--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I was only 14 when I started playing the…" description: "\"I was only 14 when I started playing the east London rave scene. At the time, I was so captivated by everything. I didn't ever wanna progress out of th..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d8/charli-xcx-1863_east-london_i-was-only-14-when-i-started-playing-the_2779415.jpg" --- # I was only 14 when I started playing the east London rave… ![“I was only 14 when I started playing the east London rave scene. At the time, I was so captivated by everything. I didn't ever wanna progress out of that scene.” quote by Charli XCX](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d8/charli-xcx-1863_east-london_i-was-only-14-when-i-started-playing-the_2779415.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d8/charli-xcx-1863_east-london_i-was-only-14-when-i-started-playing-the_2779415.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d8/charli-xcx-1863_east-london_i-was-only-14-when-i-started-playing-the_2779415.jpg) > “I was only 14 when I started playing the east London rave scene. At the time, I was so captivated by everything. I didn't ever wanna progress out of that scene.” [Charli XCX](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charli-xcx/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A youthful immersion in a vibrant subculture can feel all‑consuming and defining. **In simple terms:** Teenage rave scene felt irresistible. Key Takeaway Embrace passions but stay open to growth. Themes identity culture growth music youth Mood nostalgic reflective Type personal cultural When to use this quote - nightlife - personal development - creative inspiration Key Concepts subcultural immersion identity formation Questions to Reflect On - How can you balance immersion with broader horizons? - What signs show you’re outgrowing a scene? A Different Perspective Risk of becoming trapped in a single identity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [East london](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/east-london/) [London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/london/) [Progress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/progress/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [When I finally turned 18, I started to wonder if rave was now different to what it was and whether I'd missed out on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/becky-hill/when-i-finally-turned-18-i-started-to-wonder-if-rave-was-now/) [Becky Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/becky-hill/) > [I got introduced to the rave scene in 1992. At the time I was into skateboarding; I listened to a little hip-hop but was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pedro-winter/i-got-introduced-to-the-rave-scene-in-1992-at-the-time-i-was-into/) [Pedro Winter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pedro-winter/) > [I mean, I'd love to see 'The Woman in Black' in the Nineties on the rave scene!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phoebe-fox/i-mean-i-d-love-to-see-the-woman-in-black-in-the-nineties-on-the-rave/) [Phoebe Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phoebe-fox/) > [I'm really, really into the rave scene and just kind of how people come together and how it's just music and just love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerli/i-m-really-really-into-the-rave-scene-and-just-kind-of-how-people/) [Kerli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerli/) > [“happiness would confirm that the combination of physical synchrony with other humans and being part of something bigger than oneself (and thus losing momentarily…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-hsieh/happiness-would-confirm-that-the-combination-of-physical-synchrony/) [Tony Hsieh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-hsieh/) > [I grew up in southeast London and there's a lot of brutalist architecture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-herron/i-grew-up-in-southeast-london-and-there-s-a-lot-of-brutalist/) [Kate Herron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-herron/) > [I love driving around east London - it's always full of surprises. Actually, I don't drive myself - I like to be driven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zaha-hadid/i-love-driving-around-east-london-it-s-always-full-of-surprises/) [Zaha Hadid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zaha-hadid/) > [I have the tools to climb the mountain so I don't mind climbing mountains. I have climbed mountains since I was growing up in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-campbell/i-have-the-tools-to-climb-the-mountain-so-i-don-t-mind-climbing/) [Sol Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-campbell/) > [Every household down my road in Peckham, south-east London, stunk of deep-fat frying and I'm sure every working-class home around the country was the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregg-wallace/every-household-down-my-road-in-peckham-south-east-london-stunk-of/) [Gregg Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregg-wallace/) > [I was an only child. Both my parents came from working-class families in Hackney, east London.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-robinson/i-was-an-only-child-both-my-parents-came-from-working-class-families/) [Tony Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-robinson/) > [We've grown up with American movies. Not to say that American movies - or movies that have been based in Watts, Compton, or Inglewood…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-boyega/we-ve-grown-up-with-american-movies-not-to-say-that-american-movies/) [John Boyega](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-boyega/) > [Perhaps it is no surprise I became an entertainer because many of my relatives were natural performers. Dad, who had a fine pair of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-lynn/perhaps-it-is-no-surprise-i-became-an-entertainer-because-many-of-my/) [Vera Lynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-lynn/) > [It is white. - when asked what the White house was like by a student in East London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/it-is-white-when-asked-what-the-white-house-was-like-by-a-student-in/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [When I was visiting the U.K. as a teenager in 2006, I got lost in an East London market.