The Death of the Club?

Camel club is a household name for the majority of people in and around Huddersfield. For students, it is where they go most nights. To forget about deadlines, buy cheap drinks, and most likely wake up in the morning with an inflatable penis or two...

Pre-pandemic Camel club was open 4 nights a week:

Funday Monday kicked it all off with £250 up for grabs for one lucky partier. Theme nights throughout the year would range from Anything But Clothes, Headphone Discos and annual nights like the Coming Out Party.

Midweek was House Party Wednesdays. You could expect to end the night eating free pizza, avoiding societies dressed up in their theme of the week dancing on the podiums... most likely wearing too little clothes.

Friday was Bedlam, or Rock Night. Many a student has wandered into the club on a Friday, unaware of what they should expect. It doesn't take long to realise that the Friday crowd are some of the nicest people that you could ever hope to meet. All dressed in black, priding themselves on their taste for heavy metal, if you stay for long enough you will see them belting out 'Stacey's Mom' and drinking blue VKs at the end of the night.

Saturday was an eclectic treat for everyone. Nineties, Noughties Now attracted a mix of people; students, kids just turned 18, and locals who have been partying since the 70s. With cheap drinks and a backroom for all of the RnB lovers, there aren't many people in Huddersfield who can say that they have not spent the early hours of Sunday morning in the takeaway after a night at the pink and purple rave cave.

"It's like putting on a comfy pair of slippers coming to Camel club... you should feel nice and comfortable and relaxed. I don't think you get that in a chain club. Lots of people over the years have said that I should open another Camel. I've 100% always said absolutely not! It's not something that you can package and write a script for. It's got to be something that is built from the bottom.

_{Bongo Dave}

"I wanted to start a night on a Monday - Funday Monday. Everyone thought it was absolutely ridiculous... which is why I did it. I thought if I could make it work on a Monday when no one goes out, then the rest should be a bit easier. We started it on the first Monday after New Year. The worst time you could choose to put a night on. I absolutely hammered the promotion myself; at the student halls and the uni. The first night we had 250 people... It was amazing."

_{Bongo Dave}

"You can put big names on and hire big DJs for a night, but I've always been more drawn to putting the money into the night, or to be able to give back to the customers. Like when we buy loads of inflatables. It's an expense that most places would say no to. They wouldn't spend £600 on inflatables for a night, because it's ridiculous. That's the difference being independent and not a chain. I can do things like that. If you come out on a Monday night you have a really good chance of winning some money, all you have to do is come for a night out."

_Bongo _Dave

"My favourite night that I ever ran was the 10th birthday without a doubt, 100%... 200%... 1,000,000%... It was exactly the way I wanted it to be. Whatever we could possibly do to make it ridiculous and brilliant and full of content for people that's what we did. We could have spent that money on a big act, but we spent all that money on ridiculous things. Anyone that stayed till 6 we gave them money to go to Mcdonalds. I didn't want to make any money on the night, whatever was left at the end of it I split with the staff as a thank you for being brilliant."

_{Bongo Dave}

"Over the years of working at clubs I have learnt what makes a good club good and what makes a bad club bad. It's important to treat people right. Let people be who they want to be. Let their individuality shine. Don't shout and bawl and dictate at people. Respect them. Make sure that they know that they are on a level footing. People are people, it doesn't matter what you do, where you come from, how old you are, whether you are this, that, rich, poor, whatever. You are still capable of being happy, you are still capable of being sad. Everyone is responsible for everybody else. Everybody I come into contact with, I am responsible for their feelings. I can either leave them feeling happy or leave them feeling sad. That is my responsibility to them. I try to make other people happy, what goes around comes around."

_{Bongo Dave}

"Once on a Monday for some bizarre reason, we went around putting tampons in people's drinks. We were doing that, and I was trying to think of things to put on the Christmas tree that I could get enough of, and that people could steal... because they will. I wanted something tongue in cheek and we came up with the sani-tree. To help you through the Christmas period. It was around the time of the tampon tax. We give away tampons at Camel in the cloakroom. I've never wanted to charge for that. I don't want to profit from your inconvenience on a night out. It's not what you come out for."

_{Bongo Dave}

"It takes a very, very special person to work here... No one works harder than our lovely Camel Staff!"

_{Steve Ashcroft - Manager at Camel Club}

"I highly doubt I will be able to find another place with as much camaraderie as Camel has."

_{Adam Cornish - Camel Club Super Staff}

"All of us at Camel are far from normal, I think unique is a better word"

_{Sam Hair - DJ at Camel}

"Anyone is welcome at Camel Club no matter what colour their skin is, or what sex or sexuality they are."

_{Simon G - DJ at Camel Club}

"Every person who has ever felt like an outcast can come and be part of something bigger... They say you can't choose your family, I chose mine in Camel Club"

_{Lauren Hinchliffe - Camel Club Super Staff}

"We are a family, a very large, often dysfunctional family but I wouldn’t change it!"

