Photo Credit: Culture Liverpool
Liverpool’s long-standing relationship with club culture is being celebrated through a series of large-scale projections at the city’s Royal Albert Dock, showcasing more than three decades of nightlife photography by local photographer Mark McNulty. The installation is running nightly on the façade of the Maritime Museum until October 2.
The projections feature photos from McNulty’s upcoming book, In Clubland: 35 Summers of Love, documenting Liverpool’s clubbing history since the 1980s, including Cream at Nation, Daisy Rave at the Royal Court, G-Love, and Garlands. Amid growing interest in Liverpool’s rave history, these photos build on his work in Open Eye Gallery’s Rave On exhibition, which explored the city’s late-1980s and early-1990s rave culture and its social impact through photography, memorabilia, and personal contributions.
Liverpool’s club scene grew rapidly in this era, with venues like Quadrant Park establishing the city as a key UK dance music hub before Cream launched at Nation in 1992. The installation also features audio: through September 26, visitors at The One O’Clock Gun could listen to a McNulty-curated playlist via headphones, creating a silent disco during the projection. The display runs nightly from 8pm to 10pm along the dock’s inner quay.
In Clubland: 35 Summers of Love, releasing November 5, features over 550 photos across 240 pages documenting McNulty’s coverage of UK and European dancefloors. It highlights Liverpool venues like Quadrant Park, Cream, Garlands, and Bugged Out!, alongside scenes in Manchester, Leeds, Berlin, and Bristol.
