Why nightlife matters in Brexit Britain, now more than ever

Save club culture! — Despite an onslaught of club closures, and an uncertain future, people are still throwing their weight behind London nightlife.

If there’s anything Brits know how to do well, it’s party. Whenever a crisis threatens to tear the country apart, nightlife has often been the glue that’s held us together.

You only need look at punk and acid house to recognise that we do debauchery like no one else.

Yet despite generating six per cent of our overall economy, nightclubs are closing at an alarming rate: dropping from 3,144 in 2005 to 1,733 last year.

Redevelopment is swallowing up once-vibrant spaces. Bars and restaurants are turning into free-entry music venues. A packed festival calendar poses intense competition. Strict licensing laws means it takes just one noise complaint to trigger a review by local councils.

And now that Brexit has thrown the UK’s future into flux, it’s clear that if we want to protect our world-renowned nightlife, we’re going to have to fight for it.

One figure primed for battle is Alan Miller, head of the Night-time Industry Association – an organisation that defends venues against the pressures of licence boards and legislation, while also promoting their place in British culture.

“Nightlife is still going to be wanted and desired by everybody in Britain,” he says, emphatically. “That’s going to be the case whether we’re in the EU or out of the EU.”

He’s sitting by the rooftop pool at one of the most exclusive member’s clubs in the country, Shoreditch House. It was just around the corner from here that Alan ran Vibe Bar. After 20 years, the club closed in 2014 after security measures and licensing laws imposed by Tower Hamlets, the local council, led to a 30 percent fall in profit.

“When we first opened Vibe Bar, people told us we were mad,” says Alan. “They told us no one would come to Brick Lane, that we’d never get the clientele who go out in Soho or Camden or Notting Hill.”

But as Shoreditch – and East London at large – went on to prove, nightlife has a way of transforming entire areas. It’s not just about giving people somewhere to go after 1am, when most places grind to a halt. Venues represented by the ALMR [the Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers] generated 37,000 new jobs last year, with over 80 per cent of them taken up by people aged between 18 and 24.

Then there’s the ‘soft’ value: the outlet of expression.

“A lot of people who start clubs, nights or parties are motivated by creating a temporary utopia, where there’s more freedom, where people can celebrate,” says Dan Beaumont, owner of clubs Dance Tunnel and Dalston Superstore.

“It’s tough out there! The world is quite a hostile place. All of us in London are pretty privileged in the grand scheme of things, but a lot of people are under pressure in their day-to-day lives. It can feel like a bit of a treadmill. Clubs can be an oasis where you forget all of that.”

In August, Dance Tunnel will close after a prolonged struggle with licensing laws. The public outcry it prompted, Dan says, has only reinforced the belief that the club should keep going – it’s just a matter of regrouping and finding somewhere it feels wanted.

Dan is reluctant to paint London as a dying city. Venue owners, he says, have unwittingly become part of the fatalistic narrative surrounding nightclub closures.

“I think it’s important for all of us to shake off that preconception,” he says. “Dance music is essentially punk in its ethos. It’s about being yourself, finding new ways of doing things that work for your peer group, and challenging existing conventions.”

So how can the next generation of party throwers and goers help to keep that culture going, especially at a time when innovation may feel daunting than ever?

“Find your own way,” says Dan. “Find your language. Try and build your own utopia. Things were better before? People were saying that in 1989 about ’88. It’s always about renewal. I think you just have to be contrary to the message, don’t you? It’s about breaking the rules.”

Support your favourite venues through the NTIA’s #nightlifematters campaign – a grassroots movement to protect UK clubs.

Enjoyed this article? Like Huck on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.


Ad

Latest on Huck

Elderly man with glasses, white hair, and suit; young woman with long brown hair playing electric guitar on stage in green jacket.
Activism

Bernie Sanders introduces Clairo at Coachella, urging young Americans to “stand up for justice”

Coachella charmed — The Vermont Senator praised the singer-songwriter for her efforts in raising awareness of women’s rights issues and Gaza.

Written by: Isaac Muk

Vans

The Changing Face Of Brooklyn, New York’s Most Colourful Borough

After three decades spent capturing stories around the world, Magnum Photographer Alex Webb finally decided to return home to Brooklyn – a place that champions chaos, diversity and community spirit.

Written by: Alex Webb / Magnum Photos

Black and white image of subway carriage interior with sleeping man seated on bench
Culture

The mundane bliss of New York’s subways in the ’70s

NYC Passengers 1976-1981 — During a very different decade in NYC, which bounced between rich creativity and sketchiness, photographer Joni Sternbach captured the idiosyncratic isolation found on its rail networks.

Written by: Miss Rosen

A man playing a guitar whilst a horse stands beside him in a rocky, moonlit landscape.
Music

Analogue Appreciation: lullahush

Ithaca — In an ever more digital, online world, we ask our favourite artists about their most cherished pieces of physical culture. Today, it’s Irish retro-futurist lullahush.

Written by: lullahush

Two people of unidentified gender intimately embracing and kissing on a bed.
Culture

Spyros Rennt captures connection and tenderness among Berlin’s queer youth

Intertwined — In the Greek photographer’s fourth photobook, he lays out spreads of togetherness among his friends and the German capital’s LGBTQ+ party scene.

Written by: Isaac Muk

Surfers against sewage protest box floating in water with people swimming around it.
© Alex Brown / Surfers Against Sewage
Sport

The rebellious roots of Cornwall’s surfing scene

100 years of waveriding — Despite past attempts to ban the sport from beaches, surfers have remained as integral, conservationist presences in England’s southwestern tip. A new exhibition in Falmouth traces its long history in the area.

Written by: Ella Glossop

Signup to our newsletter

Sign up to our newsletter to informed with the cutting edge of sport, music and counterculture, featuring personal takes on the state of media and pop culture from Emma Garland, former Digital Editor of Huck, exclusive interviews, recommendations and more.

Please wait...

Accessibility Settings

Text

Applies the Open Dyslexic font, designed to improve readability for individuals with dyslexia.

Applies a more readable font throughout the website, improving readability.

Underlines links throughout the website, making them easier to distinguish.

Adjusts the font size for improved readability.

Visuals

Reduces animations and disables autoplaying videos across the website, reducing distractions and improving focus.

Reduces the colour saturation throughout the website to create a more soothing visual experience.

Increases the contrast of elements on the website, making text and interface elements easier to distinguish.