The Dungeon is Closing Down

Last night it was announced that, after being plagued with technical difficulties, Southampton nightclub The Dungeon will be closing down.

Rumours have been spreading about whether the end was nigh for the popular alternative nightclub since they started closing regularly on the 6^th of January. Now the Soton Tab can reveal that it’s shutting down for good – and staff have already been given their P45s.

However, former staff members revealed on Facebook that The Dungeon would not be going out with a bang and took matters into their own hands – planning their own farewell party at the nearby Shooting Star pub.

One twitter user’s night out in the alternative club

Known as ‘The Dinge’ to the initiated, the rumour mill has suggested the recent refurbishments were to blame for the frequent, and now permanent, closure of the club. On Reddit, the_opinion wrote “Rumour is something fairly major went wrong during refurbishment, and they simply cannot afford to fix it”.

The student favourite is frequented by the University Rock Soc, and has been a pretty major player on the Southampton alternative music scene for some time now, and many will be sad to see it go. Reddit user FaceDownOnTheFloor wrote “I’m gutted to say the least” and it’s fair to say that the many people who’ve given the Dungeon five star yelp reviews will be disappointed as well.

The Dungeon features on the metal travel guide website as a soft rock hotspot – although one reviewer wrote that if you give the DJ a list of metal songs “he will play them if he has them”.

Former staff members wrote fondly of their time working for the club on the farewell party event page – event host Nicola ‘Nyx’ Rooney wrote: “There is no more Dungeon and there was no farewell party either!”. The former staff member kindly offered to buy all those who worked with her a drink, and suggested that everyone “celebrate [their] marching orders and start a new life”. Longest ever serving staff member Lee Hetherington joked with employees about not being invited to the party.

Some liken the alternative club to Jesters – in that its customers have a love-hate relationship with the Dinge.

Loved by many, but not everyone’s favourite.

Reddit users suggested that if the closure was due to monetary concerns that the owners should start a Kickstarter page to save the club – the thought being that many would chip in to save the Southampton landmark. Some had hoped that the closure would not be permanent but as staff have now been told, it’s clear that it is very unlikely the Dungeon will be opening its doors any time soon.