2 weeks Ago By Daisy Jones
It’s midnight on a Saturday in east London and I’m sipping on a spicy picante at Silk Stockings, a cocktail bar bathed in pink light and awash with first dates. Soon I’ll be heading to Dalston Superstore for house night Bottom Heavy, a sweaty concoction of dance-floor bangers, booty riders and little string vests. After that, I’ll Uber to The Cause – an all-night industrial warehouse venue on the edge of Docklands – for Egø Deåth, which will probably involve a lot of stomping to techno in near darkness till dawn.
I say probably...
I didn’t make it in the end; the dry-ice-packed basement at Superstore kept me busy until 4am. But that’s besides the point. Nightlife in the UK isn’t dead, despite reports to the contrary, it’s just evolving – and it’s as exciting as ever.
It’s easy to feel pessimistic about the nation’s party-scape, with one club closing every two days – a stat that points to clubs’ eventual extinction. But on the ground, new nights are popping up with alarming regularity. Multi-venue club nights are becoming the norm, while queer nightlife specifically is experiencing a fresh wave of vigour.
(“There’s a whole new generation of ravers throwing iconic events and innovating culture,” asserts DJ and party girl Manuka Honey, who co-founded one of London’s coolest new club nights, Suzio.) The UK’s nightlife has become much more savvy, experimental and DIY – because it’s had to. Here are some of the best nights in the UK right now.
SUZIO, London Experimental queer Latinx night Suzio is one of the most fashion-forward and hedonistic out there. There’s no point wearing anything but underwear as outerwear here, as everything else will get drenched in sweat. Rumour has it that model Alex Consani is a dance-floor regular.
Scandal, Glasgow Looking for the most stylish crowd in Scotland? Look no further than Glasgow’s Scandal , a wild new party launched by 23-year-old Indian Scottish producer and DJ Rahul mp3. Expect sexy go-go dancers and lots of tooth gems and hand-held fans at the function. Snog, Bristol With bookings that have included everyone from DJ-slash-whistleblower Chelsea Manning to PC Music mainstay Hannah Diamond, multi-venue (but mainly Bristol-based) trans-led collective Snog throws all the best parties in the South West.
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