How popular are nightclubs these days?

GGizmo

GGizmo

GGizmo

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I was watching a youtube video a few months ago of this old couple driving around on their motorbike with cameras strapped to their helmets giving commentary. The video I watched was of them driving around one of the towns I used to go to a lot, Bolton, on Friday night and it was nearly empty!

When I used to go to Bolton the main road, bradshawgate, was so packed with people I'd sometimes end up having to walk in the road as there were that many on the path. The cars driving down were nearly bumper to bumper too. These days hardly anyone is around. What happened? Is this the same story all over?

I'm past my prime for nightclubs these days. But all the clubs I used to go to have closed down. Utopia in Blackburn was another favourite.

So if there are any people who still go out on Friday and/or Saturday night, are nightclubs still a thing or as bars and pubs taken over these days?
 
Not very, a lot of closed. It's more decent pubs and cocktail bar type places these days.
 
councils, nimbys, expense and changing attitudes to getting trollied killed a lot of them. There's still a few about but they're rarely in the city centre these days. They're massive in Germany still because they're cheap and protected by culture laws.

B@
 
It’s all still a thing. Just depends on the weather/night. If it’s sunny and a Saturday, you can guarantee it’ll be busy in the evening.
 
People are poorer. Booze is too expensive for youngsters. Lots of youngsters get loaded before they go out. Lots of youngsters prefer chemicals to booze. Smoking ban. Stabby teenagers. People working in gig economy delivering takeaways to people staying in.

Lots of reasons why there are fewer people out and about.
 
Clubs have been decimated over the last few years in London, Fabric, MoS and Egg are really the only big-guns left, and it won't be long until gentrification or high-rise luxury apartments kill them too.
 
I don't really go out a lot these days but when I was living in Chelmsford I was out with some friends in the town centre on Christmas eve and all of the nightclubs were struggling for punters but the local pubs were jam packed. The pubs in Chelmsford are pretty good, lots of selection, good drinks and compared to nightclubs prices are lower but the nightclubs around there don't really offer that much and you have to pay to enter which puts a lot of people off IMO (especially if the DJ isn't a widely known).
 
I think the whole late licencing thing brought in in ~2007 really did for the nightclubs; I remember from my peak 'going out years' that prior to it coming in, half the pub I drank in with friends would decamp to the local 'alternative' (indie) club at about 10:30 in order to get in the queue, which would be around the block if you weren't careful. A few months later, you could rock up at the same club at gone 11pm and still get in no problem.

Also, thinking about it, how many times did you reach 'last orders' and fancy another drink, meaning you had to go to a nightclub in order to carry on your night out?

The whole night out scene seems to be in decline; drinks prices are ever-rising, and a lot of people if they do go out are 'pre-loading' at home. Going out to 'pull' has been replaced by Tinder etc. so what's left?

Let's be honest, most of us would rather hang out with friends in a pub than a crappy club 9/10 times?
 
BowdonUK said:
I was watching a youtube video a few months ago of this old couple driving around on their motorbike with cameras strapped to their helmets giving commentary. The video I watched was of them driving around one of the towns I used to go to a lot, Bolton, on Friday night and it was nearly empty!

When I used to go to Bolton the main road, bradshawgate, was so packed with people I'd sometimes end up having to walk in the road as there were that many on the path. The cars driving down were nearly bumper to bumper too. These days hardly anyone is around. What happened? Is this the same story all over?

I'm past my prime for nightclubs these days. But all the clubs I used to go to have closed down. Utopia in Blackburn was another favourite.

So if there are any people who still go out on Friday and/or Saturday night, are nightclubs still a thing or as bars and pubs taken over these days?
Click to expand...

Yea its the same situation here in Stoke. A lot of the clubs that I used to go have shut. I asked a bouncer once and he told me that it doesn't get busy until midnight onwards, young ones these days tend to stay at home and drink and go out later due to the costs associated with buying the alcohol over a bar.
 
It's interesting
Started a new job recently and night out suggestion was made to go to a bar/club.

Being new job I thought fine, I'll go along with it only to find most people didn't want to go. Too noisy ,to expensive you can't talk.
Also, half of them don't drink.

Its expensive and isn't that fun drinking+nights out. Perhaps culture is actually changing now we have more entertainment at home too?

