Time Out London Nightlife

Burlesque shows in London go back centuries, and though areas like Soho aren’t as sinful as they used to be, those in search of sequins and tassels are still spoilt for choice. From a raunchy traditional cabaret show to edgy contemporary burlesque and drag, you’ll find it all here. Here’s our guide to the best of burlesque London, for those times when nothing else will scratch that itch. RECOMMENDED: London’s best cabaret clubs

As day turns to dusk on Saturday July 6, and the Pride parade floats are sent back to their garages, you’ll be wanting somewhere vibey to keep the party going. Here’s our pick of this year’s best Pride night bashes...

Navy blue is the warmest colour this month, as the Piccadilly line joins the night tube. Pubs, clubs and bars from Cockfosters to Heathrow are now contenders for long nights of nocturnal fun. Here’s our pick of late-night spots en route in Zones 1 and 2.  RECOMMENDED: Find out all you need to know about the night tube in London

The Central line runs from east to west across the heart of the city. It's the longest and one of the busiest tube lines, making it a vital part of London's underground network – day and night, now that the night tube has arrived. To celebrate the new age of noctural fun in London, we've plotted the best late-night drinking dens – bars, clubs, eateries and a few pubs – along the red line to ensure your night out never ends early.  RECOMMENDED: Find out all you need to know about the night tube in London

Last week, the world lost one of its best nightclubs. Fabric’s licence was revoked following the drug-related deaths of two teenagers there over the summer. Despite nearly 150,000 people signing a petition to save the club, the decision came down to a panel of three Islington councillors and a six-hour debate. The result is one these Fabric superfans are feeling angry about... 

Whether you're a diehard Skepta fan or just you just fancy a good old fashioned clash, we guarantee you'll find a show with one of your favourite grime artists in this list. So polish up those gunfingers and and get ready to jump in the middle and skank at one of London's best grime nights. 

London nightlife has been clobbered a bit recently, with numerous club closures and new restrictions on venues. It’s easy to start feeling sulky about the future of fun in this great city – but there’s still every reason to celebrate London’s thriving party credentials. In fact, here are 50 reasons. This half-century of amazing pictures represents London’s crazily diverse club scene: from DJs killing it behind the decks and crowds lost in the moment to wild costumes and daft antics. These great pictures from the city’s clubs, pubs and venues made us smile, and reminded us that London’s nightlife is alive, well and dancing its arse off. Here’s hoping they do the same for you.

Go out and stay out all night. Here's your essential party schedule for this weekend... Grime Aid Grime stars P Money, Donae’O, Big Tobz and Bonkaz are the latest acts taking to the mic in support of Somalian refugees in Europe. Kamio. Old St. Jun 15. Stranger Things the Mixtape Cut and paste wizard DJ Yoda plays out his entire mixtape in homage to smash hit series ‘Stranger Things’. XOYO. Old St. Jun 15.  Shak Out Heavy-duty dubplates and MCs take premier position at this south London dancehall summer bash. Dub and reggae champions Mungo’s Hi Fi lead the charge. CLF Art Cafè. Peckham Rye Overground. Jun 16. Sodom & Begorrah This green-and-gold-themed party claims to be London’s first queer Irish night with the explicit aim to put the gay into Gaelic. The Glory. Haggerston Overground. Jun 16. Stand with Chechnya Shiny party starters Regression Sessions are teaming up with Gok Wan for a big house fundraiser to support gay activists protesting crimes against gay men in Chechnya. Fire. Vauxhall. Jun 16. Soul City with Nightmares on Wax Celebrated selector Nightmares on Wax brings his considerable experience to dig out beloved soul tunes, hip hop classics and chunky slices of funk. The Jazz Cafe. Camden Town. Jun 16. Krankbrother’s Shoreditch Street Party This super-fun street party brings a touch of New York disco glamour to London. Top-class guest DJs Todd Terje and Mr Scruff join the Krankbrother siblings for some joyous dancing in the road. Christopher St. Liverpool St. Jun

