Nightclub nostalgia

SA had some iconic nightlife scenes years back. Subcultures were built around a dancefloor. That world now feels like it belongs to another era

- Ash Ash Ash Müller

There was a time when a night out was not planned in a WhatsApp group. It just happened. You heard about a place from a friend of a friend. You arrived late and you left later.

Somewhere between the sticky floor, the flashing lights and that one song everyone somehow knew the words to, you felt like you were exactly where you were meant to be.

South Africa had some iconic nightlife scenes a few years back. Entire subcultures were built around a dancefloor. That world now feels like it belongs to another era. I want to spend a few minutes there before it disappears completely and then talk about what has replaced it.

If you wanted to understand Johannesburg nightlife in the 1980s and early 1990s, you started in Hillbrow. Much more than just a party district, it was a cultural melting pot at a moment when the country badly needed one.

Chelsea Underground was less a club than a creative sanctuary, where jazz spilt into the early hours and nobody much cared who you were once you walked through the door.

A few blocks away, Colours and Skyline were doing the opposite: big dancefloors, flashing lights and pure escapism — rooms where Madonna and disco ruled and the outside world switched off for a few hours.

The Electric Workshop blurred the line between club and live venue. If you wanted something darker, you went looking for The Dungeon in Yeoville: all goth and industrial, with a cult crowd who practically lived there. There was no single Hillbrow and that was the appeal.