The LCR has undergone a steady fall from grace. I remember attending weekly club nights on a semi-regular basis. The place was packed. But dwindling ticket sales forced the closure of A-List – alongside the death of Mr. Brightside played at 180bpm and mixed into Samba De Janeiro. Rest in peace. 

After a hiatus period, Movement was introduced as the successor to A-List’s Saturday night slot. It brought a boiler room-style layout and tracks from the modern club music scene, which as a DJ myself, I was very excited about. The black and white posters plastered around campus sold it as the biggest weekly club event in East Anglia. It lasted about a month.  

People had long complained about the music at the LCR lacking variation, and Movement seemed like a promising shift towards the contemporary UK club scene. So, what went wrong?  

Themed nights such as Damn Good, Y2K and Sports Night still do well because of the sense of community that they offer. Everyone in attendance is there for a shared reason – wearing a silly costume and meeting like-minded people.  

A broad-brush weekly club night, on the other hand, simply isn’t appealing to students anymore. It’s likely linked to wider cost-of-living crisis – many students, myself included, are having to work more just to afford to live. Hospitality roles, the most common industry for young people to work in, often involve weekend hours. There’s simply a lack of time to attend. Students are oftentimes even avoiding regular clubbing altogether due to a night of buying drinks the price of a weekly food shop. 

The size of the LCR works against it. With a capacity of around 1500, the dance floor looks relatively empty with a good 200 people inside – a figure that would fill many other Norwich clubs. 

There’s also the reality that many current students spent key formative years indoors during the COVID-19 pandemic. Various studies indicate that the pandemic significantly disrupted the social development of teenagers, with lasting effects. Where moving away from home for the first time would have previously felt like the world was your oyster, this prospect may now elicit strong feelings of anxiety. 

I never really got the sense that the University of East Anglia had a party reputation, like Newcastle or Manchester. But presently, it feels even less so. It’s deeply saddening that many venues across the UK, including the LCR, are struggling. But it begs the question: how do we go about reintroducing weekly club nights and saving our beloved LCR?  

The Students’ Union has the advantage of working with clubs and societies, and crucially, societies that love to party. Aside from the odd Instagram story poll used to gauge what music people want to hear, there isn’t always serious dialogue between the SU and societies about the direction of club nights. If we can collaborate to move beyond surface-level feedback and establish a stronger relationship between students and those creating university clubbing culture, we’re sure to see results.  

There are lessons to be learnt from other Students’ Unions that host successful club nights. Hailing from Leeds myself, I’ve been to some incredible events at their LCR-equivalent venue, which is still very much thriving. Research indicates that a large part of their success can be attributed to their partnership with a Leeds-based events company. Liverpool Guild of Students, one of the city’s largest venues with a capacity similar to the LCR, saw the site become a must-play hotspot after securing a contract with Academy Music Group (AMG). It’s evidence that partnerships like these provide venues with invaluable industry advice and connections to some of the biggest names in music – both of which could flip the SU clubbing scene around and add Norwich to the university party list. 

The LCR is at the heart of UEA’s identity; a core part of our history, culture, and community. With third spaces declining across the board, it’s essential that the SU and the UEA continue to fight to preserve nightlife on campus. However, in the midst of such a difficult socioeconomic climate, this challenge shouldn’t have to be tackled alone. By partnering with the people attending club nights, as well as industry experts, our beloved LCR would benefit from the same insights that have revitalised other student venues. Despite all the difficulties that clubbing venues currently face, hope is not lost. 

Image credit: Emily Pitt-Shaw