65 UK nightclubs have closed in 2024 in “unprecedented crisis”
September 27, 2024
65 UK nightclubs have closed in 2024 in “unprecedented crisis”
by djsoomo
30 comments
Unprecedented is the new buzz word
I blame alcohol prices and the smart phone generation. Most can’t afford it and if they get plastered, their mates will take silly vids and share online, defacing their social media images.
Sad times.
£12 a drink is an unprecedented crisis
Nightclubs are generally crap. Expensive, loud, obnoxious people who are drunk or high… With the price of everything skyrocketing, I’d rather go elsewhere.
Don’t get me wrong, I’ve had some great nights in nightclubs before, but it’s not really my bag anymore.
Silent disco in the kitchen is the way
I don’t think any of it is unprecedented. This was bound to happen, covid just accelerated it, like most other things. Pubs are superior to clubs in nearly every sense, and more people have realised it.
Can actually hear your mates talk ✅
Can sit down ✅
Don’t have to pay to get in ✅
Easily make your way around ✅
Typically cheaper ✅
Don’t have to fight your way to the toilets & back ✅
Ear drums are still intact afterwards ✅
Drinks prices are crazy, taxi prices are crazy. What do they expect?
I think there are 2 major things. Drink prices and dating apps. Ignore the fogies (myself now probably included) complaining about noise, not being able to talk etc. The main demographic for clubs has been young people getting drunk and hooking up. Now they can’t afford to get drunk, and dont need clubs to hook up
I dunno, charging more than I earn in an hour for a single drink makes their closures feel pretty precedented
Sad to see third spaces disappearing.
Not surprising to see the gremlins of reddit cheering it on.
Maybe if councils didn’t license them to death in order to appease NIMBYs and locals who want to stamp out any fun, we wouldn’t have as much of an issue.
Also I red a few articles about how young people these days would rather watch tv and smoke a joint than go out and get hammered.
In London, things are trending towards either instagramable massive superclubs like Drumsheds/Beams/HERE or established clubs like Fold/E1. The middle ground of local smaller clubs has pretty much been wiped out.
The shift towards day parties is also a contributing factor. They’re a lot easier to get licenses for and can be held in a range of venues – not just traditional overpriced nightclubs. They’re also easier to staff as well. From the attendees side they can party just as hard and be in bed without any worries about a cab or catching the last train.
If we’re talking about the cattle market style clubs then I won’t shed a tear. Unfortunately there are many small clubs up and down the UK that do focus on music and atmosphere that can’t afford to run, and I really will mourn those. You know the type – a tiny capacity, a DJ that’s got aspirations, a few groups of hardcore locals dancing until 3am. Probably not a sustainable business model in this day and age.
On the flip side, the rave scene is thriving. Demand is there, but the disposable income isn’t.
It’s supply and demand. Demand has dropped. People are cutting costs and spending their time and money elsewhere. Gen Z don’t go out and drink and party in the same way millennials did (we’ve grown out of it now).
What does this mean? I never saw the appeal of the nightclub, even when I was younger but I understood their purpose.
Does this mean that people aren’t going out to nightclubs anymore but they are still going out to other places like the pub or the board game cafe or whatever it might be?
Or does it mean that people just aren’t going out, they’re at home on Tinder, pausing to order Deliveroo, doomscrolling TikTok when they get bored? Because that’s really quite depressing.
Quick, someone ask Sacha Lord what he thinks!
Most clubs are inherently shit tbh
Same thing with art galleries. The creative industry has taken a massive hit
Brunches has become more popular. People see the appeal of bottomless drinks, having a fun sing song and getting home at a more healthier hour than 2/3/4am.
I lived through one the haydays of clubbing.
The 90s clubs sprung up out of a vibrant warehouse and rave scene. We did drugs, we drank too much and the music was new and exciting.
I just Googled UK top club DJs and loads were in their 50s (like me).
There are still loads of younger people doing fantastic things but clubs haven’t really offered anything new in 20 years.
The idea that in 98 we’d be dancing to disco would have been as wild as people in 78 dancing to rock and roll but in 2024 people are dancing to the same type of music a 2004.
You need a super vibrant music scene to create a super vibrant club scene.
I’m single and in my 20s so feel like I’m meant to be part of the ‘clubbing’ demographic, and I did go out fairly often before the pandemic, but since then I hardly even drink alcohol at all, never mind go to nightclubs. I love club music and I love dancing, but it feels like other people don’t go to nightclubs for that anymore. People getting absolutely off their face on coke and doing it so casually like it’s no big deal, the constant paranoia of having your drink spiked, fights breaking out ending up in people getting stabbed. Maybe that’s more of a reflection of the area I live in, but I don’t feel safe going out to clubs. Even the late night Maccies afterwards ended up with bouncers on the door deciding who could and couldn’t come in because people couldn’t behave themselves.
