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Life After Dark: A History of British Nightclubs & Music Venues
Nightclubs and music venues are often the source of a lifetime's music taste, best friends and vivid memories. They can define a town, a city or a generation, and breed scenes and bands that change music history. In Life After Dark, Dave Haslam reveals and celebrates a definitive history of significant venues and great nights out. Writing with passion and authority, he takes us from vice-ridden Victorian dance halls to acid house and beyond; through the jazz decades of luxurious ballrooms to mods in basement dives and the venues that nurtured the Beatles, the Stones, Northern Soul and the Sex Pistols; from psychedelic light shows to high street discos; from the Roxy to the Hacienda; from the Krays to the Slits; and from reggae sound systems to rave nights in Stoke.
In a journey to dozens of towns and cities, taking in hundreds of unforgettable stories on the way, Haslam explores the sleaziness, the changing fashions, the moral panics and the cultural and commercial history of nightlife. He interviews clubbers and venue owners, as well as DJs and musicians; he meets one of the gangsters who nearly destroyed Manchester's nightlife and discusses Goth clubs in Leeds with David Peace.
In a journey to dozens of towns and cities, taking in hundreds of unforgettable stories on the way, Haslam explores the sleaziness, the changing fashions, the moral panics and the cultural and commercial history of nightlife. He interviews clubbers and venue owners, as well as DJs and musicians; he meets one of the gangsters who nearly destroyed Manchester's nightlife and discusses Goth clubs in Leeds with David Peace.
384 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 13, 2015
24 people are currently reading
296 people want to read
About the author
Dave Haslam
21 books46 followersDave Haslam is an author and DJ. Originally from Moseley, Birmingham, he moved to Manchester in 1980, making his name as a DJ with 450 appearances at the Haçienda nightclub, including Thursday's Temperance club night in the late 1980s. In the 1990s he also hosted the weekly night Yellow at the Boardwalk nightclub in Manchester. His more recent DJ shows include clubs in Italy, USA, France, and Germany.
In the mid 1980s he founded the fanzine 'Debris' and went on to write for NME. His journalism has since appeared in The Times, The Guardian, The London Review of Books, The New Statesman and elsewhere. In 1999 he published Manchester, England, and, subsequently, Adventures on the Wheels of Steel, a book about the music and politics of the 1970s called Not Abba; the Real Story of the 1970s (reprinted as Young Hearts Run Free; the Real Story of the 1970s), a history of British nightclubs and music venues entitled 'Life After Dark', and his memoirs, 'Sonic Youth Slept On My Floor: Music, Manchester & More'.
His numerous other cultural interventions included creating an installation for the Berlin-based ‘Shrinking Cities’ exhibition; presenting a twenty minute talk on the North/South divide for BBC Radio 3; appearing on TV shows on BBC Two and on Channel 4, Granada TV, and Canal Plus (France). His 'Close Up' series of live interviews have attracted guest interviewees including Jonathan Franzen, Nile Rodgers and John Lydon.
In the mid 1980s he founded the fanzine 'Debris' and went on to write for NME. His journalism has since appeared in The Times, The Guardian, The London Review of Books, The New Statesman and elsewhere. In 1999 he published Manchester, England, and, subsequently, Adventures on the Wheels of Steel, a book about the music and politics of the 1970s called Not Abba; the Real Story of the 1970s (reprinted as Young Hearts Run Free; the Real Story of the 1970s), a history of British nightclubs and music venues entitled 'Life After Dark', and his memoirs, 'Sonic Youth Slept On My Floor: Music, Manchester & More'.
His numerous other cultural interventions included creating an installation for the Berlin-based ‘Shrinking Cities’ exhibition; presenting a twenty minute talk on the North/South divide for BBC Radio 3; appearing on TV shows on BBC Two and on Channel 4, Granada TV, and Canal Plus (France). His 'Close Up' series of live interviews have attracted guest interviewees including Jonathan Franzen, Nile Rodgers and John Lydon.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
November 25, 2018
An incredibly detailed history of night clubs in the UK over the past 150 years. It gives insights into how and why nights out and music have evolved and it is sad that these important aspects of our cultural history get quickly forgotten. It seems incredible that 60 years ago a typical night out would involve dancing in couples to a live band using specifically learned dance steps. The book gives insights into a range of broad and specific commercial and cultural factors that have driven change.
