Altern 8
Altern 8, the Stafford-formed English act of Mark Archer and Chris Peat, built its reputation on major unofficial outdoor rave events in the UK after forming as a side project to Nexus 21 in 1990, becoming known for chemical-warfare suits and dust masks at shows such as their 1991 car-park performance outside Shelley's nightclub in Stoke-on-Trent. After Peat left in 1994, Archer continued performing and DJing under the Altern 8 name, later mixing the 2001 compilation “Old Skool Euphoria” for the Euphoria series as a DJ mix album under the Altern 8 pseudonym. Their material was released through Network Records, including the “Overload EP” in 1990 and “Full On... Mask Hysteria” in 1992, alongside releases on ZYX Records and Virgin Records America, with singles including “Activ 8,” “Evapor 8,” and “Frequency” charting in the UK Top 10 and Top 50. The act experienced a live resurgence from 2014 onward, headlining Bang Face Weekender at Pontins Southport in 2020 just before the pandemic paused large UK events, and released the new track “Hard Crew” that November in support of the #WeAreViable campaign.