Everyone is talking about prices and how people date now, which are definitely key reasons but I have another: Bouncers. They’ve always been dickheads, but I noticed after Covid they got so much worse. Like actual scumbags. I don’t know a single person currently who is willing to deal with them, they harass women who go out and love randomly causing arguments with men doing nothing wrong a lot of the time. Anyone looking to respond ‘not all of them’, don’t bother. It’s like 95% of them.
Oh no! Anyway…
We need more nice bars and cafes rather than just pubs and clubs
The options for young people are far more extensive. They are able to research and google their own choices of entertainment. It’s also easier to have a group discussion about where to go and what to do. Arranging larger gatherings are far easier today. It’s why axe throwing/archery/dessert cafes and escape rooms have blown up.
The pub/club arrangement was not only an easy default but it was also how you met new people. Now with online dating and “hook up culture” people are choosing these methods rather than the old night out system.
Also it’s much easier to get good music online and portable speaker tech is a lot cheaper so people don’t have to gravitate to clubs to get good audio. Young people can go to an abandoned building, set up a small portable music and light system and hold their own raves/clubs.
I think there is always a place for clubs but it’s more for specialist music interests like Heavy Metal/Drum-bass where people want to gather for their enthusiasm for the genre of music they love. But the generic clubbing scene is a lot less needed.
I’m a typical Redditor in that clubs are not, and never have been my scene. Just not for me.
However I also do a lot of work in and with the booze industry and we’re seeing a perfect storm of cultural changes (9pm is the new 11pm and people are just deciding to call it there and go home), soaring costs on all sides and a lack of appetite for the late-night experience amongst younger people. That’s three main factors but there are dozens of micro factors all creating this too.
There are some positives to all this if course, A&E’s are not such a war zone on Friday nights anymore, younger people are drinking way more sensibly than I did in my early 20’s. However, the night time economy is a huge employer and although not my scene, a huge cultural influence and connector for a lot of people – it’d be a shame to see it die out.
A good news story… You do find them in the strangest places.
I’m not surprised. Night club I’ve been going to for 20 years has got rid of all it’s drinks offers in the last couple of years (no idea if that is due to changing laws or because they decided to), the alcohol wasn’t great but at least it was cheap.
It didn’t mind paying to get in and having a few shit bottles of beer when they were a quid or two each but £4 for a can of red stripe feels like robbery.
30 comments
Unprecedented is the new buzz word
I blame alcohol prices and the smart phone generation. Most can’t afford it and if they get plastered, their mates will take silly vids and share online, defacing their social media images.
Sad times.
£12 a drink is an unprecedented crisis
Nightclubs are generally crap. Expensive, loud, obnoxious people who are drunk or high… With the price of everything skyrocketing, I’d rather go elsewhere.
Don’t get me wrong, I’ve had some great nights in nightclubs before, but it’s not really my bag anymore.
Silent disco in the kitchen is the way
I don’t think any of it is unprecedented. This was bound to happen, covid just accelerated it, like most other things. Pubs are superior to clubs in nearly every sense, and more people have realised it.
Can actually hear your mates talk ✅
Can sit down ✅
Don’t have to pay to get in ✅
Easily make your way around ✅
Typically cheaper ✅
Don’t have to fight your way to the toilets & back ✅
Ear drums are still intact afterwards ✅
Drinks prices are crazy, taxi prices are crazy. What do they expect?
I think there are 2 major things. Drink prices and dating apps. Ignore the fogies (myself now probably included) complaining about noise, not being able to talk etc. The main demographic for clubs has been young people getting drunk and hooking up. Now they can’t afford to get drunk, and dont need clubs to hook up
I dunno, charging more than I earn in an hour for a single drink makes their closures feel pretty precedented
Sad to see third spaces disappearing.
Not surprising to see the gremlins of reddit cheering it on.
Maybe if councils didn’t license them to death in order to appease NIMBYs and locals who want to stamp out any fun, we wouldn’t have as much of an issue.
Also I red a few articles about how young people these days would rather watch tv and smoke a joint than go out and get hammered.
In London, things are trending towards either instagramable massive superclubs like Drumsheds/Beams/HERE or established clubs like Fold/E1. The middle ground of local smaller clubs has pretty much been wiped out.
The shift towards day parties is also a contributing factor. They’re a lot easier to get licenses for and can be held in a range of venues – not just traditional overpriced nightclubs. They’re also easier to staff as well. From the attendees side they can party just as hard and be in bed without any worries about a cab or catching the last train.
