Club’s bid to turn city nightlife on its head
New venture Club Upside Down is hoping to turn Sunderland’s nightlife on its head.
About £150,000 and three months of renovation works have been ploughed into creating the nightclub in the former Bavaria site in Vine Place, which pulled its first pints last night.
Owners Michael Watson and Chris Bungoni fought hard to obtain a 5am alcohol licence from Sunderland City Council in a bid to inject some new life into Sunderland’s clubbing scene.
The business partners have already had considerable success with P’s & Q’s on Tunstall Road, which has become one of the city centre’s most popular bars, and they say the nightclub will allow them to bring more big-name international DJs to the city, while also providing an outlet for homegrown talent.
Michael said: “Sunderland used to have a really good nightclub scene with places like Chambers and Annabels, but in recent years it’s taken a bit of a dive and there’s only a couple of places left to go late into the night and nowhere that’s playing the kind of music we do.
“Because of P’s and Q’s we know there’s a demand for house, soul, funk and ‘90s dance music.
“Club Upside Down has actually been a long time coming. We were doing raves in warehouses five years ago, just because there was nowhere for people to go, but we’ve worked with the council on this to get the right licence and open in the right location.”
The club, which will be open until 5.30am on weekends and until 3.30am during the week, will have a diverse music policy, including student nights and rock nights, aswellasclubnightsfromthe likes of Haze Records, Loop and Wonky Sessions.
In a nod to the warehouse rave days, the downstairs of the site has an industrial theme while upstairs has a quirky look, featuring murals of the Wearmouth Bridge and a psychedelic Alice in Wonderland created by local graffiti artist Jack Ayre, as well as a terrace. Thousands of pounds have also been invested in a Void Acoustics sound system.
The club marks the latest investment in city centre nightlife, with 808, The Church Door and Manor Bar all opening their doors in recent months.
The club, which has created more than 30 jobs for the city, opened its doors last night with DJ sets from Garry Todd and Ali Love. Tonight there will be a set from Chris Bungoni. Entry is £4 guestlist, £5 tickets or £8 on the door.