UK nightclubs are in serious decline

Nightclub fans may be disappointed to find out that entry fees to such venues are no longer deemed worthy enough to be chucked into the Consumer Price Index (CPI) basket.

The annual CPI - a measure of inflation on consumer prices - has always been a fascinating insight into what Brits are up to.

The Office of National Statistics (ONS) monitors the price of various goods and services - everything from milk to music downloads - it a "virtual shopping basket" meant to typify the average Brits spending.

But the CPI also gives you an interesting insight into how times change if you monitor what gets added and what's taken out.

The reason? The ONS says: "In recent years the number of night clubs in Britain has declined, with many high profile closures. In addition, many of those that remain have removed entry charges. As such it has become harder to collect entry prices."

In 2015, the BBC reported that almost half of the UK's nightclubs had shut in the past decade. Ministry of Sound's boss Lohan Presencer told them at the time that UK clubbing was in a challenging place thanks to outside forces, saying: "With the advent of later pub opening hours, the smoking ban, student tuition fees and the squeeze that a lot people are under financially since the recession. I think people are finding different ways and different places to go out."

High-profile clubs which have shut in the last few years include Madame Jojo's in Soho, a "legendary" nightclub owned by pornography businessman Paul Raymond, which had its license suddenly revoked because, according to a police report, its bouncers used baseball bats to fight off a belligerent patron.

Other clubs have been victims of developing infrastructure. The 1,300 capacity Cable club in London Bridge was shut down when Network Rail decided to go through with a station upgrade directly in the venue.