Go out and stay out all night. Here's your essential party schedule for this weekend... Shorebitch Having grown way beyond the EC1 confines of its name, this ace party looks set to crush it for its fifth birthday – thanks to appearances by pivotal London rhymers Nadia Rose and Abra Cadabra. Electric Brixton. Brixton. Fri May 19. Creatures There’s a new club opening in Tottenham this week called Five Miles. One of the first nights there is Creatures – helmed by Rory Phillips, a regular at pivotal London nights like Trash and Durrr. Five Miles. Seven Sisters. Sat May 20. Disco 54: Slave to the Rhythm Channel your inner Grace Jones to honour the legend’s birthday with a mirrorballs-out disco extravaganza topped off by a turn from the decadent drag performer DisGrace Jones. Bethnal Green Working Men’s Club. Bethnal Green. Sat May 20. Soundtracks Special: Dirty Dancing Turns 30 It’s been a huge 30 years since that cinematic cheesefest. Celebrate by howling along to what is, actually, a brilliant soundtrack. Plus there’s free entry for anyone carrying a watermelon. The Monarch. Chalk Farm. Sat May 20. Grand Theft Homo Gaming, drag queens and cosplayers unite for this genius night run by Cybil’s House, where everyone is invited to live out their 2D fantasies. The White Swan. Limehouse DLR. Sat May 20. Flamingo Pier Launch Hugely popular party people Flamingo Pier are throwing a ten-hour day-and-night party. Action starts on board the Milkfloat (a boat on the Lea canal) before a q

Go out and stay out all night. Here's your essential party schedule for this weekend... Ø Launched fairly recently, this monthly party held by permanently forward-thinking label Hyperdub makes use of both rooms at Corsica Studios in Elephant & Castle. Installation artists are hosted in both rooms, as are DJs, who so far have included Kode9, Arca and Björk. This month’s edition sees excellent producer Ikonika launch her new album, ‘Distractions’. In a word: ØMG. Corsica Studios. Wed May 10. Labyrinth Sessions With a focus on bringing some sweet alternative soul grooves to west London, the first run of Labyrinth Sessions just off Portobello Road ends this week with a turn from London kingpin Bradley Zero. Notting Hill Arts Club. Thu May 11. Peckham Rye Music Festival A hugely impressive cast of DJs descend on Copeland Park – the post-industrial complex that houses great alternative London institutions like the Bussey Building, Rye Wax and The Nines – for a three-day festival. Catch Patrice Scott, Martyn, Axel Boman, Cooly G and more as they play across both daytime and night sessions. Copeland Park. Fri May 12-Sun May 14. Fabric Live Expect more bangers than a Walls factory at the Clerkenwell cavern this Friday, as long-serving drum ’n’ bass ambassador High Contrast takes control of room 1, while Kasra’s Critical Sound label celebrates its fifteenth birthday in room 2. Fabric. Fri May 12. Make Me A lot of grit, persistence and love to keep a night running in London for a numb

Go out and stay out all night. Here's your essential party schedule for this weekend... Channel One Full System Low frequencies galore from dub dons Channel One Sound System, who’ll be taking over a Camden venue and filling it with seriously deep dub and reggae. Prepare for plenty of volume and some brainshaking vibrations. Electric Ballroom. Camden Town. Fri May 5. Garage Rooftop Party with Mike Skinner It’s May, which means it’s officially the season to start partying outside, hard and true. And where better than the sprawling roof terrace at The Prince of Wales? Steering the sounds will be Mike Skinner (him from The Streets), who’s sure to drop all manner of bassy bangers. Things kick off early with a barbecue to fuel all that skanking. Prince of Wales. Brixton. Fri May 5. Ghetto Mixtape This party aims to recreate the sweaty, raucous atmosphere of former Soho basement venue Ghetto, which hosted various semilegendary gay and alternative club nights. Jonny Slut will be bringing his electroclash-fuelled Nag Nag Nag party back to life for the night, with glitzy pop classics, indie and R&B elsewhere. Bloc South. Vauxhall. Fri May 5. Loefah Remember dubstep? Loefah does, and he was pretty damn good at it, too. These days you’ll hear him playing anything from amped-up techno to skewed disco to garage – and you can witness him ripping things up at this east London basement. Joining the bill will be jungle pioneer Fabio, so expect some heady vibes. The Nest. Dalston Kingsland Ove