September 22, 2015
As someone who attended Dave Haslam's Temperance Club nights at the Haçienda, this book was of particular interest. It manages to capture the excitement of the small club and the emergence of a "scene". It doesn't become negative and dwell on the fact that so many of the old venues have gone. Dave demonstrates that throughout the ages we reinvent the world of nightime entertainment and "the best club in the world is the one that changed your life". Let the beat continue....
September 18, 2020
A really excellent historical view of the club/music scene in the UK (but mainly England though not just London and 'the rest' a fair reflectionof different scenes). In first 2/3 of the book its greatness is in highlighting subcultures associated with the scenes. Moves onto more anecdotal retelling of 80s and 90s (no surprise given the author!) and ends looking at the future of music venues given gentrification of major cities.
December 8, 2022
I got excited when this book arrived on my doorstep. At first glance it has all the key ingredients for a great book. Hacienda DJ author, history of British nightclubs - I expected lots of gory detail and exciting anecdotes and couldn't wait to get to the acid house chapters....
The history begins back in Victorian dancefloors. From the outset a consistent theme throughout our nightclub adventure is controversy, rebellion and culture. Working class escapism as highlighted by co-founder of communism, Fredrich Engels as he discussed working class conditions in Manchester, illustrating the inebriated masses keen to escape the drudgery of factory work. Moving through, each chapter tends to focus on a specific era. We go through Jazz, rock and roll, Mods and rockers, Punk and disco and through to the modern age electronica plus Britpop and present day trends. The book often focuses on particular niche venues across various cities in the UK, both small and large, venues which influenced the whole culture. It's so surprising considering the incredible popularity of such bands as the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and The Animals, to discover how they really became grounded and formed the elements of their success in small club residencies: The Cavern in Liverpool for the Beatles, The Crawdaddy in London for the Rolling Stones and the Club a Go Go in Newcastle for The Animals. Later so many dance DJs carved their names in residencies such as at the Hacienda in Manchester and also self-promoted London nights such as Spectrum, Shoom and Trip at the Astoria. As a DJ I found it particularly interesting seeing the evolution of my art. How early than I had imagined venues were turning away from live acts and creating spaces for vinyl spinners or jukeboxes where the latest music from all over the world could entertain the crowd in its original studio glory rather than lame band covers playing the same old stuff. Often the first and most successful DJs to contribute to dancefloor culture were the ones with the most eclectic well-resourced vinyl collections. The resistance from formal old school music industry to record-spinners was there from the outset. On a local tip for me, John Sicolo, famed owner of TJS in Newport, one of John Peel's most favourite live venues, gets a mention in the introduction and although Miss Moneypennys @ Bonds and elsewhere and Chuff Chuff in Birmingham escapes much attention, I did, in particular love the focus on Bristol with detailed analysis of the formation of Wild Bunch, leading to the musical movement that is Massive Attack. I think the Korean restaurant whose basement was the spiritual home of Daddy G's crew was once a Thai restaurant on Park Row where I'd treat all my Shuffle resident DJs to meals before our weekend gigs. Throughout the book special attention is paid to the gay scene and how it has influenced UK culture. From clandestine beginnings we see a more accepted mainstream less-discriminatory inclusion in the modern day entertainment environment. There are some darker tales and the history of Gary Glitter at the Cavern and Jimmy Saville's live DJing are historic details I'd rather not know tbh but truth is out there.... The whole acid house coverage is where DJ author, Dave Haslam comes into his own. The whole book is written with intellectual flair and creative passion but from the evolution of Hacienda to coverage of Sasha at Shelleys and rise of Ministry of Sound Garage, Summer of Love Ibiza London acid house founders, the story bubbles and Haslam lets loose with a soul of a professional dance music aficionado. As someone who grew up in nightclubs and has spent a lifetime dodging around venues in the UK as a DJ, promoter etc it was great reading about many people who influenced my life so much and also people I'ver been privileged enough to work alongside. Paul Oakenfold, Danny Rampling, Nicky Holloway, Norman Jay, Judge Jules