'New Year's Eve is always a let-down': how January 1st became the number one date in the clubbing calendar
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Since becoming a bank holiday 50 years ago, we’ve typically spent New Year’s Day either hunched over the toilet, or – for those lucky enough to avoid a painful hangover – on a wholesome (and maybe, smug) walk. But not anymore. In recent years, January 1 has proven itself as one of the best dates for dance music events in London. You look at the listings: clubbing on New Year’s Eve is out, and clubbing on New Year’s Day is in.
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But how did this all happen? Especially when there are so many New Year’s Eve hallmarks – the countdown, the confetti, the champagne. But when I pose the question to a group of friends, who will spend their first day of 2025 at queer party Adonis, it appears that none of these traditions really matter.
“None of the losers that don’t go clubbing all year are there to ruin the event because they would’ve been out the night before,” one says. “New Year’s Eve always ends up being a let-down – the idea of it is far more exciting than the night itself,” another chimes in. Another friend agrees: “I feel like there’s a lot of pressure on New Year’s Eve to have a blast.”.
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Alongside the likes of fabric, Night Tales and Fire, another club throwing a New Year’s Day party is E1 in Wapping, which has hosted one every year since opening in 2017. On January 1, the industrial-style venue will host an eight-hour garage set by genre pioneer DJ EZ.
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Jack Henry, E1’s operations director, tells me there’s more interest in the club’s New Year’s Day event than what’s on the previous night – from customers and promoters alike. “I think there are many reasons why. There’s less pressure for sure, less risk of having a ruined night out – no one wants to spend the countdown in the queue – and there’s a more relaxed atmosphere on New Year’s Day,” he says, claiming that New Year’s Eve events appeal to tourists while Londoners aged over 25 are the club’s typical New Year’s Day crowd.
