A nightclub (or night club or club ) is a drinking, dancing and entertainment venue which does its primary business after dark. A nightclub is usually distinguished from bars, pubs or taverns by the inclusion of a dance floor and a DJ booth, where a DJ plays recorded dance and pop music.
The music in nightclubs is either live bands or, more commonly, a mix of songs played by a DJ through a powerful PA system. Most clubs or club nights cater to certain music genres, such as techno, house music, heavy metal, garage, hip hop, salsa, dancehall, or soca music.
Types
Major cities in Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States, and around the world often have a variety of nightclubs, and some small towns and cities also have nightclubs. Nightclubs often feature lighting and other effects, to enhance the dancing experience. Lighting and effects include flashing colored lights, moving light beams, laser light shows, strobe lights, mirror-covered disco balls, or foam, and smoke machines.
Nightclub hours vary widely across the world; in areas with strict liquor regulations in place, nightclubs may have a legal requirement to close at a certain hour. These cities sometimes have illegal "after hours" clubs that stay open and serve alcohol after this legal closing time. In non-regulated areas, nightclubs stay open all night and into early daylight hours.
Entertainment is the main attraction at some types of nightclubs. One type of club is a concert club, which specializes in hosting performances of live music. In contrast to regular night clubs, concert clubs are usually only open when a performance is scheduled. Other types of clubs include "all-ages" clubs, which allow non-drinking age attendees.
Nightclubs can be built in former warehouses and cinemas, deconsecrated churches, underground buildings, and custom-built buildings, and generally have thick insulated walls and few or no windows, so that the neighboring buildings will not be disturbed by the powerful beat of the dance music, the flashing lights and crowd noise generated throughout the night. This style of construction also keeps light and noise from the street from entering the club. This allows the nightclub to turn the dance floor into an alternate, illusory realm of timelessness. Even if an all-night rave at a nightclub lasts until 6 a.m., when it is light outside, to the clubgoers, it is still dark inside the club, and the partying and dancing continue.
Entry
Cover Charge
In most cases, entering a night club requires a flat fee called a cover charge. Early arrivers and women may have their cover charge waived or reduced (in the United Kingdom, this latter option is illegal under the Sex Discrimination Act 1975). Friends of the doorman or the club owner may gain free entrance. Sometimes, especially at larger clubs in continental European countries, one only gets a pay card at the entrance, on which all money spent in the discothèque (often including the entrance fee) is marked. Sometimes, entrance fee and cloakroom costs are paid by cash and only the drinks in the club are paid using a pay card.
Guestlist
Many nightclubs operate a "guestlist" that allows certain attendees to enter the club for free, or at a reduced rate. Some nightclubs have a range of unpublicised guestlist options ranging from free, to reduced, to full price with line by-pass privileges only. Nightclub goers that are on the guestlist usually have a separate queue and possible a separate entrance to the one used by full price paying attendees. It is not uncommon for the guestlist line-up to be as long or longer than the full-paying or ticketed queues. Some nightclubs allow clubbers to register for the guestlist through their websites.
Dress Code
Many nightclubs enforce a dress code in order to ensure a certain type of clientele is in attendance at the venue. Some upscale nightclubs bar attendees from wearing trainers or jeans, while other nightclubs will advertise a vague "dress to impress" dress code that allows the bouncers to discriminate at will against those vying for entry to the club. Many exceptions are made to nightclub dress codes, with denied entry usually reserved for the most glaring rule breakers or those thought to be unsuitable for the party. Certain niche clubs like fetish nightclubs may apply a leather-only, rubber-only or fantasy dress code.
History
Early history
During US Prohibition, nightclubs went underground as illegal speakeasy bars. With the repeal of Prohibition in February 1933, nightclubs were revived, such as New York's Stork Club, 21 Club, El Morocco and the Copacabana. In Harlem, the Cotton Club and Connie's Inn were popular venues for white audiences. Before 1953 and even some years thereafter, most bars and nightclubs used a jukebox or mostly live bands. In Paris, at a club named "Whisky à Gogo", Régine laid down a dance-floor, suspended coloured lights and replaced the juke-box with two turntables which she operated herself so there would be no breaks between the music. The Whisky à Gogo set into place the standard elements of the modern discothèque -style nightclub. In the early 1960s, Mark Birley opened a members-only discothèque nightclub, Annabel's, in Berkeley Square, London. However, the first rock and roll generation preferred rough and tumble bars and taverns to nightclubs, and the nightclub did not attain mainstream popularity until the 1970s disco era.
1970s: Disco
By the late 1970s many major US cities had thriving disco club scenes which were centered around discothèques, nightclubs, and private loft parties where DJs would play disco hits through powerful PA systems for the dancers. The DJs played "... a smooth mix of long single records to keep people 'dancing all night long'" Some of the most prestigious clubs had elaborate lighting systems that throbbed to the beat of the music.