If we’re talking about the cattle market style clubs then I won’t shed a tear. Unfortunately there are many small clubs up and down the UK that do focus on music and atmosphere that can’t afford to run, and I really will mourn those. You know the type – a tiny capacity, a DJ that’s got aspirations, a few groups of hardcore locals dancing until 3am. Probably not a sustainable business model in this day and age.
On the flip side, the rave scene is thriving. Demand is there, but the disposable income isn’t.
It’s supply and demand. Demand has dropped. People are cutting costs and spending their time and money elsewhere. Gen Z don’t go out and drink and party in the same way millennials did (we’ve grown out of it now).
What does this mean? I never saw the appeal of the nightclub, even when I was younger but I understood their purpose.
Does this mean that people aren’t going out to nightclubs anymore but they are still going out to other places like the pub or the board game cafe or whatever it might be?
Or does it mean that people just aren’t going out, they’re at home on Tinder, pausing to order Deliveroo, doomscrolling TikTok when they get bored? Because that’s really quite depressing.
Quick, someone ask Sacha Lord what he thinks!
Most clubs are inherently shit tbh
Same thing with art galleries. The creative industry has taken a massive hit
Brunches has become more popular. People see the appeal of bottomless drinks, having a fun sing song and getting home at a more healthier hour than 2/3/4am.
I lived through one the haydays of clubbing.
The 90s clubs sprung up out of a vibrant warehouse and rave scene. We did drugs, we drank too much and the music was new and exciting.
I just Googled UK top club DJs and loads were in their 50s (like me).
There are still loads of younger people doing fantastic things but clubs haven’t really offered anything new in 20 years.
The idea that in 98 we’d be dancing to disco would have been as wild as people in 78 dancing to rock and roll but in 2024 people are dancing to the same type of music a 2004.
You need a super vibrant music scene to create a super vibrant club scene.
I’m single and in my 20s so feel like I’m meant to be part of the ‘clubbing’ demographic, and I did go out fairly often before the pandemic, but since then I hardly even drink alcohol at all, never mind go to nightclubs. I love club music and I love dancing, but it feels like other people don’t go to nightclubs for that anymore. People getting absolutely off their face on coke and doing it so casually like it’s no big deal, the constant paranoia of having your drink spiked, fights breaking out ending up in people getting stabbed. Maybe that’s more of a reflection of the area I live in, but I don’t feel safe going out to clubs. Even the late night Maccies afterwards ended up with bouncers on the door deciding who could and couldn’t come in because people couldn’t behave themselves.
Everyone is talking about prices and how people date now, which are definitely key reasons but I have another: Bouncers. They’ve always been dickheads, but I noticed after Covid they got so much worse. Like actual scumbags. I don’t know a single person currently who is willing to deal with them, they harass women who go out and love randomly causing arguments with men doing nothing wrong a lot of the time. Anyone looking to respond ‘not all of them’, don’t bother. It’s like 95% of them.
Oh no! Anyway…
We need more nice bars and cafes rather than just pubs and clubs
The options for young people are far more extensive. They are able to research and google their own choices of entertainment. It’s also easier to have a group discussion about where to go and what to do. Arranging larger gatherings are far easier today. It’s why axe throwing/archery/dessert cafes and escape rooms have blown up.
The pub/club arrangement was not only an easy default but it was also how you met new people. Now with online dating and “hook up culture” people are choosing these methods rather than the old night out system.
Also it’s much easier to get good music online and portable speaker tech is a lot cheaper so people don’t have to gravitate to clubs to get good audio. Young people can go to an abandoned building, set up a small portable music and light system and hold their own raves/clubs.
I think there is always a place for clubs but it’s more for specialist music interests like Heavy Metal/Drum-bass where people want to gather for their enthusiasm for the genre of music they love. But the generic clubbing scene is a lot less needed.
I’m a typical Redditor in that clubs are not, and never have been my scene. Just not for me.
However I also do a lot of work in and with the booze industry and we’re seeing a perfect storm of cultural changes (9pm is the new 11pm and people are just deciding to call it there and go home), soaring costs on all sides and a lack of appetite for the late-night experience amongst younger people. That’s three main factors but there are dozens of micro factors all creating this too.
There are some positives to all this if course, A&E’s are not such a war zone on Friday nights anymore, younger people are drinking way more sensibly than I did in my early 20’s. However, the night time economy is a huge employer and although not my scene, a huge cultural influence and connector for a lot of people – it’d be a shame to see it die out.
A good news story… You do find them in the strangest places.
I’m not surprised. Night club I’ve been going to for 20 years has got rid of all it’s drinks offers in the last couple of years (no idea if that is due to changing laws or because they decided to), the alcohol wasn’t great but at least it was cheap.
It didn’t mind paying to get in and having a few shit bottles of beer when they were a quid or two each but £4 for a can of red stripe feels like robbery.