to name a few. Most of the London and Birmingham clubs that I did play in have since closed their doors and one consistent fact I notice in the book is that venues often have a short shelf life. Often many are a lot smaller and these are the most influential in the various eras. There are a few survivors but so many are now tescos or blocks of flats or shopping centres. It's noticeable how marginal the lines are when it comes to finance and how fashion dictates and authorities discord with entertainment sector has harsh political consequences. The book is quite substantial and detailed with so many new facts for me and amazing anecdotes I shall be relaying to all who might listen to me. However, I need more. at 400 pages it's not enough. There's too many characters left in silence too many more venues I need the facts on. I want to keep Mister Haslam's pen busy and will be applying to Routledge for him to be approached to compile a definitive Encyclopedia of British nightlife and I'm sure Haslam could maybe expand his horizons beyond the confines of this tiny island and deliver a history of global nightlife. I want to know how many guitars Jimi Hendrix has put through the ceiling in Antarctica and for every nook and cranny from darkest Africa, Chinese villages, Amazonian jungle hideouts, Saharan oases to Detroit back alleys, New York boutiques and Chicago storage facilities I need to know what bands are on, what the DJs are spinning, dress code, bouncer quality and profit and loss situation. Plenty more to crack on with, Dave. Get busy. Like any vinyl collection there's always room for more... Anyone from the humblest cloak room assistant to the most pretentious superstar DJ should get onto this book and analyse and enjoy the great achievement of its original creation.
The history begins back in Victorian dancefloors. From the outset a consistent theme throughout our nightclub adventure is controversy, rebellion and culture. Working class escapism as highlighted by co-founder of communism, Fredrich Engels as he discussed working class conditions in Manchester, illustrating the inebriated masses keen to escape the drudgery of factory work. Moving through, each chapter tends to focus on a specific era. We go through Jazz, rock and roll, Mods and rockers, Punk and disco and through to the modern age electronica plus Britpop and present day trends. The book often focuses on particular niche venues across various cities in the UK, both small and large, venues which influenced the whole culture. It's so surprising considering the incredible popularity of such bands as the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and The Animals, to discover how they really became grounded and formed the elements of their success in small club residencies: The Cavern in Liverpool for the Beatles, The Crawdaddy in London for the Rolling Stones and the Club a Go Go in Newcastle for The Animals. Later so many dance DJs carved their names in residencies such as at the Hacienda in Manchester and also self-promoted London nights such as Spectrum, Shoom and Trip at the Astoria. As a DJ I found it particularly interesting seeing the evolution of my art. How early than I had imagined venues were turning away from live acts and creating spaces for vinyl spinners or jukeboxes where the latest music from all over the world could entertain the crowd in its original studio glory rather than lame band covers playing the same old stuff. Often the first and most successful DJs to contribute to dancefloor culture were the ones with the most eclectic well-resourced vinyl collections. The resistance from formal old school music industry to record-spinners was there from the outset. On a local tip for me, John Sicolo, famed owner of TJS in Newport, one of John Peel's most favourite live venues, gets a mention in the introduction and although Miss Moneypennys @ Bonds and elsewhere and Chuff Chuff in Birmingham escapes much attention, I did, in particular love the focus on Bristol with detailed analysis of the formation of Wild Bunch, leading to the musical movement that is Massive Attack. I think the Korean restaurant whose basement was the spiritual home of Daddy G's crew was once a Thai restaurant on Park Row where I'd treat all my Shuffle resident DJs to meals before our weekend gigs. Throughout the book special attention is paid to the gay scene and how it has influenced UK culture. From clandestine beginnings we see a more accepted mainstream less-discriminatory inclusion in the modern day entertainment environment. There are some darker tales and the history of Gary Glitter at the Cavern and Jimmy Saville's live DJing are historic details I'd rather not know tbh but truth is out there.... The whole acid house coverage is where DJ author, Dave Haslam comes into his own. The whole book is written with intellectual flair and creative passion but from the evolution