To me, clubs have always sucked in general
 
Since the smoking ban, which I personally think was good, seems to have been quite a decline and as above a lot of the younger generation don't seem to be into them as much but there are still two pretty busy nightclubs and one smaller bar/nightclub that are rammed over the Friday and Saturday nights near me - though as mentioned above the queues generally aren't a thing like they used to be. The local Wetherspoons still seems to be as active as ever but some of the smaller clubs have disappeared and one of the bigger ones closed down recently due to declining sales.

The_Abyss said:
Lots of youngsters prefer chemicals to booze.
Click to expand...

I find it a bit of an odd one - a good number of the younger people we employ at work are very proud of themselves for either not touching alcohol at all or only drinking very limited amounts... yet smoke weed or do harder drugs like they are going out of fashion...
 
The council, police, NIMBY's, awful planning laws, stupid legislation, high price of alcohol, egotistical **** ******* ******* bouncers letting in underage girls etc etc.

Half the time you have people who cant even afford to go out, buy a single drink to sip the entire night and you're standing there after 6 wondering why even bother?

At the end of the day, it's the expense that really kills it and some are tired of getting tinnitus for the rest of their life.
 
Freddie1980 said:
I don't really go out a lot these days but when I was living in Chelmsford I was out with some friends in the town centre on Christmas eve and all of the nightclubs were struggling for punters but the local pubs were jam packed. The pubs in Chelmsford are pretty good, lots of selection, good drinks and compared to nightclubs prices are lower but the nightclubs around there don't really offer that much and you have to pay to enter which puts a lot of people off IMO (especially if the DJ isn't a widely known).
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As a Chelmsfordian, I can confirm we have lots of good pubs and bars :)

I haven't been to a proper night-club here since Dukes shut down! There was a big one opposite county hall called Evoke, but I never went to it.
 
The cost of drinks has gone up loads in Belfast so not surprised to see going out in decline. I'm too old for nightclubs, but even after a few rounds in a pub I feel like I'm being violated and would rather just get some drinks for home.

£6 for a small glass of wine in central Belfast isn't unusual unless you go to fleapit. Thieving ********.

Maybe I'm being nostalgic, but was much better early 2000s.
 
413x said:
It's interesting
Started a new job recently and night out suggestion was made to go to a bar/club.

Being new job I thought fine, I'll go along with it only to find most people didn't want to go. Too noisy ,to expensive you can't talk.
Also, half of them don't drink.

Its expensive and isn't that fun drinking+nights out. Perhaps culture is actually changing now we have more entertainment at home too?

To me, clubs have always sucked in general
Click to expand...

Is it? I'm hearing the rise of liver damage is catching up with them. 20 - 45 year olds.
 
BowdonUK said:
I was watching a youtube video a few months ago of this old couple driving around on their motorbike with cameras strapped to their helmets giving commentary. The video I watched was of them driving around one of the towns I used to go to a lot, Bolton, on Friday night and it was nearly empty!

When I used to go to Bolton the main road, bradshawgate, was so packed with people I'd sometimes end up having to walk in the road as there were that many on the path. The cars driving down were nearly bumper to bumper too. These days hardly anyone is around. What happened? Is this the same story all over?

I'm past my prime for nightclubs these days. But all the clubs I used to go to have closed down. Utopia in Blackburn was another favourite.

So if there are any people who still go out on Friday and/or Saturday night, are nightclubs still a thing or as bars and pubs taken over these days?
Click to expand...

Depending on your age I know my age group was part of the alcoholic stage, every Friday and Saturday out, sometimes Wednesday's.

People don't do it as much now
 
Delvis said:
Depending on your age I know my age group was part of the alcoholic stage, every Friday and Saturday out, sometimes Wednesday's.

People don't do it as much now
Click to expand...

When other people show you their Facebook pages with nights out many times during the week and weekends, you wouldn't think it.
 
Leeds is still pretty busy on a weekend as long as the weather isn't crap, Wakefield used to be busy when I was younger but I noticed a few of the nightclubs have closed now. People just don't need to go clubbing when pubs and bars are open late and you can actually speak to each other
 
Sankeys in Manchester has gone. They are big and expensive and can be turned in to flats.

Also idiots move in next to a club and then complain about the noise.

People are skint. Tory Britain.
 
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