“Without small venues you wouldn’t have Depeche Mode, which is a world not really worth living in”: Kelly Lee Owens worries that clubs could be dead within the decade

Electronic musician Kelly Lee Owens has joined Nick Grimshaw on the Sidetracked podcast to discuss the demise of the UK club scene and its impending impact on new artists.

“What’s worrying is that you’re hearing these great stats, that it’s growing and a third of artists performing at festivals are electronic, but you’re also hearing that clubs are closing and no-one is going clubbing,” opines Grimshaw in the latest show. “It’s interesting that it’s growing, but the smaller venues aren’t there.”

Sidetracked with Annie and Nick is the BBC Sounds podcast hosted by dance music champion Annie Macmanus (formerly merely Mac) and ex-Radio 1 breakfast host turned 6 Music media semi-retiree Nick Grimshaw, in which the pair deliver an "authentic and light-hearted take on the week in music", cheerfully tackling topical issues with a behind-the-scenes bent.

Having recently covered the decline of bands, what it’s really like having a ‘record contract’ in 2025 and how to get your music onto TV shows, the latest episode with guest Kelly Lee Owens centres on the demise of the UK’s once world-leading club industry, digging into the bothersome (though perhaps not entirely surprising) stat that clubs are currently disappearing at the rate of ten a month and an entire industry could be dead within the decade.

“How do we nurture the next wave of these producers, DJs, and artists?” asks Owens. “It’s ultimately an ecosystem and when the smaller places disappear people don’t kick up enough of a fuss. But when you have Fabric, for example, an institution, being threatened then you know that something is really wrong.

“I always think of Depeche Mode. They were on the tube with their synths, coming to these small venues. Without small venues you wouldn’t have Depeche Mode, which is a world not really worth living in. And that goes for DJs of all kinds."

Owens is, of course, is something of a Depeche Mode fan, having supported the band on their last US tour.

“I think there’s a responsibility for everyone from the booking agents to ticketing companies, they need to be investing back into these venues so that the up and coming people have a place to be. It’s a symbiotic relationship and we need to start thinking and acting in that way.”

The figures in question come from a report by the Night Time Industries Association (NTIA) from October 2024. Their figures showed that 37% of clubs across the country have been permanently shut since March 2020, closing their doors at an average of three clubs a week and 150 per year. Helpfully, the NTIA then extrapolates these numbers into a concerning kamikaze dive, predicting that the final UK club will close – fittingly – on New Year’s Eve 2029.

“We are witnessing the systematic dismantling of the night-time economy,” warned Michael Kill, CEO of the Night Time Industries Association. “Our industry is not just about entertainment; it’s about identity, community, and the economy. Losing our clubs means losing jobs, culture, and a vital part of the UK’s social fabric. Without urgent intervention, December 31, 2029, will be the last night out and the end of a clubbing era that has defined generations.”