of Hacienda to coverage of Sasha at Shelleys and rise of Ministry of Sound Garage, Summer of Love Ibiza London acid house founders, the story bubbles and Haslam lets loose with a soul of a professional dance music aficionado. As someone who grew up in nightclubs and has spent a lifetime dodging around venues in the UK as a DJ, promoter etc it was great reading about many people who influenced my life so much and also people I'ver been privileged enough to work alongside. Paul Oakenfold, Danny Rampling, Nicky Holloway, Norman Jay, Judge Jules to name a few. Most of the London and Birmingham clubs that I did play in have since closed their doors and one consistent fact I notice in the book is that venues often have a short shelf life. Often many are a lot smaller and these are the most influential in the various eras. There are a few survivors but so many are now tescos or blocks of flats or shopping centres. It's noticeable how marginal the lines are when it comes to finance and how fashion dictates and authorities discord with entertainment sector has harsh political consequences. The book is quite substantial and detailed with so many new facts for me and amazing anecdotes I shall be relaying to all who might listen to me. However, I need more. at 400 pages it's not enough. There's too many characters left in silence too many more venues I need the facts on. I want to keep Mister Haslam's pen busy and will be applying to Routledge for him to be approached to compile a definitive Encyclopedia of British nightlife and I'm sure Haslam could maybe expand his horizons beyond the confines of this tiny island and deliver a history of global nightlife. I want to know how many guitars Jimi Hendrix has put through the ceiling in Antarctica and for every nook and cranny from darkest Africa, Chinese villages, Amazonian jungle hideouts, Saharan oases to Detroit back alleys, New York boutiques and Chicago storage facilities I need to know what bands are on, what the DJs are spinning, dress code, bouncer quality and profit and loss situation. Plenty more to crack on with, Dave. Get busy. Like any vinyl collection there's always room for more... Anyone from the humblest cloak room assistant to the most pretentious superstar DJ should get onto this book and analyse and enjoy the great achievement of its original creation.
December 10, 2023
I knew of Dave Haslam when he was editing a fanzine called Debris back in the eighties. It was here that I would first read about bands like A Witness, Inca Babies and Laugh.
It's taken me ages to complete reading it because as time progressed my interest in club and dance music was non existent and I found it hard to read something I had little interest in. Some of the names were familiar like Roger Eagle and sadly Pete Waterman, too. I enjoyed reading about the punk explosion and all the chancers that were around. Without them though people like me would never have had the grounding we had by attending Middlesbrough Rock Garden (1979-1981).
Having promoted some 141 gigs in 13 years myself in provincial towns like Middlesbrough and Stockton on Tees I can look back and envy how much easier it is to pull in a crowd that makes everything financially viable. Overall this a great read, well researched but ignores the smaller places. We had our our own scenes that have never been given wider exposure but Teesside remains a great place to promote live music despite seemingly always in the shadow of Newcastle and even Sunderland.
It's taken me ages to complete reading it because as time progressed my interest in club and dance music was non existent and I found it hard to read something I had little interest in. Some of the names were familiar like Roger Eagle and sadly Pete Waterman, too. I enjoyed reading about the punk explosion and all the chancers that were around. Without them though people like me would never have had the grounding we had by attending Middlesbrough Rock Garden (1979-1981).
Having promoted some 141 gigs in 13 years myself in provincial towns like Middlesbrough and Stockton on Tees I can look back and envy how much easier it is to pull in a crowd that makes everything financially viable. Overall this a great read, well researched but ignores the smaller places. We had our our own scenes that have never been given wider exposure but Teesside remains a great place to promote live music despite seemingly always in the shadow of Newcastle and even Sunderland.
October 23, 2023
Interesting book but maybe a bit disappointing.
Having being written by a former rave DJ I expected the book to heavily feature the old acid house, rave, house scene. However, acid house doesn't get a mention until Chapter 11, some 300+ pages into the book.
And whilst there are some good moments in the book, at times it feels like 2 blokes talking over a pint:
"Remember this club?"
"Oh, yeah, they did night didn't they?"