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-ngo/when-i-was-visiting-the-u-k-as-a-teenager-in-2006-i-got-lost-in-an/) [Andy Ngo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-ngo/) > [I've always loved collecting arts and crafts - I have pieces by Charles Rennie Mackintosh and William Morris at home in east London.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-anderson/i-ve-always-loved-collecting-arts-and-crafts-i-have-pieces-by-charles/) [Jonathan Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-anderson/) ## More by Charli XCX > [The first show I did with Coldplay was really scary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charli-xcx/the-first-show-i-did-with-coldplay-was-really-scary/) [Charli XCX](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charli-xcx/) > [Females should stand by each other, especially in an industry which seems to try so hard to pin us up against each other and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charli-xcx/females-should-stand-by-each-other-especially-in-an-industry-which/) [Charli XCX](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charli-xcx/) > [I always think about fashion when it comes to making music and music videos... what the colours will look like, what the material will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charli-xcx/i-always-think-about-fashion-when-it-comes-to-making-music-and-music/) [Charli XCX](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charli-xcx/) > [Pop music is getting so emo. It's great. Emotional girl for life. I see myself in the centre of that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charli-xcx/pop-music-is-getting-so-emo-it-s-great-emotional-girl-for-life-i-see/) [Charli XCX](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charli-xcx/) > [I wrote a song for Icona Pop which boosted my confidence quite a lot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charli-xcx/i-wrote-a-song-for-icona-pop-which-boosted-my-confidence-quite-a-lot/) [Charli XCX](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charli-xcx/) > [I just want people to feel the emotion that's in the record. For me it's very raw and beautiful, I guess it's kind of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charli-xcx/i-just-want-people-to-feel-the-emotion-that-s-in-the-record-for-me-it/) [Charli XCX](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charli-xcx/) > [When I got signed, I had just turned 16. I felt like I had to continuously have these confrontations with older men who were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charli-xcx/when-i-got-signed-i-had-just-turned-16-i-felt-like-i-had-to/) [Charli XCX](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charli-xcx/) > [From the moment I stepped into this industry, I've always had to fight for my ideas and for my voice to be heard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charli-xcx/from-the-moment-i-stepped-into-this-industry-i-ve-always-had-to-fight/) [Charli XCX](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charli-xcx/) > [To be honest, for me, my main workout is when I'm on stage. Even though I make pop music, I don't think I perform…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charli-xcx/to-be-honest-for-me-my-main-workout-is-when-i-m-on-stage-even-though/) [Charli XCX](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charli-xcx/) > [I don't want to be a pop star. I want to be a nursery-rhyme star!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charli-xcx/i-don-t-want-to-be-a-pop-star-i-want-to-be-a-nursery-rhyme-star/) [Charli XCX](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charli-xcx/) > [I've wanted to write good pop music, beautiful pop music - not just throwaways. I've always wanted to make it sound luscious and beautiful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charli-xcx/i-ve-wanted-to-write-good-pop-music-beautiful-pop-music-not-just/) [Charli XCX](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charli-xcx/) > [I had this dream to be a rapper when I was younger.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charli-xcx/i-had-this-dream-to-be-a-rapper-when-i-was-younger/) [Charli XCX](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charli-xcx/) > [I started writing my own things when I was about 8. I used to try to bully my friends into imitating the Spice Girls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charli-xcx/i-started-writing-my-own-things-when-i-was-about-8-i-used-to-try-to/) [Charli XCX](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charli-xcx/) > [I've always played it my way. I failed media training, for example.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charli-xcx/i-ve-always-played-it-my-way-i-failed-media-training-for-example/) [Charli XCX](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charli-xcx/) > [My one thing is respect. I don't care about anything else. You should respect everyone around you - the people who work for you,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charli-xcx/my-one-thing-is-respect-i-don-t-care-about-anything-else-you-should/) [Charli XCX](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charli-xcx/) [Explore all 203 Charli XCX quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charli-xcx/) ## More East london quotes > [I grew up in southeast London and there's a lot of brutalist architecture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-herron/i-grew-up-in-southeast-london-and-there-s-a-lot-of-brutalist/) [Kate Herron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-herron/) > [I was an only child. Both my parents came from working-class families in Hackney, east London.