WHETHER it is the cheesy tunes that pull you in or your favourite cocktails, Oxford’s nightlife guarantees a good time.

And with clubs still not on the list of places allowed to reopen as the country eases out of lockdown, plenty will be missing a good night out now more than ever.

Oxford has long been a clubbing hotspot – attracting thousands of students, gig-goers, holiday backpackers and those who are simply looking to boogie the night away.

But over the years we have sadly said goodbye to loads of clubs and bars as licences are revoked or the competition gets too much.

The memories might be blurry – but here are some of the clubs now missing from Oxford’s streets:

Wahoo, Hythe Bridge Street

Oxford Mail:

Fans watching the England v Uruguay game in WAHOO, Hythe Bridge St Photo: Andrew Walmsley, June 2014

The club announced it was closing in August 2016 after a multi-million-pound deal was struck between Nuffield and Christ Church colleges to transform that part of Oxford. 

At the time, the land included buildings between Hythe Bridge Street and Park End Street, stretching from the Royal Oxford Hotel to Castle Mill Stream and those opposite the Said Business School.

Christian Arden, who had owned Wahoo since 2010, said he picked the space ‘up from the ashes of a financial crisis’ and the closure was a ‘real shame’.

Oxford Mail:

The Glee Club, next door to Wahoo

As part of the redevelopment, The Glee Club was also served notice to up sticks – but at the time the owner said that he was determined to find a new home in the city even though it was the ‘perfect venue’.

Warehouse

Oxford Mail:

At the start of 2016, Warehouse on Park End Street closed as part of the same plans to transform that part of Oxford into a new ‘social sciences quarter’.

In August that year, Nuffield College put plans into the council to change the use into office space.

Lola Lo (Magdalen Street)

Oxford Mail:

Tiki-themed Lola Lo closed in 2017 after Eclectic Bars (which owns the brand) confirmed it would not be re-signing its lease.

Before that, it had been student club Po Na Na and now the unit is retro-themed nightclub Fever -  which is closed because of the crisis.

Oxford Mail:

Ocean & Collins, Park End Street

Ocean & Collins, arguably one of the most controversial clubs in the city, club closed for good in 2008 and rumours surfaced that it had been because of management issues.

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In its opening month in 2005, after taking over the venue from Chicago Rock, the nightspot denied turning down entry to a group of 60 women who said the club only wanted ‘sexy, stylish’ clubbers not ‘frumpy customers from council estates’.

A month later another group of women claimed the club turned them away for being too old.

Oxford Mail:

A topless entertainer performs with a live snake during a show

A year later, in 2006, three live beetles were found in rice at the club during a routine environmental health check.

Later that year during the World Cup the venue was criticised by the council for using chalk to daub adverts for its football coverage.

Oxford Mail:

 The club's VIP lounge. Pic: Greg Blatchford, May 2009

In 2007 the council then removed 46 flyers advertising the club illegally stuck up around Headington.

The new club was called Kukui but that closed in 2011. 

Clem’s

The lease for the St Clement’s venue was put on the market in April 2014 for an ‘undisclosed price’.

The venue, which fell out with Oxford City Council in 2013 after covering its front with graffiti, closed in May – a month later.

Oxford Mail:

Pic: Jon Lewis, August 2013. Pictured here is Keith Hyde outside Clem's Club.

The company marketing the property said the owner was moving out of the country.

Other clubs have reopened in different guises. 

What was once Club Latino in St Clement’s is now cocktail bar and late-night bar Be At One following a major refurbishment in 2015.

Oxford Mail:

Pic George Reszeter

Zodiac in Cowley Road is now The O2 Academy, known until 2009 as the Carling Academy under its previous sponsorship agreement.

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The Westgate Centre was formerly home to a host of clubs including Scamps, which opened in the early 1970s, and Boodles.

Oxford Mail:

Scamps' disco in the Westgate Centre hosted a party for children aged from four to 14 in 1974. They enjoyed tea, party games, a performance by pop group Contrast and a visit from Father Christmas. Disco jockey Gino is seen with some of the children.

Outside of Oxford plenty of clubs have closed its doors for good too – including Izi’s.

Oxford Mail:

Izi Bar, Market Square, Witney. Exterior.

Izi closed down in September 2013 amid complaints of increasing competition and soaring rates.

The director at the time, Shain Hartless, said the rates on the premises had doubled to £129,000 and year while the opening of a new JD Wetherspoon pub had hit trade.

In December, months after the club had been left empty, Lounge outlets had applied for new premises licence with a view to gain planning consent and open a ‘daytime’ and ‘family-orientated’ business at Market Square site a year later.