Disco inferno

Over the last couple of years I've written a lot about the threats and pressures to which music venues are being subjected (most recently yesterday), but, as this BBC article underlines, the situation is arguably even bleaker for the nation's nightclubs. The list of factors cited as contributing to their demise include changing drinking habits among young people (drinking less, but also buying more alcohol from shops than across bars) and the relaxation of the licensing laws and extension of opening hours for pubs and bars (why go to a club when you can stay in a pub/bar for free?).

The Guardian then conducted their own survey, and identified a range of reasons: the general shitness of clubs; the expense, stress and impersonality of a night clubbing; health and safety concerns; and fatigue. I understand all of those except the last - a lame excuse for teenagers and twentysomethings.

Personally speaking, I hardly go clubbing at all myself any more - partly because of the cost (I used to happily pay to get into Rock City every Saturday but now bristle at the thought of parting with cash for the privilege of being able to continue drinking beyond 11 pm) but also because a man of my, er, advancing years increasingly values sitting down for a decent chat over a pint or two of real ale. The fact that you can now easily do this in a pub until the early hours of the morning makes clubbing a much less attractive proposition. When I have been tempted into going to a club in the last year or so, it's generally been to Fuel in Cardiff, where entry is free, Iron Maiden's Trooper is on tap and great music is guaranteed.

(Thanks to Adam for the Guardian link.)