Nightclubs make memories - let's hope we don't lose them

Living in the North East, from the age of 18 my friends and I would often go clubbing to Philmores in Saltburn, The Madison in Middlesbrough, Club Fiesta in Stockton and Top Deck in Redcar. They were all very different - from shiny and glitzy to slightly jaded and down-at-heel, but wonderful in their own way.

Philmores had a section of floor lit from below with different coloured lights. As we danced we felt like we were in the film Saturday Night Fever. The Madison was more polished, with lots of chrome and mirrors, while Club Fiesta, in a former cinema, was old-fashioned and cosy, with live music. Top Deck was a bit on the rough side - every time I went there was a fight.

There were other clubs, some a little seedy, which we occasionally frequented. It was always great fun. In Middlesbrough we would emerge at 2am or later and head to a kiosk under the railway bridge, serving chips and curry sauce, before heading home.

I lived for a time in Newcastle, enjoying nights at Tuxedo Junction, where phones on tables enabled you to call others sitting nearby. Many a romance was sparked by those tipsy, or out-and-out drunken, conversations.

Nightclubs make a great contribution to the nighttime economy. Picture: Pixabay

And later, in the early 1980s, as a student in London, there was barely a weekend when we didn’t go to a nightclub. We loved Camden Palace and Heaven.

Where else do you get to dance - however bad you are - but in a nightclub?

Now, nightclubs are struggling. I was shocked to learn that 65 nightclubs in the UK have closed down since the start of 2024, revealed in figures in a report from management consultancy CGA Neilson.

Disturbingly, the UK has seen an average of about ten nightclubs closing per month between June 2020 and June 2024. This is part of a wider decline in the UK's nightlife scene, which is said to be having a devastating impact on the country's culture, economy, and communities

A new study by UK Hospitality - the trade body for the hospitality industry - found that almost a third of clubs across the UK have closed their doors for good in the past six years.

This is seen as being due to a variety of reasons including the rising cost of living, young people changing habits - drinking less, cutting back on spending and getting together at home rather than heading out to socialise - high rents for business premises, costs of energy, poor late-night transport provision, and lack of government support.

It’s sad. One things feeds the other - if there is little late-night entertainment in towns and cities there will be less need for late-night transport, less need for late-night eateries, and so on. Such services will gradually peter out and with them many jobs.

All those years ago, when we used to leave nightclubs in Middlesbrough we didn’t feel unsafe. There were numerous late night venues, so people were always milling about.

We would always go for something to eat. Then, unless one of us had driven, it would be a shared taxi home. My sixth form once hired a coach to take all of us on a night out to Philmores. Nightclubbing creates memories. In London my friend and I once got an early morning ride home in a bin wagon.

A thriving night-time economy adds to the appeal of a town or city. It brings it to life. My youngest daughter - who loves a good night out - has just visited the Spanish city of Seville and commented on how wonderful the nightlife was, with people of all ages heading out and having fun until the early hours. “Age doesn’t seem to matter over there,” she said, “Everyone was out enjoying themselves.”

Covid certainly won’t have helped. In 2020 many people definitely changed the ways they socialise and now go out less. Some say that if the current trend continues, there could be no nightclubs left by 2030. That truly would be a terrible thing.

*Do you have any memories of nightclubbing in Bradford? What is, or was your favourite club and why? Email helen.mead@nqyne.co.uk