As Cream in Liverpol closes its doors after 21 years in its current location, can the North West club scene revive itself?
Manchester’s famous Hacienda club is long gone, turned into respectable city-living flats, and the North West’s once legendary dance scene is struggling to define itself.
The Licensing Act 2003 deregulated late-night bars and changed the dynamic dramatically. Out are raves in cavernous clubs with lager on tap and in are more intimate venues with a cool DJ and cocktails served until 4am, this is about reinvention.
This has affected rents, ratings and limited days of trading, which are all having an impact in how the North West’s club sector operates.
“Nobody is looking for larger venues anymore. North West operators are closing floors in the larger buildings as they don’t want place to look empty and it is changes to the bar circuit that have affected them,” says Sophie Attwood of Dunlop Heywood. “Oversupply in the nightclub sector is a long-term problem.”
