One reason for their dwindling number is the 2003 Licensing Act, which allowed pubs to open virtually round the clock. There was less reason to frequent a nightclub.
But what memories.
In the 1980s and 1990s Cheap nights in the city were Monday in Chambers, Tuesday Ku Club, Wednesday everywhere, Thursday Blue Monkey; which brought you to the weekend when you could go out and enjoy yourself.
Here is a brief history and some unabashed clubbing nostalgia from someone who was familiar with most of them.
5. Dixon’s, Dixon Square, Monkwearmouth - with a slightly misleading picture
I never frequented this one, with good reason. Located behind the Howard Arms, according to some, Dixon’s was reputedly the easiest establishment in the discovered world in which to get into a fight. Patrons are said to have moved to Tijuana to avoid the violence. Others contend that it was a sedate, elegant venue where young executives would meet for a snifter of Dom Pérignon and a salver of mottled oysters of an evening, and that its eventual demolition showed a shameless disregard for the city’s cultural heritage. What do you reckon? Take a close look at the picture. Then forget about it, because Dixon’s looked nothing like this. Photo: Sunderland Echo
6. The Blue Monkey, Bedford Street - its history is a bit too interesting
Built in 1855 as The Theatre Royal, it later became a cinema then a bingo hall. Even as the Blue Monkey it still had a bust of Shakespeare above its entrance. Generally a decent club, very cheap on Thursdays and well remembered for its rave nights, although the type of music depended in the day of the week. But its final years were infamous; it was at the centre of a murder inquiry in January 1992 and was later burned down in 1994. The arson attack could have been even worse as there was a petrol station next door. Demolished in 1997 and now the site of the Empire cinema, its replacement, the New Monkey in Pallion, had its finest hour in 2006 when it too was closed for good. Photo: Sunderland Echo
7. Bentley’s, Holmeside
Gone but still there, depending on how you look at it. Beloved of apprentices from all trades, Bentley’s was where the masses would gather in the late 1980s/early 1990s to pay homage to their three patron saints: Stock, Aitken and Waterman. On a good night you might even hear a bit of Sonia. Aimed mainly at a younger crowd and still trading today as Illusions. Before becoming Bentley’s and Bailey’s in the 1980s the building had been a garage. Photo: Sunderland Echo
8. Chambers, High Street West - dry ice liberally applied
Cheap night was Monday when a studenty crowd took over. Housed in the Victorian Grade II listed Hutchinson’s Buildings and first opened in 1987, it was a popular if fairly standard haunt. It’s dry ice machine was used with a zealous frequency which only the dry ice fanatics among you can understand. Are dry ice machines still available? Photo: Sunderland Echo