was at the church opposite his local pub and it was packed with family, friends, artists and well wishers.

1996

APRIL

With their mentor now gone Dreamscape was in limbo and unsure of the which direction to take. Dreamscape 22 at Shepton Mallet was already scheduled for April with flyers out and DJ's confirmed. They regrettably canceled the event so they could mourn the lost of their friend. Dreamscape 22 was rescheduled for July and re-named Dreamscape 22 "The living Dream" in memory of Murray and returned to the Sanctuary where it all started. The event was a sellout and was one of the noisiest event for a long time with whistles and horns going off all night and everyone having a wicked night, Murray would have been proud.

1996

Still grieving over the loss of her partner and fiance Stacey Heath who had helped Murray build the Dreamscape name from the beginning and experienced all the highs and lows throughout that period felt she could no longer give the company the 100% it needed or commanded as the biggest rave organisation at the time. She wanted Dreamscape to carry on giving enjoyment to all it's loyal supporters. So she decided it was best to sell it. Steve Foster had worked with Dreamscape for many years producing the tape packs and merchandise for them and was the perfect candidate, as he knew the company well.