Go out and stay out all night. Here's your essential party schedule for this weekend... I Love Acid – Tenth Anniversary Since starting as a one-off party in April 2007 I Love Acid’s been consistently putting on celebrations of rave culture around the world. It’s marking hitting double digits with the likes of Ceephax Acid Crew and Haçienda’s Jon Dasilva. Corsica Studios. Fri Apr 7. The Black Madonna The Opening Party Iconic DJ The Black Madonna kicks off her three-month residency at XOYO on Friday. Future nights will see her joined by Gilles Peterson and Heidi, but she’s starting with a solo set chronicling the evolution of synthesizer music. Someone raise a flag, the queen’s in London. XOYO. Fri Apr 7. 7.4 Fabric Presents: Jon Hopkins (DJ Set) Electronic music pioneer Jon Hopkins is playing a DJ set at Fabric for the first time ever this weekend. He’ll be joined by Demdike Stare mashing jungle and techno together in Room Two. Fabric. Fri Apr 7. London Is Burning – Vogue Workshop and Night A night of two halves. London Is Burning starts with a vogue workshop from 6.30pm to 8pm, then you’ll be able to let loose on the dancefloor at a mini ball and club night soundtracked by everything from house to dancehall. It’s headed up by D’relle Khan, the Overall European Father of the Vogue House of Khan, and Vogue for London. Vogue Fabrics. Sat Apr 8. Luciano & Friends Catch techno authority Luciano before he heads to Ibiza for his residency at Hï Ibiza (the new venue taking over clu

Go out and stay out all night. Here's your essential party schedule for this weekend... SG Lewis Signed to Calvin Harris’s label, SG Lewis knows how to throw a party (even on a weeknight!) He’ll be filling this DJ set with soulful electronic music and will be joined by 1Xtra DJ Jamz Supernova. Phonox. Thu Mar 30. Forever x We Buy Gold: DJ Assault DJ Assault rarely performs in London, but he’s bringing 25 years of Detroit club music to Birthdays this weekend. Expect ghetto tech and raging electro. Birthdays. Fri Mar 31. Vibrate Fun lesbian night for fans of trap, grime, jerseyclub and futurebeats with a house party vibe. Men are welcome as guests if accompanied by female friends. VFD. Fri Mar 31. Trans Day of Visibility with Octo Octa Dalston Superstore’s marking the International Day of Trans Visibility with a fundraiser for charity Gendered Intelligence. The plan? A night hosted by Lucy Fizz and featuring trans and gender non-conforming performers. Dalston Superstore. Fri Mar 31. Sugar Gal-Dem holds its first ever club night this weekend. The magazine – run by women of colour – promises classic hip hop, R&B and music from around the world. The Yard. Fri Mar 31. Don't Mug Yourself Celebrate the fifteenth anniversary of ‘Original Pirate Material’ at this night playing tracks from The Streets album back-to-back. Expect the rest of the playlist to be full of grime, garage and drum ’n’ bass tracks that inspired the album. Birthdays. Sat Apr 1. FloPPY Disc-O Get freed from desir

Go out and stay out all night. Here’s your essential party schedule for this weekend... MistaJam’s JamPacked with P Money Radio 1 DJ MistaJam is curating his second night at XOYO this week. Expect dancefloor fillers and guest appearances from P Money and TCTS. XOYO. Thu Mar 23. Bad Romance Better perfect your poker face for this Lady Gaga-themed night. Expect all of Mother Monster’s hits plus tracks from like-minded artists and collaborators. Moth Club. Fri Mar 24. The ShayShay Show – Cosmos A night of space-themed cabaret, headed up by drag star ShayShay and featuring performers from across the city. Far out! Limewharf. Fri Mar 24. Stevie Wonderland presents: Maurice Fulton, San Proper, Jon K & Kiwi There’ll be proper party vibes at this Peckham disco and house night thanks to an eclectic line-up featuring the brilliant Maurice Fulton. FYI, Fulton helped produce ’90s club banger ‘Gypsy Woman’. CLF Art Cafe. Fri Mar 24. British Murder Boys, Veronica Vasicka, Steve Bicknell Surgeon and Regis’s punk-meets-techno supergroup British Murder Boys last performed in 2008. They’re reuniting at Oval Space this weekend. Oval Space. Sat Mar 25. Life in Plastic ’97 Calling all Barbie girls, Styx is throwing an Aqua-heavy pop rave with PC Music’s GFOTY. There’ll be drag, Pokémon tarot and a Barbie catwalk contest. Styx. Sat Mar 25. Soulection Genre-smashing LA collective celebrate their sixth anniversary with a ridiculously talented electronic soul and conscious hip hop line-up headed