_{Billy Ford - Manager at Camel Club}

"To have become part of such a wonderful family throughout my years in Huddersfield is a memory that I will cherish forever!"

_{Tonicha Megson - Camel Club Supervisor}

"Whatever my next chapter holds, I wouldn't be doing it without this place and the people in it."

_{Nathan Furniss - Manager at Camel Club}

"The staff aren’t just co-workers we are family and I couldn’t ask for a better camel family!"

_{Jasmine Coyne - Camel Club Super Staff}

"Some of the most special people in my life have come into it through this wonderful club."

_{Rachel Flack - Head Doorlady at Camel}

Crowdfunding

On the 21st October 2020 after 7 months of the club being closed, Dave decided to set up a crowdfunding page for the club with a target figure of £50,000

There are prizes that the club are offering to encourage donations.

For £10 you can win a place on the picture hall of fame. When the club reopens there will be a wall with the images of every single person who helped to allow the club to get through the pandemic.

For £50 you can have a drink named after you and guestlist for the first week that the club reopens.

For £100 you can purchase free entry for life and queue jump.

For £250 you can win a free party for you and your friends in the Brick and Ball room, where you can have a DJ, your own bar staff and discounted drinks.

For £500 you can win DJ lessons with one of the resident experts.

For £1000 you can have a whole night dedicated to you, with face masks of you printed, free entry and free drinks for you and your friends.

"When we first started the crowdfunder there was nothing on the table for any continuation of furlough. We had already lost tens of thousands of pounds. At that point, we were really really not sure how far it could go. How far we could go. How far we should go... We had already lost so much money. We knew that we would be accruing bills, with no help and nothing assured... everything up in the air. We wondered if we just needed to get out, before we got into some horrific debt situation. We wouldn't be able to sell the club because it couldn't open. It was in the back of my mind that we were going to get stuck, find ourselves out of time and out of money and not able to save it... That was terrifying.

When people say you have to close for a night, it's a problem for any business, let alone a week, then two weeks.

We thought it would be a couple of weeks, then a couple of months, then October, then Christmas. Then we were told it wasn't going to be open by next year.

We are still battling with grants, it's extremely hard to get hold of the council, they are just really busy sorting everything out.

We think now that we can weather the storm. The money from the crowdfunder is to make sure that we can reopen. You can't start a business again with no money. We've spent years getting it to a sweet point where the finances balance each other out. When we first closed, we had a load of money in the bank... within two weeks, half of that money had gone in bills.

When we closed the club money stopped coming in but it kept going out. I never envisioned being shut for a year. We just don't know what is going to happen in March. If we don't open, I want to give the money back, there is no way I would keep it. I don't want people to pay my bills, I'll have to sort them over the years. I just want to be able to open again.

When we do open again, we'll be about £80,000 in debt. It's like having to buy the club again, which is pretty shit. The crowdfunding money is to make sure that when we can reopen we are able to."

_{Bongo Dave}

"Hello, this is a message to all you lovely pandemic party people!

Camel Club needs your help!!!

My name is Dave (or Bongo Dave as most people know me) and I’m the owner of Camel Club in Huddersfield.

We are here to ask for your help in raising some funds through crowdfunding to keep Camel Club alive and afloat until we can re-open!

We haven’t asked for any help up until now because we have managed to survive using our savings and the initial grant given from the government. We also simply didn't know how long this was going to last until recently and now have a clear picture that it won’t be until spring next year until we can open our doors again. However sad this is, it does give us something at least to work towards.

As it stands, it has cost us over £100,000 to stay afloat over the last 6 months and with another 6 months ahead we now need help from your amazing selves!

Unfortunately, we didn't qualify for the Arts Council grant which we hoped would be the needed lifeline to help us survive.

Our reduced outgoings are £8000 a month and some businesses we are in contracts with refuse to give any help at this time and are still taking money from us despite us not using their services.

We want to be able to help our staff stay on the furlough scheme and cover our bills until we can open; so here we are, cap in hand, asking for your support.

Camel Club is there for you to continue the party when you aren't ready to go home. We very much want to be there for you when this is all over. I think we all deserve a good night out when 2020 is over, so please help and donate whatever you can to help keep us in business.

Thank you all so much for your years of business and silliness and hopefully, together we can all get back on the dance floors of England soon and party like its 2019 again!

We are an independent family-run nightclub and we care about our customers. We hope you guys care about us too and can help in this crazy time we find ourselves in. Your help will be very much appreciated.

Keep safe, keep smiling, keep dancing and we will see you on the dance floor soon. Lots of love, me ‘Bongo Dave’ and the Camel Club family x"

_{Bongo Dave}

"We care about our customers, and we hope that you guys care about us too. Keep safe, keep smiling, keep dancing and we will see you on the dancefloor soon!"

_{Bongo Dave}

If you want to win a place on the photo hall of fame for helping Bongo Dave and the rest of the Camel Club Super Staff make it through the pandemic, you can go to their crowdfunding page to donate.

Save Camel Club from Corona