Night clubs to be a thing of the past?

[OzMike]

We used to go out at say 9pm, do the pubs, then the clubs and be pissed by 2am, ready for the homeward kebab.
These days they drink before going out, are pissed by the time the pubs close and can't make it to the clubs.
Over here they are anyway.
I went to town for a meal with the Mrs one Saturday night, we were all done by 9.30pm and when walking back to the car park were surprised at how many youngsters were staggering about at that time.

 

[JOLovegrove]

As long as Britiain keeps there strong student population, I can't see that changing anytime soon, we will have to have nightclubs. Having just left the University of Reading, I'm well aware of the club scene there. There isn't tonnes of clubs, but the ones that are still there are always busy, and can't see that changing anytime soon.

 

[daveinprague]

ASK THE PEOPLE THAT USE FACE BOOK
regards
DR

Too vague. You explain.

 

[Wrong-Direction]

You're too old to go clubbing anyway!

 

[Norman Potting]

Hungry Years anyone, just for the aged rockers amongst us?

 

[No. 25]

Isn't it just that the more serious music driven night clubs are dying out as fewer young people seem to be interested in the underground music they play?

There'll always be cheesy pop spinning meatmarkets for lagered up morons to finger a fat bird in.

I used to be proud of Brighton's club scene back in the 90s and early 2000s but with the exception of the Concorde, which is primarily a live music venue, and the revamped Escape Club/Audio which is now called Patterns, we've not got any clubs playing genuine underground electronic music anymore. The main reason for this seems to be that the young folk just aren't interested in it, whilst those of us that are, are too old to be frequenting these places on the regular anymore.

Popping a pill in a sweaty cavern whilst pounding electronica reverberates through your bones ought to be a rite of passage if you ask me. It seems sad that the youth of today just aren't going to be getting it

That, sir, is a sensational post.

 

[Billy the Fish]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p02ybfmr/newsbeat-where-have-all-the-clubs-gone

I saw this the other day and thought between them they covered most of the points. Everything moves in cycles and clubbing has been on the decline for about a decade now for various reasons. I always say it on these threads, you have to make a distinction between underground and commercial music clubs. I'm only talking about clubs who put on night for dance music fans, whatever the sub-genre.

I find it interesting that in some ways it's almost back where it started - there are more warehouse parties and big outdoor events just like back in the early 90's, only this time they're legal. The scene is definitely smaller than in it's heyday and the number of clubs and decent nights reflect this, but all the time people want to dance to music - which humans have been doing for thousands of years - there will be a market for the clubs to tap into.

Re: the Brighton scene, I too have mostly been going to London for my clubbing fix and just pick and choose the good nights. Recently I've been out in Brighton more because the clubs seem to be a bit more adventurous with their DJ bookings, the Arch is putting on some good nights since it changed back to a proper club from that abomination "The colloseum"! Hopefully it'll continue and allow the scene to grow again.

 

[Iggle Piggle]

The cause is obvious. I only went clubbing because the pubs shut at 11:00 and I wanted to carry on drinking.

The only enjoyment I used to have in those places was talking to an up their own rectum DJ who were playing some rare trance and asking for Run DMC. The rest of the time was spent shouting at women and having a conversation that went 'You what, I can't hear you' , dancing badly to some Columbian garage and avoiding anyone coked up who wanted to talk to you for hours whilst sniffing constantly.

God I feel old.

 

[Tricky Dicky]

I have never been in a nightclub. I stuck to pubs, that was enough for me.

 

[Man of Harveys]

The cause is obvious. I only went clubbing because the pubs shut at 11:00 and I wanted to carry on drinking...God I feel old.

That was a lot of it, no question.

I'm way too old to comment on what young people might want from a club these but even when I was the right age for it there was perhaps a wider range of choice than now: you had big cheesy places in West Street etc, which I doubt has changed much, more serious rave/dance/pills places, or places with slightly more mainsteam music and more of a beery, vibe with some old stuff thrown in for a laugh. I always favoured the latter, personally.

