Dance music & darts-Social clubs are embracing DJ culture

A North Shields social club is blending dance music with traditional darts-and-pints culture, creating one of the UK’s most unique party scenes.

sarah

Dec 7, 2025 - 13:50

Dance music & darts-Social clubs are embracing DJ culture

Ibiza's headlining DJs and Elvis impersonators might seem like a strange combination, but for a typical social club, it's proving to be a winning mix.

As the thumping basslines pound, hundreds of people dance wildly.

Downstairs, away from the din of four-to-the-floor beats, a different group of club-goers are hitting the snooker tables and dart boards, while others happily chat over cut-price pints.

The idea of bringing these two worlds together at King Street Social Club in North Shields came from Jeff Kirkwood, aka Man Power, a DJ who has performed on decks around the world but calls Tyneside home.

"We managed to convince people to come and do something crazy – play in a working men's club – and they all loved it."

"We now have a reputation as one of the best parties in the UK," he says proudly.

"Club members don't see much difference between doing something in our concert room and having another night of Elvis impersonators.

"Ours is probably a little louder, but it's the same principle."

Launched in 2022, their "Are You Affiliated" events now occur half a dozen times a year and have drawn big names in the dance music world, such as Caribou, Scream, and Leftfield, to a city once famous for shipbuilding, fishing, and mining.

Musically, it's perhaps best known as the birthplace of singer-songwriter Sam Fender, who performed a secret gig at the club in 2019 to mark the peak of his album, "Hypersonic Missiles," topping the charts.

According to media reports, Fender "offended some regulars" with the show, and one of their regular nights had to be canceled.

Kirkwood tried his best to avoid such conflicts. "We had to turn down international superstars because we couldn't find another room to accommodate bingo," he says angrily.

While many club promoters might be upset at not being able to accommodate such acts, for Kirkwood, who is subletting the building's main events space on a 10-year contract, it perfectly illustrates collaboration.

"It sounds fun until you start looking at things from the perspective of the members and their experience.

"Social clubs belong to the members; no one is in it to maximize profits. This is the only place I've seen notices posted on the wall warning people that the price of a pint is going to be reduced by 50p next week.

"They come in with that attitude, and we have to have that attitude too. We're just guests."

Posters on the noticeboard in the foyer advertise upcoming acts, including the aforementioned Elvis Presley tribute and a medium promising a chance to communicate with lost loved ones.

The comparison is stark with performers who have rocked London's Fabric nightclub, as well as the Glastonbury and Coachella festivals.

Paul Yallop, secretary of the King Street Social Club and Northumberland branch president of the Club and Institute Union, said the success of the DJ nights and the subsequent media attention had caused "anger" among some of the approximately 600 members, who feared their favorite venue would be "taken over."

But at a time when a large number of nightclubs, pubs, and other venues across the country are closing, he says the money from this agreement is vital.

"Many venues are struggling. I think Covid has a lot to do with it because people have gotten used to buying a few cans from the supermarket and staying home.

"We have snooker and pool teams, a darts team, and we also put on bands, but sometimes it's hard to get people in the door, even if you have to pay a few pounds for a ticket to see a band.

"DJ nights are a good addition to our work, and the income from them helps keep us afloat."

Speaking in the main bar, where a draft beer costs £3 for members and an extra 50p for visitors, he is adamant that the place won't stray from its roots: "We've always been a social club and will continue to be."

The success of the parties hasn't gone unnoticed at the regional level, and Are You Affiliated was recently awarded nearly £40,000 by the North East Mayor to help develop a larger offering.

Kirkwood wants to use that funding to help save the grassroots entertainment scene, which he describes as "dying." are.

After hosting Mercury Prize-nominated art-rockers Django Django, as well as a symphony of Kirkwood's own compositions, they're now hoping to bring a diverse range of music "with passion."

Describing electronic music as "just one part" of what's possible, they want to host nights focusing on other genres, from indie and rock to folk and hip-hop.

"About 70% of small-to-medium clubs have closed in the last two years," they say.

"And a lot of bands aren't able to tour the North East because it's more economical for them to perform multiple nights in one venue."

"I want to turn this room in a social club into somewhere that's as well resourced and professional as any other similar-sized venue that bands would normally choose to go to."

But does such a move risk losing the qualities that have helped shape the feel of the King Street parties?

Kirkwood is confident it will not.

"I've been involved in conversations with people who say 'how do we make this more like Manchester's Northern Quarter or Brighton?'

"You don't have to. It's already North Shields. Why do we need to copy other places if what we do works well?

"I'm proudly North Eastern, this venue is an exemplar of this area. It's not pretending to be anything it's not. It doesn't need to look like anything else.

"It's a genuine, working-class spot that's existed in one form or another for decades and this is just the latest way it's being utilised.

"When venues are under threat because of the search for profit, it's nice to find somewhere we can share mutual goals that protect the two club cultures."