The History of the World's Greatest Nightclubs

When WOMB opened in 2000, Japan’s nightlife scene was still in its infancy with a strict ban on dancing after midnight that made it almost impossible to run a regular nightclub. But over the past two decades, the revolutionary club has transformed the way people in Tokyo party. This is the story of how the club went from an idea born on the dancefloors of New York into one of Japan’s most famous nightclubs. How a club that’s been open for over 20 years, became a hotspot for international DJs and found a way to uplift local talent and survive through the pandemic.

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Fela Kuti was a musician and activist who pioneered the jazzy, uniquely West African genre of Afrobeat. His musical testing ground, political pulpit and spiritual home was a nightclub he created in Lagos, The Afrika Shrine. A venue at the heart of his community that would welcome legends, be burnt to the ground by the military, set the stage for some of his greatest performances, and inspire some of his most legendary songs.

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Ibiza is no ordinary island and Space was no ordinary club. The open-air party which lasted 22 hours every day, revolutionized the international clubbing scene and transformed the people who flocked to its dance floor every summer. Space was the blueprint for all-day outdoor Terrace parties, became one of the most awarded clubs in history, and helped to establish Ibiza as a global party hot spot

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After the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, a new counter-culture emerged as the city came together to form a new identity. That cultural shift inspired the birth of Berghain, an iconic but ultra-private techno hotspot and sex club. Berghain ushered in a new era of hedonism, excess, and freeing secrecy that gave the city’s queer community a space to release their inhibitions and establish Berlin’s place as a party capital.

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New York was the epicenter of the 90s Hip Hop Renaissance and Funk Master Flex’s legendary Sunday night parties at The Tunnel, gave Hip Hop fans a home. From the phenomenal performances it hosted to the iconic songs it premiered, each night at The Tunnel was filled with cinematic scenes starring hip-hop royalty, making the club a vital cultural touchstone in the legendary 50-year history of Hip Hop.

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Under the musical influence of the one and only Larry Levan, Paradise Garage became a vibrant musical space for Queer, Black, and Latino people in New York, to dance, and reclaim a sound that they had created. With a DJ who knew how to energize a crowd and a killer sound system that pulled people out onto the dancefloor, Paradise Garage would go on to influence musicians around the world and leave a lasting imprint on Dance music that would last for decades to come. 

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Les Bains Douches was a glamorous nightclub in the center of Paris that’s parties attracted some of the most famous and influential stars in the world. Housed in what was once Paris’s first and most decadent bathhouse, Les Bains Douches was a magical, musical experience that gave musicians like Mick Jagger, Diana Ross, and Prince a space to unwind, let loose and soak in the magic of beautiful Parisian nights. 

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The Haçienda, a nightclub run by the record label behind Joy Division and New Order, was a once-in-a-generation club that came to define British northern youth culture. It belonged to the young people of Manchester and during the rise of ecstasy, it pioneered acid-house music and inspired a generation of musicians, designers and artists in the midst of The Second Summer Of Love. 

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The Warehouse and The Music Box were incredibly influential Chicago clubs that became ground zero for the rise of House Music. Under the supervision of Frankie Knuckles and Ron Hardy, these two house clubs cultivated a new genre of music created by people of color that would go on to form the very foundations of modern dance music as we know it.

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Trade at Turnmills was a legendary London Queer nightclub that's unapologetically hedonistic late-night parties transformed the way we party. Opened in the wake of the AIDS crisis and a decade of conservatism under Margaret Thatcher’s rule, Trade gave LGBTQ+ people a space to celebrate and explore their identity, carving out a revolutionary space for London’s queer community to party at while their very existence was under attack. 

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