 

[atfc village]

Go to The Isle of Wight ,when i started drinking down there in 87 Towns like Shanklin and Sandown both had 3 clubs each .Now there are none ,come to think of it i don't think there are any clubs now.It all seems to be late bars with a DJ in the towns of Ryde ,Newport and Cowes .Sandown and Shanklin you may get the odd pub open past 11 on the weekend. Even Ventnor had a Club in the 80's.

 

[Colossal Squid]

As long as Britiain keeps there strong student population, I can't see that changing anytime soon, we will have to have nightclubs. Having just left the University of Reading, I'm well aware of the club scene there. There isn't tonnes of clubs, but the ones that are still there are always busy, and can't see that changing anytime soon.

Yes but the student population is on the decline as the spiralling cost of an education puts more and more people off going to university.

It's interesting to note that some of the enormous dance club "brands" that existed in the 90's have all but disappeared today. I'm talking about Cream, Godskitchen, Gatecrasher, Slinky, Renaissance and the like.

Ministry of Sound seems to be the only club brand that's still going, drawing crowds to its south London superclub and releasing endless compilations on its own label. And even they're nowhere near as big as they used to be. In fact I recall reading that the club itself was under threat so may very well go the way of all these other superclub brands that have fallen by the wayside.

London still has some great places to head out, notably Fabric and possibly the Egg. But even in our cultured capital it's a shadow of its former self, where we've lost legendary clubs like The End, Turnmills, Velvet Rooms, Mass and all those Kings Cross clubs: The Key, Bagleys/Canvas and The Cross etc.

I know people blame the smoking ban and rising costs of going out but I think it's more than that. I don't think the music that these sorts of clubs were pumping out appeals to the younger generations anymore. It's not that the the clubs couldn't adapt, it's more that it just isn't what young people are looking for in any shape or form nowadays.

I think today's teenagers and young 20 somethings are far more health conscious and fitness obsessed than those of us old enough to remember some of the clubs I listed earlier. They generally drink less and look after themselves a little more. They spend what little disposable income they do have on material goods and holidays rather than big nights out on the razz, filled with class As and stomping til dawn.

Perhaps the landcape had got a little crowded at its peak and clubland was never likely to sustain it, but it is surprising just how rapidly the whole scene has declined.

I'd be interested to know if this trend is mirrored across the continent. The UK had always lead the scene but there were still plenty of great nightclubs to be enjoyed across Europe with their own particular charms. How are these places faring? Is Berlin's legendary clubbing scene similarly faded today?

 

[Biscuit]

London still has some great places to head out, notably Fabric and possibly the Egg.

Well that just brought back some horrendous memories. Egg is one ****ed up club. I went once and never again.

 

[brightn'ove]

I think it does, yes there are still good clubs but it's lost (among others) the Honeyclub, the Ocean Rooms, Digital, the Cornerstone, the Gloucester, the Freebutt, Life and the Funky Buddha lounge, all in the last few years.

The Honeyclub, at least since I turned 18, was absolutely shite and has been replaced with an equally shite club in Shoosh. Digital is now The Arch and the others i've never been to. Life was excellent i'll give you that and it has been replaced by the Tempest which in my opinion is awful. But what i've seen is that every time a club shuts, another opens. My favourite club at the moment is Patterns as they are booking some cracking acts, most of them very obscure.

Whilst maybe it is true that there has been a decrease in the number of night clubs, at least since i've been 18 i've noticed a marked improvement in the quality of bookings in Brighton. (worth noting that what I think is quality, others may not.)

 

[Blue Valkyrie]

The cause is obvious. I only went clubbing because the pubs shut at 11:00 and I wanted to carry on drinking..

Same for me.

 

[hart's shirt]

That was a lot of it, no question.

I'm way too old to comment on what young people might want from a club these but even when I was the right age for it there was perhaps a wider range of choice than now: you had big cheesy places in West Street etc, which I doubt has changed much, more serious rave/dance/pills places, or places with slightly more mainsteam music and more of a beery, vibe with some old stuff thrown in for a laugh. I always favoured the latter, personally.

I was hoping that you'd be posting on this, Harvs.

Memories of Club Barcelona and The Weather Girls are flooding back...

