A third of nightclubs have shut since the start of the pandemic says report
https://www.standard.co.uk/business/nightclubs-bars-restaurants-casinos-competitive-socialising-late-night-drinking-b1210100.html
Posted by tylerthe-theatre
A third of nightclubs have shut since the start of the pandemic says report
https://www.standard.co.uk/business/nightclubs-bars-restaurants-casinos-competitive-socialising-late-night-drinking-b1210100.html
Posted by tylerthe-theatre
31 Comments
The majority of nightclubs with names like Destiny, Kudos, and Oceana were shit anyway. They were just a place to carry on drinking and try your luck. What with the younger generation not drinking as much, and having other options on how to hookup the shittier ones were bound to struggle.
Always hated clubbing. Even in my 20s, (I’m 38 now)I felt obliged to go as it was the done thing to do.
Was glad when my mates graduated to sitting in a pub relaxing.
Edit I imagine increasing costs of booze and taxis home mean that it’s unsustainable anyway.
Cost of a night out is now insane. A lot of people don’t have the money for it anymore.
That image is Printworks, the best nightclub I have ever been to in the UK. Hopefully it will be back open next year.
People are drinking less, clubs are expensive and a lot of them are shit. Doesn’t take a genius to work out why they might be closing. Specialised venues that people actually want to visit will always exist.
Also Printworks only closed because of the desire to redevelop the land. It could 100% still operate as a profitable venue because it was an incredibly popular, incredibly fun club with an international reputation. It was a blueprint for what clubs should be, and when the owners open the new place that will also be successful. This is because fundamentally the owners know what they’re doing, whereas a lot of club owners don’t.
More like the shit ones that had been sustained for years only by a general desire to “go to a club because that’s what you do on a Saturday night” have been weeded out. The ones that survive will be the ones that are actually great nights out.
Five years from now, once the market has evened out and isn’t oversaturated, we’ll probably be hearing about how we’re living through a golden age of night clubs.
Just popping in to say I hated clubbing and glad they are closing… Actually I love it. What sad sack logs on to moan like that…
I’m sure people will not miss provincial clubs but it would be good to loosen pub hours to allow later drinking. There also needs to be an overhaul of nightlife as there are few smaller venues for bands or more esoteric nights. While I do enjoy IKEA… sorry Drumsheds that kind of scale should be the exception not the rule. There needs to be a range of spaces to aid music both DJed and live. We used to lead the world musically and it’s all being pissed away now.
Clubs were only big because of the rave scene( drugs have since become unpopular) and to go on the pull( tinder made this redundant).
Lol at the people who haven’t been invited out in years crying that clubs were always shit.
I’m not surprised.
Young people drink less and it’s so expensive to go out anyway. I’d much rather grab dinner and 1 or 2 drinks for the same price as a night out
They’re all copies of the exact same place anyway I’m sure more will spawn.
I miss having metal clubs near me :/
As I said on this topic before, stop hiring dickhead police rejects as bouncers, and stop charging £20 for the privilege of walking over sticky carpets and grimy dancefloors to listen to the same chart music that’s played in shopping centres.
I think the more niche venues, and the ones that actually host dedicated acts, will survive because they have a genuine USP. But the ones where the ‘DJ’ is just Darren with a Spotify playlist will struggle as tastes change. With alcohol consumption falling among younger generations, it seems that the generic provincial nightclubs are simply losing their raison d’être.
Nightclubs (15 years ago) were a place to get cheap drinks and hookup. Nowadays, drinks are expensive and people hookup on Tinder.
So what are nightclubs good for now?
One thing I want is rock/metal clubs to be normal. The ones that played Top 40 stuff were OK when I was 18 and only clubbing for the drinks and socialising. Now I want a club that reflects my musical taste and attracts like-minded people.
