DAVID GREENE, HOST:
The new mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, is trying to turn Britain's capital into a 24-hour city, but not everyone wants the kind of late-night noise and disorder that comes with that. At least a third of U.K. nightclubs have closed in the last decade. And over the summer, one of Europe's most famous dance clubs was shut down. The club Fabric closed after two 18-year-olds died there from drug overdoses. NPR's Frank Langfitt reports from London.
FRANK LANGFITT, BYLINE: Hundreds of protesters marched through the city's trendy Dalston neighborhood last month to mourn the loss of a nightclub - not Fabric, but another one. You can hear them chanting the name.
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UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTERS: (Chanting) Passing Clouds, Passing Clouds, Passing Clouds.
LANGFITT: It's a familiar tale in cities around the world - the tension between young people who want exciting nightlife, residents who want a safer, more peaceful environment and developers, who see opportunity. In the case of Passing Clouds, a new landlord evicted the nightclub so it could turn the space into housing and offices. Marchers said the serial shuttering of clubs is decimating a crucial part of London's nightlife.
SHAUN ROBERTS: There's no logic to what seems to be going on. It's an important part of the culture of the city.
LANGFITT: Shaun Roberts DJed at Fabric for years.
ROBERTS: It's not about going out and dancing. It's expression. It's music. It's a creative industry.
LANGFITT: The colorful crowd wore everything from pink hair to dreadlocks. Marchers shimmied along the streets, waving signs and hammering drums. Among them was James Rompani, a 34-year-old music promoter.
JAMES ROMPANI: I think, for the city, I think it has big implications. I think, on a tourism level, when you look at places like Amsterdam and Berlin - Berlin, look at its techno tourism. So they actively encourage it, whereas here it seems to be the opposite. They're going to kind of close it down. Yeah, it's a sad time.
LANGFITT: Even Mayor Sadiq Khan was sad to see Fabric close. Here he is speaking to a reporter at a civic event.
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SADIQ KHAN: I'm really disappointed. When I was younger, I went to Fabric. And I was hoping that the council, the police, the club owners would come to a solution that would ensure showed Fabric would carry on being a great night and also keep clubbers safe.
LANGFITT: The battle over London's nightclubs pits young against old and competing visions for one of the world's most cosmopolitan cities. Rafael Andrews says neighbors have been unhappy with clubs like Fabric for years. Andrews is a local councilmember who pushed to strip the club's license.
RAFAEL ANDREWS: They were complaining about the noise. They were complaining about the nuisance. They were complaining about the difficulty in operating their lives because of the fact that they were constantly being disturbed by large crowds of people.
LANGFITT: Andrews also cited the deaths of the young men. Police say they overdosed after buying ecstasy inside the club. Jonathan Downey, though, insists Fabric did a good job cracking down on drugs. Downey runs the city's Night Time Industries Association, which represents bars, nightclubs and restaurants.
JONATHAN DOWNEY: It is a fact of life that they will not be able to stop everybody getting something inside if they really want to. We can't stop drugs getting into prisons.
LANGFITT: Downey worries that if more clubs are forced out of business, the city will lose its edge.
DOWNEY: London has a reputation worldwide as one of the greatest nighttime cities. And unless we want to end up being like Geneva or Brussels, we really need to address some of these closure issues.
LANGFITT: London is Europe's biggest cosmopolitan city, and a thriving nightlife has been a part of its draw. The city is desperate to attract and retain young creative talent, especially as the U.K. prepares to leave the European Union. Again, London Mayor Sadiq Khan.
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KHAN: This is important to me. Over the last seven, eight years, 40 percent of live music venues have closed down. That's why I'm passionate about the night economy. I'm going to make sure we keep the clubs that we've got, but also that new clubs open as well.
LANGFITT: Khan is trying to give the city's nightlife a shot in the arm by running the Tube, London's famed subway, around the clock. But as the mayor knows, providing all-night transport isn't enough. Young people also need a variety of places to go. Frank Langfitt, NPR News, London. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
