By Peter Shuttleworth
BBC News
If you like a night out but are known to nod off at a bar when it gets late, the daytime nightclub may be for you.
Actress Vicky McClure and husband Jonny Owen have created a club night that’s open in the day but shuts early, so you can get a kebab, the last train and be home for some Saturday night telly.
The idea is you’ll be fresh to take the kids to their clubs the next morning.
“Instead of dancing the night away, this is dancing the afternoon away,” joked Line of Duty star Vicky.
As a nod to the Bee Gees’ party classic Night Fever, the all-day discos are called Day Fever, where it’s more “all day long” than “all night long”.
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“It’s a nightclub in the afternoon for people of a certain age,” said filmmaker Jonny, 52.
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“I love meeting mates, having a few drinks, having a dance but also like getting a cheeky curry afterwards, not queuing hours for a taxi and being home early enough for Match of the Day – and then it also doesn’t ruin your Sunday either.
“For me now, it’s all about going out on a bit of an all-dayer – and I thought there’s a real market for people with a similar vibe.”
The discos are targeted at people over 30, where doors open at 14:00, last entry is 16:00 and party-goers are asked to be polite and encouraged to dress smartly like they used to when they went on a night out clubbing.
“I’m really guilty for having a good dance in my kitchen alone – and I would much rather do it with my friends,” Bafta winner Vicky said.
“Music is such a powerful thing for us all to have, it’s one thing playing it in your headphones, your house or in your car, but when you’re on a dance floor, with your mates it really does create a memory – and I’m all for music and memories as we do with our
DJs at their event can include Vicky herself, Jonny, and his daughter, Radio 1 presenter Katie Owen, who pick from classic party anthems chosen by DJ and Reverend and the Makers frontman Jon McClure.
Their first daytime disco experiment in Sheffield City Hall last month sold out within 48 hours where Vicky and her mum Carol led the dance floor charge.
“It started in a classic way where everybody stood round the edge of the dance floor,” said the Trigger Point and Without Sin actress, who had recently been.
“But me and mum were the first two up dancing and it didn’t take long before everybody followed – and it was completely packed.”
Daytime dances have now been confirmed in London, Nottingham and south Wales as well as a return to Sheffield and organisers want to take their drop-in disco to towns and cities across the UK.