Gen X Are Bringing Back Clubbing

Last summer, it was hard to move for exposure to Charli XCX’s neon green Brat. ‘This marks the death of the clean girl aesthetic,’ declared lifestyle and fashion writers. It quickly became shorthand for a cultural turning point. 

The ‘clean girl’ was characterised by her slicked back hair, tidy gym coords, and pious dedication to her health and wellbeing. Her economic impact was sizeable; the UK’s wellness economy was valued at £171 billion in 2022. Gen Z were in particular thrall of her prudent approach to living: one in four young people that year identified themselves as teetotal. With alcohol sales in Britain declining ten percent between 2019 and 2023, it felt like the party – yes, booze, cigarettes, lines – might have been put to bed.

And then came Brat summer. Clubs and bars held new promise. But perhaps surprisingly it was Gen X and older crowds leading the return to the dancefloor.

Older Folks Are Clubbing More – And Clubs Know It

At 27, I’m supposedly in my prime. Yet on Friday nights it’s me who is in bed by midnight, while Gen X style editor Tiffanie Darke is still turning on the dance floor. As former editor of Sunday Times Style – for 12 years from the early 2000s – she has held one of the most covetable jobs in fashion, bagging front-row seats at fashion shows and attending the hottest after-hours events in her twenties and thirties. But even now in a new chapter in her life – with teenage children and her own business – she won’t be seen home before 2am. And she’s far from alone.

‘We’re the original hedonists,’ says Darke. ‘There was a massive drug culture in Britain in the 90s, precipitated by that big 80s “Heroin Screws You Up” campaign, where every drug was held up as a gateway to heroin addiction. We formed a strong countercultural narrative against it, which manifested through illegal raves and a whole music scene.’

A celebration at Lios Ibiza, which has introduced nights to cater to the 40+ year old brigade

I took a break for a bit, says Vassi Chamberlain, Vogue associate editor and die-hard party girl. ‘In my 20s, I’d go out three times a week and now I’m out often for the music,’ she explains. ‘But there was a pause in my 30s and 40s because I became a parent. When you have children, you’re in the zone where all your attention lands on your growing child. Partying wanes during their early years, because you naturally have to be at home.’

It’s as the children grow up – and such hands-on care is relieved – that older ravers re-enter the scene. ‘They’re rediscovering the pleasures of their youth and sense of identity,’ says sociologist Dr Helen Holmes, whose area of study is what drives older ravers. ‘And they’ve  got sufficient income to be able to afford what are often expensive nights out.’ Darke agrees: ‘My friends are definitely out more now they’ve come out of the other side of family life.’

This challenges the common assumption that clubs are primarily for younger people. ‘Nightlife has often been seen as just for the young,’ says Michael Kill, CEO of the Night Time Industries Association. ‘But many of us continue to enjoy music, dancing and social events well into our 40s, 50s and beyond, especially as we live longer. Nightlife offers a space for fun, freedom, community.’

The idea that partying should preclude older people is steeped in ageism – despite the facts. Around 3.7 million people over-45 attend weekly raves, yet one Vice piece reporting this phenomena glibly poses: ‘hearts are getting weaker, but the drugs are getting stronger. Will physiology be the ultimate party pooper?’ The label ‘gravers’ clings. 

And yet the clubs are increasingly targeting this age demographic. While over 400 nightclubs shut in the UK between the start of Covid and the end of 2024, those that are thriving have reopened or been redesigned specifically for an older, richer clientele. Boujis – the old haunt of Prince William – reopened in 2023 as B London; Chelsea’s fabled 151 Club, reimagined as The Rex Rooms, reopened this March. 

KOKO and Soho Mews House come up again and again. Both have exclusive memberships and a blend of conversation and dancing. ‘Soho House nailed the lifestyle zeitgeist,’ says Darke, ‘but a lot of my generation were turned off by the scrum that the main houses became, so Mews House was a clever answer for long-standing members. It’s more elevated but also deeply naughty, and has DJs, dancing and shenanigans.’

Liam Gallagher launched his album Knebworth 22 at KOKO

‘KOKO has beautiful design, a great atmosphere, and it’s quite licentious,’ Darke continues. ‘It’s full of big swinging executives but also cool, artistic types.’ Grammy award-winner and jazz legend Jon Batiste jammed for members this summer, and Liam Gallagher launched his album Knebworth 22 there in 2023. 