Looking back, I had lots of good nights out when I was at uni, however the people made up for the list of cookie-cutter clubs that only differed in what offer was on that night. Clubbing was more about the pre-drinks in Spoons and the cheesy chips/4am Dominos than it was about the specific club we went to. It was cheap too. People are going to be more discerning now the cost of a night out is at least four times what it was a decade ago. The nightclubs that survive will be the ones who can offer something better than a discount DJ and cheap shots.
If the clubs were like Night City clubs then I’d probably care.
Said this/ranted about it before –
Many of them aren’t “proper” nightclubs with third party promoters booking proper touring DJs and selling tickets for specific nights. These types of clubs/venues are thriving. I work in this industry and while it isn’t exactly all rainbows with pots of gold at the end right now due to costs, there are lots of such nights and if anything more and more of them, along with venues to host them, are _opening_ rather than closing.
So I assume this is about “fake” nightclubs, basically a glorified bar with a local no name DJ playing Capital/Kiss type “dance anthems”, offers on shots, sticky floors, a dress code, etc.
The latter types of club often refuse to take any risk in terms of letting external promoters put on nights, so frankly I’m glad they’re failing. Fully deserved.
I think people might worry that someone would film them doing the Y M C A, or the big box, little box, and it being posted on Tik Tok. This is too risky.
There is some correlation with the popularity of smartphones and the demise of the night club.
College Humor said it best 15 years ago: [Dance Clubs Are The Worst](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFQ7ymCmBzs)
I’ve not been clubbing in about 5 years and not regularly for about 15. I don’t know if this is accurate, but any footage I see of clubs has folk crowded round the DJ booth with phones out etc. In my day (old guy alert) the DJs were often tucked away out of sight which led to a more communal atmosphere on the dancefloor.
Obviously alcohol prices/cost of living is a factor, but if the whole experience isn’t what it used to be then no wonder it’s less popular.
Treating your customers like crap and charging them a fortune turned out to be a bad business model. Colour me shocked.
Good?! If they were popular and profitable they would not be shut. What they too often were was dirty, dingy, dark, overprice, dirty places. The cost of these places was insane also. I earn well but I aint paying north of £10 per drink.
I would not be surprised if actually decent venues survive and do better as the amount of just terrible clubs falls.
Interesting take on it – https://medium.com/@valeyard42/is-londons-nightlife-dying-yes-and-no-1ea77d28b03a
A lot of them are failing cause they’re just shit, generic clubs, where the “DJ” just plays chart stuff from an iPhone and yet they still charge £10 to get in and stupid prices for drinks. Venues with an actual niche such as themed nights, or live bands are still doing well. Key Club in Leeds and the Hairy Dog in Derby are always busy at weekends.
What have they done to be more successful?
Have they tried putting the audio up to dangerous levels and only playing techno? Charging £20 entry?Charging £20 to use a coat rack? Charging £20 for a rum n coke? How about having a big guy in the toilet spray you with half a bottle of aftershave for £20?
Tinder killed a lot of it, but the high cost of admission & drinks, many people think it’s a waste of money, and as people have less money too, it’s a perfect storm for clubs.
Good, they’re fucking shit, and it’s not the night scene dying, it’s the dating scene moving online.
That tends to happen when you charge £18 just to get in and another £9 for a vodka lemonade. By the time you’ve bought a round for your pals your upwards of £40 down
You’d be better off opening late night or 24hr coffee shops and cafes with GenZ drinking less than generations before hand.
The music is shit and they’re charging £20-30 entry on the door now. I understand they need to make a profit but what student can afford those prices? I’m feeling grateful that I got to experience the 2015-18 clubbing scene because it was pure vibes.
Proper clubs, where people go to see the live DJ playing instead of just drink are dying. The loss of nightlife in Leeds since COVID is fucked.
When I was in my early 20s I enjoyed nights out in clubs but let’s be real. They’re fucking shit 😄 dirty, musics so loud nobody can talk, you have to pay to get in most then pay double on drinks as well.