The rave scene of the 1980s was linked at least in part to rebellion against Margaret Thatcher’s Tory government. That much is obvious. And during the early years of house music in the UK, the authorities were desperate to find ways to close the whole thing down,

They failed, of course – I wouldn’t be here writing about this today if they’d won. But this mindset, which made sense in that era, is deeply rooted in many clubbers today. And right now, all you have to do is look to Scotland for the perfect example.

This Saturday, an event was due to take place in Edinburgh with Patrick Topping’s Trick outfit. However, anyone watching the news this week has no doubt noticed a huge drive to increase the booster jab programme – after Boris Johnson opened the programme up to all over 18s in England last weekend, the three other nations in the UK have had to bolster their efforts too.

The Royal Highland Centre is currently being used as a vaccination centre. Originally, the venue was meant to be vacated on Tuesday so that they would have time to get set up for the weekend – but the change of circumstances prompted Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon to declare the rave “was no longer appropriate, because we want to increase the facilities for vaccination”.

I can understand the disappointment of clubbers who were looking forward to letting their hair down on Saturday. But anyone who seriously believes that a rave is more important than the vaccine booster programme is an idiot. There’s simply no other way to put this.

So why this mindset? Well, it’s pretty simple. A disproportionate number of clubbers, DJs and the like are very much into their conspiracy theories. They think that this is an attempt, just like the Tories attempted in the late 80s and early 90s, to stop them from having fun. The fact a public health emergency is ongoing evades them – sometimes deliberately.

If Trick had any sense at all, they would have written that they were disappointed they wouldn’t be able to go ahead on Saturday, but would also have agreed with the decision the vaccine programme – at a time when Christmas and a potentially huge rise in cases is just around the corner – was given priority. They did not – and I can’t help but think there’s something to be read into this.

Perhaps part of Trick’s boss Patrick Topping’s reluctance to say anything further is despair. I’m reliably told this event has now been rescheduled no less than five times. So a sense at frustration at the ongoing situation might be understandable…

Update ar 3pm: Patrick Topping has now posted some words himself, saying “the venue has an important role to play continuing as a vaccine centre”. His comments section hasn’t been raided by anti-vaxxers – yet…