"What about that club?"
"Oh yeah"
It did remind me of a few clubs for me to go online and find some mixes from Youtube etc though.
As I said, interesting to a point, but I expected more given the author.
Having being written by a former rave DJ I expected the book to heavily feature the old acid house, rave, house scene. However, acid house doesn't get a mention until Chapter 11, some 300+ pages into the book.
And whilst there are some good moments in the book, at times it feels like 2 blokes talking over a pint:
"Remember this club?"
"Oh, yeah, they did night didn't they?"
"What about that club?"
"Oh yeah"
It did remind me of a few clubs for me to go online and find some mixes from Youtube etc though.
As I said, interesting to a point, but I expected more given the author.
November 1, 2024
That really was a history lesson in UK clubs/music venues, factually heavy in places but yeah it is gutting that some venues/clubs are now over prices flats or a Tesco.
From chapter 11 - I felt I could relate. Mentions of places I wished I'd danced in and places I've danced in plenty. Manchester, late 90s and beyond really shaped me in many ways. I've met some amazing people on dance floors.
"Dancing has been known to lead to I purity of thought, desire and practice"
From chapter 11 - I felt I could relate. Mentions of places I wished I'd danced in and places I've danced in plenty. Manchester, late 90s and beyond really shaped me in many ways. I've met some amazing people on dance floors.
"Dancing has been known to lead to I purity of thought, desire and practice"
November 17, 2017
Not sure I found much here that I did not know at least a little about to begin with. It lays out a social history of dance halls and clubs as well as artists and characters of note. I did enjoy it.
July 15, 2018
Imo it takes a while to get going but once you get into it you really get in to it.
September 15, 2018
A fascinating journey through the history of British entertainment. All genres of music are covered and all parts of the UK.
I learned a lot and enjoyed it along the way.
I learned a lot and enjoyed it along the way.
January 20, 2019
Fascinating from start to finish. Well researched and well written. Enough background detail without being too 'heavy'. Loved it.
Read
June 13, 2020Not read the whole book but noticed part of a description I wrote about Stallions nightclub in London was copied verbatim (probably from the old Stradivarius website).
April 20, 2024
Great book. Lots of reading in it, and really picks up pace from the punk scene onwards.
October 8, 2016
I defy anyone who spent their formative years clubbing in northern cities to read this without a knowing smile.
Dave Haslam's knowledge of British nightlife is vast and fascinating and his deep running passion for music emanates every page.
The book is packed facts and anecdotes any music lover will drink in. No matter how well you think you know the nightlife in your city, I'll bet Dave can tell you more.
I usually favour fiction over fact books but Life after Dark has been a turning point and I'll be adding plenty more musicologies to my Goodreads list from now on.
Dave Haslam's knowledge of British nightlife is vast and fascinating and his deep running passion for music emanates every page.
The book is packed facts and anecdotes any music lover will drink in. No matter how well you think you know the nightlife in your city, I'll bet Dave can tell you more.
I usually favour fiction over fact books but Life after Dark has been a turning point and I'll be adding plenty more musicologies to my Goodreads list from now on.
Read
April 8, 2016647.9541 H3521 2015
December 17, 2018
An exhaustive time-travel through British nightspots that I found, in most parts, engrossing. Who would have imagined The Human League sharing a bill with Def Leppard unless you were gig-going in Sheffield around 1978. Or Cabaret Voltaire upsetting their audiences by joining them off stage whilst the played tape loops on it.
The author described the venues and what went on inside them without wallowing in nostalgia, leaving the reader with the message that the demise of a building, or a venue, or a club night should not be viewed with dismay, but an opportunity for others to follow with new places of musical worship.
I lost interest during the later chapters but that was due to my musical interests rather than the writing style.
Well worth a read if you've an interest in the topic
The author described the venues and what went on inside them without wallowing in nostalgia, leaving the reader with the message that the demise of a building, or a venue, or a club night should not be viewed with dismay, but an opportunity for others to follow with new places of musical worship.
I lost interest during the later chapters but that was due to my musical interests rather than the writing style.
Well worth a read if you've an interest in the topic
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews