Welcome to English Disco Lovers (EDL)

UPCOMING:

07/10/2015: The English Disco Lovers return to Exeter's Cavern Club for a night of classic disco in aid of worthy causes! This time we'll be supporting MOAS (Migrant Offshore Aid Station). Tickets available here!

Alex speaking at TEDxHackney



The English Disco Lovers movement aims to reclaim and redefine the much hated EDL-acronym. We humorously subvert the three letters, drawing on the positivity of the Disco music genre and the history of Disco as a haven for minorities. The movement looks to tackle Islamophobia and racism in an engaging and unusual way, by spreading a message of equality through music and dance.

We have counter-demonstrated against the English Defence League on multiple occasions. Dressed in afro wigs, sequinned tops and flares, we turn up the disco tunes and tell the English Defence League to, “Go! Walk out the door! Turn now, you’re not welcome anymore!” Our counter-demos have taken place in London, Brighton, Bristol, Manchester, Cambridge, Newcastle and more.

Since the group's inception we have amassed over 60,000 Facebook likes, 10,000 Twitter followers and Google-bombed the search term 'EDL'. We've performed at Glastonbury, Shambala, Kendal Calling and Playgroup Festivals - spreading our “Don't Hate! Gyrate!” message. We were shortlisted for the National Diversity Awards 2013. The English Disco Lovers have even been featured in a music video, which was nominated for the UK Music Video Awards and received support from Nile Rodgers! 

"The English Disco Lovers' deployment of wit and fun as weapons against belligerent xenophobia is a fine tribute to disco's subversive utopian vision." Dorian Lynskey, The Guardian

"Daft Punk and others may have made disco the sound of the summer, but this EDL are making the genre about more than just getting lucky." Oliver Keens, Time Out London

"In the hands of the increasingly weighty English Disco Lovers, disco is a tool for inciting socio-political change – all whilst wearing funky flares and a mile-wide smile." Ben Lovett, Defected News