UK nightclubs need financial help – and respect for their cultural importance | Finn McCorry
Club culture has suffered during the pandemic and lost out on government support, but it is also eroded by a lack of acknowledgment of its unique position in the arts
The UK has a long and storied history of great nights out, thanks to an army of young people who are, fundamentally, well up for it. Our club culture is a history of experiments, innovations, triumphs and missteps: from northern soul to new wave to drum and bass to dubstep, it has produced and nurtured an astonishing number of new sounds and globally significant scenes.
You first enter clubs on the cusp of adulthood, looking for things you haven’t found and people you haven’t met; nights out often help us define our young selves, who – and what – we’re into. That same energy can be heard in all great rave records, buzzing with ideas and full of raw ambition in the face of uncertain futures.
