I Went to the Announcement of London's New Night Czar to See If She Really Can Save Clubbing

Amy Lamé has been announced as London's first night czar. It's an impressive title to add to an already packed CV: DJ, performer, TV and radio presenter, and campaigner. It also looks set to be the toughest. Lamé has spent more than two decades immersed in London nightlife. Now she's the one tasked with saving it.

At this morning's press conference, everyone seemed keen to stress just how difficult a job this will be. Even before her role was officially announced, Lamé revealed she was warned by a member of the public about the scale of the challenge. "I do have the best job in the world," she said. "But, as my taxi driver said to me this morning, I also have the most difficult job in the world."

London has lost 50 percent of its nightclubs and 40 percent of its live music venues since just 2007. On the face of it, reversing that trend seems like an unenviable task. Despite this, deputy mayor for culture Justine Simons revealed that more than 200 people had applied for the night czar position. They included DJs, club promoters and journalists. Apparently, at least one ex-policeman also saw fit to apply.

Lamé has spent years immersed in both nightlife and the limelight. She's the co-founder and host of the Olivier Award-winning Duckie, a south London club collective blending drag performance, cabaret and rock and pop classics. More recently, she's been at the forefront of the campaign to save the Royal Vauxhall Tavern – the venue that has been home to Duckie's weekly residency for 21 years. Alongside that, Lamé spent ten years co-presenting with Danny Baker at BBC London.

Announcing her appointment, London Mayor Sadiq Khan said: "Her proven track-record of helping save venues, her first-hand experience of the industry over the last two decades as well as her love for London and its nightlife are what make her such a great candidate for the role. She is in an ideal position to work together with venues, authorities, developers and revellers enjoying a night out to solve difficult issues and get new and creative projects going."

According to her job description, one of Lamé's key responsibilities will be to "create a roadmap" aimed at "developing and diversifying the evening and night time economy across London, while respecting residents' need for a good night's sleep". All very diplomatic, and no doubt worthy, but hardly inspiring stuff. It's fair to say there are more pressing issues at hand.

Lamé's appointment was announced at the 100 Club on Oxford Street, one of the world's longest running live music venues. Opened in 1942, the club has been home to jazz, punk, reggae and northern soul over the years. The Who, The Clash, Oasis and the Sex Pistols all played there. This musical history made the venue an obvious choice, reflecting the richness and diversity of the culture that Lamé will be fighting for. But it was also obvious for another reason.

The 100 Club came to the brink of closure in 2010, after several years of losses put down to spiralling rents and business rates. A campaign to save the club saw Paul McCartney play a benefit gig, and a sponsorship deal with Converse soon followed. It was a rare happy ending to a familiar story. There were once hundreds of live music venues in central London; The 100 Club is now one of only a dwindling few that are left.

Every month that goes by in London seems to herald the demise of yet more of our most beloved nightclubs and live music venues. Khan understands this. Moments before Lamé's appointment was announced, he told the assembled media: "The job of the night czar is a big job. Some would say the toughest gig there is in City Hall. The job she has is to make sure clubs stop closing down, to stop live music venues closing down."

It's fair to say that, when it comes to nightlife, Khan gets it. "The economic case is unarguable," he said. "But it's not just about the economic case, it's about the life you want to lead. Do you want to live in a city where everything closes at 10PM?" No one is doubting his good intentions, but recent events have shown the limits on what he is able to do.

When the subject of Fabric's closure inevitably arose, Khan offered a reminder: "It was the council that made the decision not to renew the licence." And there's the problem. Decisions about nightlife are being made by local councillors – the often well-meaning but ultimately ill-informed guardians of the licensing regime. Their decisions are based on information from the police, whose solution to any perceived problem is to shut venues down.

"One of the big challenges I'll have as night czar is to stem that flow," says Lamé. "It's a challenge I'm fit and ready to fight for. It shouldn't have got to this point with Fabric and, unfortunately, it did. What we'd like to see is a conversation with councillors, with licensing committees, with venue owners, with local residents, so that everybody feels like their voices are being heard."

Lamé's first initiative as night czar will be to embark upon a series of monthly "night surgeries". She wants to head out into London and speak to everyone with a stake in the city's nightlife about its future. It's a symbolic gesture designed to show everyone, including councils and the police, that she's ready to start a conversation about saving London's nightlife. The question is: Are they ready to listen?

@mark_wilding

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