Go out and stay out all night. Here's your essential party schedule for this weekend... Drag & Bass A pretty unique offering, this – an LGBT bass night mixing London drag stars Lolo Brow and Scarlett O’Hora and D&B, garage and grime all night. Bar A Bar. Fri Mar 17. Black Magic Disco Village Underground kicks off its new disco night in the safe hands of Germany’s Gerd Janson and Norway’s Prins Thomas. Expect rare cuts and a deconstructed disco ball installation. Village Underground. Fri Mar 17.  St Patrick's Day Bollix Ball Celebrate Paddy’s Day the queer way at The Glory on Friday. Upstairs landlord John Sizzle will be putting on a party, downstairs you’ll find Irish Eurovision star Xnthony and loads of Ireland-inspired cabaret. The Glory. Fri Mar 17. Dele Sosimi Afrobeat Orchestra Live Curated by the Wah Wah 45s label, this night of afrobeat and dub reggae features south London’s Soothsayers and is headed up by afrobeat icon Dele Sosimi. CLF Art Cafe. Fri Mar 17. Ashes to Ashes If that’s not enough ’80s fun for one weekend, head to Surya in King’s Cross for their regular new romantic and new wave night. They promise the synthy sounds of Depeche Mode, The Human League, all the way through to darker electro vibes. Surya. Sat Mar 18. Gilles Peterson This weekend closes with the ‘north’ edition of Gilles Peterson’s ‘North and South’ residency. This one’s full to the brim with jazz guests: Mr. Scruff will be playing a special jazz set and saxophonist Nubya Garcia will be perfor

Go out and stay out all night. Here's your essential party schedule for this weekend... Suck My Left One: Kathleen Hanna Created by one half of excellent immersive party crew Amy Grimehouse, this new strand of female-focused fan parties says FU to Valentine’s Day schmaltz. The vibe here instead is a celebration of riot grrl heroine Kathleen Hanna. The Glory. Thu Feb 16. The Love Boat For years, one of the biggest winter parties has been the annual Bugged Out! New Year’s Day bash that takes place upstairs at the Old Queens Head on Essex Road. If you’ve always wanted to enjoy the epic, sweaty, dancing-on-shoulders vibe but have lacked the constitution to handle a large one straight after New Year’s Eve, put your hands in the air – because, for the first time, they’re doing it all over again in February. Expect lashings of smooth yacht rock and a smattering of fist-pumping soft rock classics. The Old Queens Head. Fri Feb 17. Casa Loca's Anti-Valentine's Party If you’re firmly avoiding all things lurve-related, you might find your soulmate at this anti-Valentine’s party. Resident DJs will be dropping house and funk across three rooms. Proud Camden. Sat Feb 18. Andrew Weatherall It befits a great dame of DJing like Weatherall to have the opportunity to play from start to finish. And that’s exactly what Brixton’s Phonox has provided here. Tonight, one of the most experienced and respected selectors in music will play records from 10pm to !am. Expect nothing less than sonic hea