Some cities had disco dance instructors or dance schools which taught people how to do popular disco dances such as "touch dancing", the "hustle" and the "cha-cha-cha". There were also disco fashions that discothèque-goers wore for nights out at their local disco, such as sheer, flowing Halston dresses for women and shiny polyester Qiana shirts for men. Disco clubs and "...hedonistic loft parties" had a club culture which had many African American, gay and Hispanic people.
In addition to the dance and fashion aspects of the disco club scene, there was also a thriving drug subculture, particularly for recreational drugs that would enhance the experience of dancing to the loud music and the flashing lights, such as cocaine (nicknamed "blow"), amyl nitrite "poppers" , and the "...other quintessential 1970s club drug Quaalude, which suspended motor coordination and turned one's arms and legs to Jell-O". The "massive quantities of drugs ingested in discothèques by newly liberated gay men produced the next cultural phenomenon of the disco era: rampant promiscuity and public sex. While the dance floor was the central arena of seduction, actual sex usually took place in the nether regions of the disco: bathroom stalls, exit stairwells, and so on. In other cases the disco became a kind of "main course" in a hedonist's menu for a night out."
Famous 1970s discothèques included "...cocaine-filled celeb hangouts such as Manhattan's "Studio 54", which was operated by Steve Rubell and Ian Schrager. Studio 54 was notorious for the hedonism that went on within; the balconies were known for sexual encounters, and drug use was rampant. Its dance floor was decorated with an image of the "Man in the Moon" that included an animated cocaine spoon. Other famous discothèques included "The Loft", the "Paradise Garage", and "Aux Puces", one of the first gay disco bars. By the early 1980s, the term "disco" had largely fallen out of favor in North America.
1980s New York, London & Europe
During the 1980s, during the New Romantic movement, London had a vibrant nightclub scene, which included clubs like The Blitz, the Batcave, the Camden Palace and Club for Heroes. Both music and fashion embraced the aesthetics of the movement. Bands included Depeche Mode, The Human League, Duran Duran, Blondie, Eurythmics and Ultravox. Reggae-influenced bands included Boy George and Culture Club, and electronic vibe bands included Visage. At London nightclubs, young men would often wear make-up and young women would wear mens' suits.
The largest UK cities like Liverpool, Quadrant Park and 051, Swansea, Manchester (The Haçienda) and several key European places like Paris (Les Bains Douches), Berlin, Ibiza (Pacha), Rimini etc also played a significant role in the evolution of clubbing, DJ culture and nightlife.
Significant New York nightclubs of the period were Area, Danceteria, and The Limelight.
1990s and 2000s
In Europe and North America, nightclubs play disco-influenced dance music such as house music, techno, and other dance music styles such as electronica and trance. Most nightclubs in the U.S. major cities play hip hop, hous
INIA- Home
Irish Nightclub Industry Association ... The Irish Nightclub Industry Association [ INIA ] is the national representative body for nightclub owners and operators in the Republic of ...
Bars and Nightclubs Industry, Bars and Nightclubs Industry Research ...
Get analysis of the Bars and Nightclubs industry, including Bars and Nightclubs industry competitive landscape, overview of products and technology, and ...
nightclub industry · Nightclub & Bar Convention and Tradeshow
MONDAY, MARCH 8 • 1:00–2:00 PM. Effective Beverage Promotions & Marketing Strategies. Moderator: John Lingo, Owner, A New World Production and Co-Founder, The Millennium Advisory ...
Nightclub industry experts · Nightclub & Bar Convention and ...
Bringing you the best education program for 2010! The hospitality industry is vast with many different facets. We get that… There is never one easy solution.
Bar & Nightclub Industry Research in the US by IBISWorld
Industry Research Report: Bars, Nightclubs & Drinking Establishments Industry. In depth analysis, data, trends, market share, forecasts. Latest Aug 2009. Download instantly.
CoolBars.com - Nightclub Industry supplies, information and more
CoolBars.com is the the Nightclub Industry 's information source. Whether you're a club owner, manager, bartender or ...
Wynn: Nightclub Industry - Las Vegas Sun
Steve Wynn discusses changes in the nightclub industry in Vegas during an interview with Robin Leach.
Disco Era People: (Nightclub Industry): DiscoMusic.com
Interviews and bios on the people who shaped Disco music and culture such as the artists, DJs, remixers, producers, club owners and record label executives.
Nightclub Design by Creative Nightclubs, LLC.
We are world renowned in the nightclub industry however we have won numerous awards for our design work in Retail, Casino, Hospitality, Corporate ...
Wichita Bar & Nightclub Association Home Page
Liquor industry professionals created the Wichita Bar and Nightclub Association (WBNA) to advocate for the interests of liquor industry owners and to educate the police ...