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-robinson/i-was-an-only-child-both-my-parents-came-from-working-class-families/) [Tony Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-robinson/) > [Every household down my road in Peckham, south-east London, stunk of deep-fat frying and I'm sure every working-class home around the country was the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregg-wallace/every-household-down-my-road-in-peckham-south-east-london-stunk-of/) [Gregg Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregg-wallace/) > [I have the tools to climb the mountain so I don't mind climbing mountains. I have climbed mountains since I was growing up in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-campbell/i-have-the-tools-to-climb-the-mountain-so-i-don-t-mind-climbing/) [Sol Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-campbell/) > [I love driving around east London - it's always full of surprises. Actually, I don't drive myself - I like to be driven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zaha-hadid/i-love-driving-around-east-london-it-s-always-full-of-surprises/) [Zaha Hadid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zaha-hadid/) > [Perhaps it is no surprise I became an entertainer because many of my relatives were natural performers. Dad, who had a fine pair of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-lynn/perhaps-it-is-no-surprise-i-became-an-entertainer-because-many-of-my/) [Vera Lynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-lynn/) > [We've grown up with American movies. Not to say that American movies - or movies that have been based in Watts, Compton, or Inglewood…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-boyega/we-ve-grown-up-with-american-movies-not-to-say-that-american-movies/) [John Boyega](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-boyega/) > [I've always loved collecting arts and crafts - I have pieces by Charles Rennie Mackintosh and William Morris at home in east London.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-anderson/i-ve-always-loved-collecting-arts-and-crafts-i-have-pieces-by-charles/) [Jonathan Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-anderson/) > [It is white. - when asked what the White house was like by a student in East London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/it-is-white-when-asked-what-the-white-house-was-like-by-a-student-in/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [When I was visiting the U.K. as a teenager in 2006, I got lost in an East London market.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-ngo/when-i-was-visiting-the-u-k-as-a-teenager-in-2006-i-got-lost-in-an/) [Andy Ngo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-ngo/) > [It's a weird thing, beards now. I'll be in east London, and lads come up to me: 'Yo man, what beard oil do you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rag-n-bone-man/it-s-a-weird-thing-beards-now-i-ll-be-in-east-london-and-lads-come-up/) [Rag'n'Bone Man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rag-n-bone-man/) > [“You realise that people actually have to live in among all this and that east London is the bill, the tab that these cunts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-niven/you-realise-that-people-actually-have-to-live-in-among-all-this-and/) [John Niven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-niven/) > ['Chewing Gum' is a sitcom set on an estate in east London. Its central character is a girl from a Pentecostal background who decides…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michaela-coel/chewing-gum-is-a-sitcom-set-on-an-estate-in-east-london-its-central/) [Michaela Coel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michaela-coel/) > [“Smoke curls among the ruins of East London. Many of the buildings have burned to the ground or split like exploded rocks. Small lights…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-owen-theobald/smoke-curls-among-the-ruins-of-east-london-many-of-the-buildings-have/) [John Owen Theobald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-owen-theobald/) > [I was ecstatic when we won - to host the Olympics is one of the biggest opportunities in living memory. It will help change…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-coe/i-was-ecstatic-when-we-won-to-host-the-olympics-is-one-of-the-biggest/) [Sebastian Coe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-coe/) [Browse all 53 East london quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/east-london/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I was only 14 when I started playing the east London rave scene. At the time, I was so captivated by everything. I didn't ever wanna progress out of that scene.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Charli XCX" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charli-xcx/i-was-only-14-when-i-started-playing-the-east-london-rave-scene-at/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "East london" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charli-xcx/i-was-only-14-when-i-started-playing-the-east-london-rave-scene-at/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d8/charli-xcx-1863_east-london_i-was-only-14-when-i-started-playing-the_2779415.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d8/charli-xcx-1863_east-london_i-was-only-14-when-i-started-playing-the_2779415.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d8/charli-xcx-1863_east-london_i-was-only-14-when-i-started-playing-the_2779415.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I was only 14 when I started playing the east London rave scene. At the time, I was so captivated by…” — Charli XCX", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Charli XCX", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charli-xcx/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I was only 14 when I...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charli-xcx/i-was-only-14-when-i-started-playing-the-east-london-rave-scene-at/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charli-xcx/i-was-only-14-when-i-started-playing-the-east-london-rave-scene-at/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```