Go out and stay out all night. Here's your essential party schedule for this weekend... Galactic Love Valentine's Ball Romance doesn’t just mean flowers and chocolates. Ace party crew Artful Badger hosts its fifth annual Valentine’s Ball and this one is space-themed. Expect solar flare fire acts, alien games and aerial performances galore. The Vaults. Fri Feb 10 and Sat Feb 11. Stevie Wonderland: Let Love Flow On Single? Make the most of the fact you’re not gazing into your partner’s eyes over an M&S ‘Two for £10’ offer on Friday at Corsica Studios’ disco love-in. Corsica Studios. Fri Feb 10. Club Shirazz Expect to dance if you head to the second night from producer, DJ and visual artist Murlo. He’s bringing in Manchester label Swing Ting and Stylo G for a night spanning dancehall and bashment, to garage and grime. Camden Assembly. Fri Feb 10. EYOE presents: You're a Melody If you’ve never been to a night at St John at Hackney this is a good time to start. The atmospheric former church is playing host to a party headed up by Floating Points. St John at Hackney. Sat Feb 11. Buttmitzvah: The Second Cumming Get ready for a second serving of the UK’s first queer Jewish night with mass chair dancing, spiritual advice from their resident rabbi and professional matchmaking. Bethnal Green Working Men's Club. Sat Feb 11. Power Brunches First Birthday Drag star Miss Craig and power ballad pro Neil Prince host this Sunday daytime session. Expect four hours of love songs and power ball

Go out and stay out all night. Here's your essential party schedule for this weekend... Percolate: It's 2017 Kick off the weekend with a mega set from Grammy-Award-winning and Ibiza-dominating DJ Roger Sanchez. He’s joined by Gideön – the co-curator behind Glastonbury’s NYC Downlow. Expect house jams. Mangle E8. Fri Feb 8. Fabio & Grooverider – 25 Years of Drum & Bass There’s no more appropriate way for Fabio & Grooverider to celebrate a quarter of a century working together than by curating a major drum ’n’ bass party. Expect Matrix & Futurebound, Drumsound & Bassline Smith and more. Electric Brixton. Fri Feb 3. '90s Lates at Styx Not had a hit of ’90s nostalgia in a while? Head to Styx’s season of nights inspired by the decade. Along with a ‘Friends’ parody play, they promise bands, DJs, Björk drag and Take That tribute act ‘Take Twat’. Styx Bar. Fri and Sat until Apr 8. The Nudge's 'Great Gatsby' Party If you fancy a hedonistic hurrah then head to Vault Festival’s ‘Great Gatsby’-themed bash. There will be jazz and Charleston lessons in the main hall, with secret burlesque shows hidden around the venue. The Vaults. Sat Feb 4. Gay Garage #4 with J-Cush Throwback to champagne, smooth tunes and shiny halter tops at this night, hosted by UKGay and playing strictly the best UK Garage. The fourth instalment is headlined by Rinse FM’s J-Cush. Bar 512. Sat Feb 4. For more after-hours fun, check out more London clubs.

Go out and stay out all night. Here's your essential party schedule for this weekend... MistaJam presents Jampacked It’s all change in London this week as our city gains a couple of cool new nights. First up, Radio 1Xtra DJ and champion of new music MistaJam launches a new night at XOYO. Promising an eclectic soundtrack, the first line-up features Tottenham rapper Avelino and DJ Barely Legal. XOYO. Thu Jan 26. BURST Once a month, for the past 12 years, sweaty kids in skinny jeans have descended on Koko for Club NME. Now, that night’s being replaced with fresher party Burst, playing hip hop and trap beats. Koko. Fri Jan 27. Rhythm Section with Alex Nut & Pablo Valentino Having made a name for itself at Canavan’s Peckham Pool Club, this bi-monthly party is relocating to the nearby Bussey Building for 2017. It’s celebrating the new digs with a visit from Alexander Nut – one of the most soulful crate-digging DJ icons out there. Bussey Building. Fri Jan 27. VAULT Festival Opening Party: I'm Coming Out Time Out’s nightlife team, yes us, have decided to throw a party. There’ll be golden glitter showers, a midnight red carpet showdown, more glitter, and sweet sweet disco music all night. Come hang out with us. The Vaults. Fri Jan 27. New Business x Disco Halal Middle Eastern beats are big news right now – just ask Phonox resident Haai who raved about Tel Aviv-via-Berlin label Disco Halal when we chatted to her last year. Lable head Moscoman heads up this bash, held with the excel