Charli XCX and the fight to save club culture

Charli XCX will perform in arenas this week, but her career began as a minor underage in secret orgies

Romy, Charli XCX and Robyn perform on day three of Glastonbury Festival 2024. The red light comes on and Charlie is wearing her signature sunglasses. — Charli XCX will perform in arenas this week, but her career began as a minor underage in secret orgies

Don’t put away your strappy tops and bic lighters – Charli XCX’s Brat arena tour has just landed in the UK.

The show kicks off in Manchester on Wednesday and they hope to extend the Brat summer craze into the winter.

But can this massive tour give UK clubs a much-needed boost?

London DJ Moxie told BBC Newsbeat: “To be honest, the club scene right now is pretty scary.”

Over 100 music venues across the UK Stopped hosting live music last year More than half of them have closed completely, according to the Music Venue Trust.

“We rely on a lot of students, but a lot of students are not going out,” Mossy said.

“They prioritize staying home because they can’t afford to go out.

“Everything went up and it had a huge knock-on effect on venues.”

DJ Moxie worries about state of UK club scene

Moxxi was in one group. Moxxi dyed her hair blonde and tied it back. Wearing a black tank top, sunglasses and headphones in one ear, she leaned over the deck. She performed outdoors on a sunny day, with green leaves behind her. — DJ Moxie worries about state of UK club scene

Venues that are closing or struggling to stay open are where Charli XCX honed her craft.

Charlie said before Let her parents take her to an orgy When she was a teenager, she did gigs in warehouses before she sold out the arena.

“She’s been around so long, she hangs out all the time — I’ll be at the rave parties she went to when she was 15,” Moxie said.

“She’s starting to talk about places that inspire her.”

As these places begin to disappear, Mossy hopes Charli’s fanbase will discover a love for club music that has waned.

“Especially if someone like Charli XCX tells them, ‘This is where I come from, this club made me, it’s part of my DNA.'”

It wasn’t just Charlie who brought club music into the mainstream – Fred headlined the Reading and Leeds festivals again in the summer, while Peggy Gu played a series of sold-out shows.

Blatter has received several awards, including the Mercury Prize

Charli XCX on stage performing at SNL. She knelt on the stage, leaned back, and sang into the microphone, her long black hair blowing across the stage. She wore her signature black sunglasses and black hot pants over her leggings. — Blatter has received several awards, including the Mercury Prize

Brat is Charli’s sixth album and it’s up for a number of awards, including three Grammys and a Mercury Prize.

This was followed by a remix album, Brat And It’s Completely Different But Also Still Brat, and an arena tour.

Fans are accustomed to paying more than the odds for top artists who dominate the scene.

But at the Charli show in Manchester on Wednesday, friends Niamh and Freya said they were “really surprised” to pay just £40 each to see Charli XCX.

“We thought it would be more expensive,” they said.

“Not bad at all – really affordable.”

Fans spend on average compared to Taylor Swift’s Eras tour Ticket price £206.

Regular standing tickets for the Beyoncé Renaissance show cost up to £410, while tickets for Billie Eilish’s upcoming UK show cost up to £398.

More than half of Britons said High prices deter them from going to shows in the past five years.

For those under 34, two-thirds said this meant they had Reduce the number of times they go.

Niamh (right) dyes her hair green in homage to Brat album cover

Freya and Niamh outside the Co-op Live arena in Manchester. Niamh, who wore her hair dyed green, held her arms around Freya, who wore green eyeshadow in a nod to the — Niamh (right) dyes her hair green in homage to Brat album cover

Tasha and Lucas also spent £40 on tickets, hoping Charli XCX would boost the club’s development.

They start out in Chester, which Lucas says “doesn’t have a huge club scene”, but they often travel to other towns and cities to support artists and venues.

Tasha said they had always loved the club scene and were delighted that Charlie was bringing it into the mainstream.

“She was the first of our first generation to make that crossover,” she said.

“She’s pushing boundaries,” Lucas added.

Other fans who spoke to Newsbeat at the show told us they were new to the club and that Charli’s music brought them into the scene.

“The party culture is kind of dying,” said fan Amara. “I hope this revives it.”

Tasha and Lucas love clubbing, but they say the scene is small in their hometown

Tasha and Lucas outside the Co-op Live arena in Manchester. Tasha wore a Brat-style outfit - a sheer white top tied together in the front. Lucas wore a gray shirt with a thick dark gray tie and a gray plaid scarf draped over his shoulders. — Tasha and Lucas love clubbing, but they say the scene is small in their hometown

Music journalist and critic Shaad D’Souza told Newsbeat that he “has to hope and pray” that many of Charli’s fans are as excited as Amara about getting into the clubs and going out.

He’s particularly excited about what Brat will mean for the future of the genre and people going out to dance and support venues.

“It’s refreshing to have people go underground to find new sounds,” he said.

“Because we see so often lately that the direct point of reference for pop musicians is the history of pop music.”

He cited Tate McRae’s return to Britney Spears as an example, while artists such as Madonna and Prince drew from different styles outside of pop music from previous decades. Take inspiration from it and bring it into the mainstream.

“I think that’s what Charlie is doing here, and I think that’s what we’re missing,” Schad said.

“We lose something when pop music references itself.”

As for what the Brat Tour can bring to the club scene, Shaad believes that while there is a growing market for large-scale ticketed events such as festivals and Eras tours, large acts can happily coexist with the smaller club scene.

“I don’t think the big pop tours are cannibalizing the small club scene,” he said.

“The reasons for clubs closing near me are property development and council regulations – there’s not a pop star who isn’t responsible for a club closing.”