‘A testing of the waters’: Klute announces first night back after permanent closure

The long-term future of Klute remains unclear: Here’s everything we know about the upcoming re-opening on Friday

2 months ago

Ben Green | News

Klute shocked all of Durham last night by announcing its return after closing its doors six months ago.

Famously dubbed as “the worst nightclub in Europe”, the venue announced it will reopen on Friday 11th October in an Instagram Reel.

Keen to keep its cards close to its chest, the future of Klute remains foggy. The Tab Durham spoke to Dillon Blevins, a spokesperson for Klute, to learn more about the re-opening of the nightclub and its plans for the future.

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Why did Klute close in the first place?

Despite being branded as the “the worst nightclub in Europe”, Klute’s closure was met with a great deal of sadness from Durham students and alumni. The city was almost in a state of grief. Petitions were set up, alumni were outraged and you could not go 10 minutes without hearing about the closure.

When asked about its closure earlier this year after 40 years of operation, Dillon said: “I think it was just a case of shut the doors until we’re ready to approach that again.

“We tried a load of different things, I don’t know the specific financials.

“The company, Tokyo Industries, own a lot of venues in and around the North East, a lot of focus went into those places (instead of Klute).

“At this moment, it feels as though we’re ready to give it another go.”

Acknowledging the huge amount of support for the club, Dillion said: “I think when we closed, we got a lot of overwhelming support from people, they were sharing a lot of love.

“That solidified in my mind that Klute was not really gone, but it was instead dormant. Waiting.

“In the event that it did come back, I knew it would be well received.”

Will Klute be re-opening for good?

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The future of Klute does not appear to be certain. While the nightclub is no longer permanently closed, the consistency of its future opening is unclear.

What’s more, current freshers at Durham University have never experienced a night out in Klute due to the venue closing its doors in the previous academic year.

Dillon thinks that this new intake could be crucial to the future of Klute, telling The Tab Durham: “It’s a different sort of ballgame this year. I’ve heard from mates at Durham Uni that the new cohort of freshers have made a more thriving nightlife, we’re in a different domain.

“We’re dipping our toe in and seeing what happens, there’s a lot of gravity to it.”

When asked if Klute will reopen permanently, Dillon said: “It remains to be seen.

“It obviously depends on interest and if people choose to show up. If it does come back, things will be quite different to what they were before – I’ll keep things close to my chest for now.

“We’ve come back from being closed down indefinitely, and this is a testing of the waters.”

What we can expect on Friday

After almost six months in the shadows, Dillon believes that it is a little challenging to know what to expect on Friday, telling us: “I think it’s going to be an event in the cultural zeitgeist of Durham.

“The fact that it’s been gone, and that it’s returning, I think means there will be an energy that people approach it with.

“You’ll see a lot of familiar faces, I think it will be very emotional – in terms of specifics, I can’t give too much away just yet.”

Featured image via Cory Broadbent