Dancing at an intimate, small gig lies at the heart of it. Many older clubbers are passionate about music. ‘Those kinds of dance floors – where you’d find euphoria for four or five hours – are hard to find now,’ says Chamberlain. ‘Everything feels copycat. Social media has stripped the expression from going out.’

And Lío Group – of Ibiza fame – has launched a 70s and 80s disco night, which, says executive chairman Julio Bruno, ‘is full of people over the age of 40, all keen to dance and meet people’. (And the consequence? An uptick in spend-per-person from this more affluent group of partiers.) 

The fact of meeting people is important, too.  ‘Aside from university, or Tinder, where do you meet people – a partner – in life?’ says Bruno. ‘The club is a place for older people to form new real, meaningful connections.’ 

Can Gen X Partiers Cope With Their Age-Amplified Hangovers?

You might worry about the hangovers, though, which science evidences gets worse as an individual ages. ‘My best hangover cure? Not to have one,’ says Darke. The clean girl might be passé but she’s had undeniable impact on how we ‘do’ fun. Now it’s about balance: think IV drips in the morning, tequila shots in the evening. ‘A good idea of what it’s like is this: when they opened one famous club in Ibiza they had a detox bar – next to the actual bar, a “retox bar”. You find lovely tequilas next to all sorts of detoxifying drinks.’

And venues reflect this need for doses of healthful choice. At the Rex Rooms, cocktails come with adaptogens – tequila is paired with lion’s mane in an Enchanted Shrooms cocktail. Soho House has partnered with CBD drink brand Trip, to help its punters reach a calmer state. Over in east London, an experimental social wellness space Shoreditch &Soul hosts regular ‘sauna raves’ – headlined by DJs like Louis Bekk and alcohol-free mixology brands like Karmaceuticals, as participants move between hot and cold rooms.

The countryside set are in on it, too, rather than it being an urbane phenomenon. New members’ club, Long Lane – set to open in West Sussex next spring – is investing £6m into its teetotal campus that swaps negronis for nature. ‘As I approached 30, the hangovers hit harder,’ co-founder Louie Blake shared on LinkedIn. ‘In our culture, most connection still revolves around alcohol. So I asked: what if there was a better way?’ 

Sobriety, Bruno notes, doesn’t preclude other substances. ‘They’re not drinking alcohol, but they’re doing ketamine, mushrooms,’ he says. He goes so far as to suggest sobriety may be a trend. ‘I’m Gen-X,’ he says, ‘it was the same when I was young. Younger generations always think they’ll live forever.’

Whether or not this will bear true remains to be seen. The eternal temperature gauge for popular attitudes towards wellness culture – Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop – was making layoffs towards the end of last year (18 percent of its workforce) and refocusing on beauty products in lieu of whackier woo-woo products (vaginal eggs among others). So, perhaps. 

But perhaps we’ll all be drinking less going forward. When going hard, says Darke, Gen X partiers are making strategic, health-conscious decisions that focus more on quality experiences over sheer quantity. ‘I’d rather not drink so much I get a hangover. That’s not my idea of a good night out. I’d rather have one or two very high quality drinks or a really good wine.’

Why The Night Out Still Matters…

Let’s hope it continues, though. The night out has sizeable impact economically: ‘the night-time economy contributes over £153 billion a year to the UK economy,’ says Kill, ‘and supports around 2.11 million jobs. It covers far more than just nightclubs – including pubs, bars, live music venues, late-night food businesses and events. It plays a key role in tourism and helps keep city centres lively and safe after dark. A thriving nightlife is a sign of a thriving city.’

And then, too, for our ability to cope with where we’re at at this moment in time. ‘Resurgences in partying often pinpoint a need of a particular time to let go,’ says Vassi, ‘It was the same during the roaring twenties. That was a direct response to the post-war period. [Partying] is a way to signal that it’s ok to let go of the stress of life, to actually go it’s ok. I think COVID had a big mark on society and it’s not by accident we’re seeking parties. Geopolitics colour every conversation: Trump, wars, far-right politics. It’s a perfect conflagration of everything coming together. People naturally look for outlets.’

‘Joy takes work,’ concludes Tiffanie, ‘whether it’s going swimming in an outdoor pond or being adventurous and curious with your music or taste in art. It means not shutting off your fun channels because you think you can’t do that anymore.’ 

So, it turns out, age doesn’t dim the lights – it just brings the party into focus.

This article first appeared in the Sept/Oct 2025 issue of Country & Town House. Available to buy here.