Club Barcelona - the place where Stumpy Tim gave Ian Chapman his autograph after scoring 2 goals in REMF 1...
Club Barcelona - the place where Shane Warne signed your cigarette packet the night he did some inappropriate texting to a nurse...

So much to answer for.

RIP, CB.

 

[Notters]

The Honeyclub, at least since I turned 18, was absolutely shite and has been replaced with an equally shite club in Shoosh. Digital is now The Arch and the others i've never been to. Life was excellent i'll give you that and it has been replaced by the Tempest which in my opinion is awful. But what i've seen is that every time a club shuts, another opens. My favourite club at the moment is Patterns as they are booking some cracking acts, most of them very obscure.

Whilst maybe it is true that there has been a decrease in the number of night clubs, at least since i've been 18 i've noticed a marked improvement in the quality of bookings in Brighton. (worth noting that what I think is quality, others may not.)

It was usually shite until about 1:30 am until the non-clubbers went home! There were some cracking nights there, particularly Hard South.

Ocean Rooms was incredible for Drum & Bass, as was the Cornerstone. The Freebutt and the Gloucester likewise for Rock/Indie. Haven't been to Patterns yet (getting too old) though I presume it's just a tarted up Audio (which in my opinion was practically perfect in every way, anyway).

 

[brightn'ove]

you had big cheesy places in West Street etc, which I doubt has changed much, more serious rave/dance/pills places, or places with slightly more mainsteam music and more of a beery, vibe with some old stuff thrown in for a laugh. I always favoured the latter, personally.

It's literally exactly the same now. West street for cheese, seafront for more mainstream dance music, smaller clubs like green door, patterns, sticky mikes & concorde for a more rave atmosphere.

I think today's teenagers and young 20 somethings are far more health conscious and fitness obsessed than those of us old enough to remember some of the clubs I listed earlier. They generally drink less and look after themselves a little more. They spend what little disposable income they do have on material goods and holidays rather than big nights out on the razz, filled with class As and stomping til dawn.

I'd massively disagree... MDMA is so widespread these days you will struggle to find somebody in a nightclub that ISN'T on it.

It was usually shite until about 1:30 am until the non-clubbers went home! There were some cracking nights there, particularly Hard South.

Ocean Rooms was incredible for Drum & Bass, as was the Cornerstone. The Freebutt and the Gloucester likewise for Rock/Indie. Haven't been to Patterns yet (getting too old) though I presume it's just a tarted up Audio (which in my opinion was practically perfect in every way, anyway).

If anything, Patterns is more dressed down than Audio. You can no longer choose between going upstairs or downstairs on major nights though, you have to buy a ticket for the whole place and you can't leave and come back, which is a bit shit. They have a great selection of beers and they've opened up the upstairs quite a bit, the downstairs is exactly the same just with a better sound system.

From what i can see from this thread, what has happened is the clubs you all went to have disappeared, but they have been replaced, and from your experiences posted in this thread, the same things still happen.

You've just all grown old

 

[Notters]

If anything, Patterns is more dressed down than Audio. You can no longer choose between going upstairs or downstairs on major nights though, you have to buy a ticket for the whole place and you can't leave and come back, which is a bit shit. They have a great selection of beers and they've opened up the upstairs quite a bit, the downstairs is exactly the same just with a better sound system.

Interesting. I hope they haven't upped the sound system too much as I always liked it. It's not deafening like digital is it? (one of the many reasons I hated digital).

From what i can see from this thread, what has happened is the clubs you all went to have disappeared, but they have been replaced, and from your experiences posted in this thread, the same things still happen.

You've just all grown old

Probably true to a certain extent but I certainly don't think they've all been replaced.

 

[brightn'ove]

Interesting. I hope they haven't upped the sound system too much as I always liked it. It's not deafening like digital is it? (one of the many reasons I hated digital).

Me and a few others were discussing this the other day and we think it's actually quieter.

Probably true to a certain extent but I certainly don't think they've all been replaced.

Probably not, but it's nowhere near as dire as people are making out, and there has certainly been a resurgence in the last 5 years.