London Nightlife - live music and clubs.

Don't believe the Cool Britannia hype; London has had a bewilderingly large range of places to go after dark for the last twenty years. The live music scene remains extremely diverse, encompassing all variations of rock, blues, roots and world music; and although London's jazz clubs aren't on a par with those in the big American cities, there's a highly individual scene of home-based artists, supplemented by top-name visiting players.

If you're looking for dance music , then welcome to Europe's party capital. After dark, London is thriving, with diverse scenes championing everything from hip-hop to house, techno to trance, samba to soca and drum'n'bass to R&B on virtually any night of the week. Venues once used exclusively by performing bands now pepper the week with club nights, and you often find dance sessions starting as soon as a band has stopped playing. Bear in mind that there's sometimes an overlap between "live music venues" and "clubs" in the listings; we've indicated which places serve a double function.

The already relaxed attitude to late night bars has become more liberal in the recent years. So far, though, the main consequence of the restrictions on late night drinking laws has been the rapid growth and diversity of club-bars , places which are essentially bars, but cater for a clubby crowd - funky décor, DJs, late opening hours and ridiculously overpriced foreign beers.

The dance and club scene is, of course, pretty much in constant flux, with the hottest items constantly moving location, losing the plot or just cooling off. Weekly listings magazines like Time Out, DJ and 7 give up-to-date details of prices and access, plus previews and reviews.