More than 550 photographs documenting 35 years of Liverpool's club culture have been brought together in a new book by photographer Mark McNulty. In Clubland: 35 Summers of Love spans 240 pages and covers four decades of dancefloor culture in Merseyside and Europe.
McNulty, 60, from Walton, has spent decades photographing venues from the all-night raves of Quadrant Park to the glamour of Cream and the underground sounds of Voodoo. He sat down with the ECHO to revisit the nights and venues that shaped the city's reputation.
Quadrant Park: The all-night rave that started it all
McNulty's journey begins at Quadrant Park in Bootle, known as "The Quad" or "The Quaddie", a late-1980s and early-1990s nightclub in a converted warehouse on Derby Road. He was asked to photograph a rave there, an experience he described as unlike anything he had seen before.
"Somebody asked me to go to photograph a rave, and it was at Quadrant Park. I had never seen anything like it," he said. Unlike clubs with designated dancefloors, he recalled people dancing on the stairs, around the speakers and throughout the building. "It was the first time I'd been to a club where every bit of the club was a dancefloor."
Quadrant Park closed voluntarily on December 31, 1991, following licensing pressures and an incident involving a robbery and a stabbing. McNulty described it as one of the biggest clubs in the North West, noting it was the only legal all-nighter due to a loophole in the law.
The 051 and the rise of Cream
Among the venues that emerged as the scene evolved was the 051, which McNulty felt never quite reached its potential. He recalled themed nights such as Icon, including a beach party where sand was brought into the club.
Cream, which began as a club night in 1992, went on to become an internationally recognised name. McNulty photographed it from its early days, noting that success was not immediate. "The first night wasn't a great night," he said, but the organisers kept going until it clicked. He remembered Duke Street full of coaches bringing clubbers from across the country.
Voodoo: The underground favourite
McNulty's personal favourite was Voodoo, held at Le Bateau, which offered harder techno and a more underground atmosphere. "Voodoo was my favourite. Even if I'd been working at Cream, I'd go out to Voodoo as well," he said. The venue was tiny and sweaty, and he took some of his most intense photographs there.
The book also features DJs including Dave Clarke and Andrew Weatherall.
Capturing genuine moments
McNulty said his approach was to document without disturbing the moment, which was easier before people learned to pose for cameras. He recalled posting a photograph of a woman's gold boots from a night in Bristol on social media; the woman later contacted him and sent a picture of herself wearing the same boots in Ibiza.
"I really like the fact that people see themselves in the photographs," he said. "I love it when people see the pictures, and they're reminded of their nights, and they see their mates in them or remember a specific space."
