Anyone who goes to a club is looking for something. Usually it’s something very particular, and usually is exactly what everyone thinks it is, and that’s a good thing. Because it’s easier to meet people knowing that everyone’s there for the same reason, or reasons. The chance to meet the perfect someone is always on the front of the brain, but the same brain often lets you know that it’s a slim chance, so better come up with some other ideas. In that moment, drinking, dancing, and hanging out with friends becomes the theme of the evening, and it’s a great way to spend time anywhere.
Visiting London, the game is still the same. Clubs are clubs wherever anyone might go, and none have an edge over another for getting people out of their instincts. They’re driven by instinct, in fact, because the beats per minute are designed to open up the animal nature in everyone. In London, however, the science of the beat is a little more refined, because this is one of the central cities where it all began. This is all to say that London club culture is very sophisticated.
At its best, it is very open, engaging, and keen on allowing people to have the chance to be themselves, while maintaining a sense of fashion and common cultural precision. Places like After Skool Klub are the height of this notion. It’s all 18 and over, and there is a pretty modest fee of only 7 pounds to get in. There are a number of discounts available, too, so look into that before paying the full cost. Here the atmosphere is very accepting, as long as the tastes aren’t too pedestrian. Death Disco at Nottinghill Arts Club is another local scene that’s very hip, and pretty open to new ideas in music and fashion. Be brave and daring at all costs.
The Forbidden London guides also have some excellent suggestions, but these are often the upscale clubs where it’s nothing to spend hundreds of pounds a night, and make a show of how easy it is to spend. In certain circumstances, it’s a lot of fun, but the guest list and the scrutiny at the door might keep people away, looking for the real London crowds. They all add up to good reasons to spend time away from the London hotel room and get out into the streets to see what the city does after dark.
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