The 10 Best Dance Clubs & Discos in South Wales, Wales

Venues come, venues go. Today's popular is tomorrows cautionary tale. But quality doesn't have an expiration date. Neither does music - real music. Cardiff's favorite independent venue is back in its new home under St. Mary Street. No gimmicks, just good music and great service.

Cardiff's only dedicated rock bar, nightclub and live music venue.

In the charming and quaint town of Llantwit Major, steeped in history and famous amongst historians, walkers and cyclists is where you will find the Tudor Tavern. The Tudor Tavern, formerly named The Globe Inn, along with the Old Swan Inn and the Old White Hart forms part of a triangle facing in towards the town square where the War Memorial now stands! To say it has a colourful history out of the three is an understatement. There is so much history associated with this lively pub it’s impossible to write about it all. It first became a public house in the 1840’s and from then it has a multitude of different owners through the three centuries. Many customers remember two past owners who have kept some interesting pets including a monkey & a parrot in the 1900’s which as you can imagine have left their own stamp on the premises to which people still fondly recollect and remember to this day. During the days in the 1800’s it was recorded that a young lad of 16 unfortunately lost his life by falling down the cistern and also another loss of life by someone hanging themselves in the stable after being given permission to stay the night… Over time there have been many stories of hauntings and sightings of ghostly happenings in the tavern where locals love to tell of their own mysterious experiences! Today the Tudor is owned by new couple, Jay & Kelly Jones, who have worked tirelessly to turn the Tudor back to the traditional family pub it once was… where children and dogs are all welcome… They don’t have monkeys or parrots but do have five children between them (some may deem unlucky of the options), two of whom live with them above the pub. The Tudor now boasts the Cask Marque for real ales and as Jay is an avid real ale drinker you can be assured of a ‘good pint’ every time! More recently Kelly has introduced a good old traditional ‘pub grub’ menu back into the pub and is rapidly becoming renowned for her signature dishes and homemade ‘chilli’. The Tudor also hosts a games room where pool & darts can be played or for the less adventurous you’ll find dominoes and cards with crib boards for your entertainment. Weekends at the Tudor turns this traditional pub into a lively venue with live music the last Friday of every month and discos with their very own resident DJ till 01:00am where the town and surrounding villages visit in their droves making it the ‘place to be’ on a Friday & Saturday night.

Bambu is the ultimate party destination with a reputation as a thriving hub of activity. Its Latin Tiki interior creates an instant feel good atmosphere, as do our delicious tropical cocktails. Bambu offers a mix of live music, from Live bands, Latin nights, all presented by our resident DJ's. There is something for everyone in this city centre's little bit of sunshine.

Located on Womanby Street, a narrow alley located across the road from Cardiff Castle, Clwb Ifor Bach - you might find it referred to as 'Y Clwb', or merely 'Clwb', or 'The Welsh Club' if three easily-pronounced words of the native tongue is deemed a shade taxing - opened in 1983. It was initially a members' club, one which sought to promote the Welsh language in Cardiff. While much of north and west Wales speaks Welsh as a primary language, Cardiff and the surrounding area is considered English-speaking first and foremost; this is reflected in the music that has emanated from the city over the decades, yet once Clwb Ifor Bach began to establish itself as a music venue, bands and artists from the breadth of Wales found their way through its doors. The commercial ascendancy of a select few Welsh-speaking outfits in the mid-90s - Super Furry Animals, Gorky's Zygotic Mynci and Catatonia made the greatest inroads - sparked, even if inadvertently, an upswing and a greater eclecticism in the venue's booking schedule. Memorable evenings in this decade included, among a sprawling list, UK electronic icons Autechre, the first and only Welsh show by Pavement (an early success for promo company Xplosure, who had a weekly band night which ran for some years), a just-pre-superstardom sell-out gig for Coldplay and a slew of monstrous rave-ups by hip-hop and dance promoters. Hustler covered hip-hop, funk and breakbeat, Silent Running brought every drum'n'bass icon under the sun to Cardiff and Radius maintained high house and techno standards. Names scattered among Clwb's backhistory include DJ Shadow, Roni Size, Scratch Perverts, 808 State, LTJ Bukem and Roots Manuva, to name a mere handful. The rule on which the club was established - that membership, for which one was given a card, required an ability to speak Welsh or a commitment to learn - was relaxed in the late 90s. Staff members are generally expected to speak the mother tongue, though, and things such as gig posters in the venue are bilingual where possible. The broad 'vibe' of Clwb Ifor Bach, friendly and bereft of dress codes or pocket-vacuuming drinks prices, stayed much the same, as the 21st century found South Wales spawning a glut of new bands (and rappers, DJs etc). Reflected in events like Radio 1 Live In Cardiff (October 2000) and labels such as Boobytrap, Ifor Bach was more of an epicentre for loud activity than ever. A disarmingly warm show headlined by The Strokes, in the summer of 2001, was one especially destined to stick in the memory of those who snared a ticket. It's 2008, and Clwb Ifor Bach has driven its foundations further still into the earth. Promoters and club nights have come and gone (although some, have been extant for over a decade now), and so have other music venues. Live music has been on both the top and bottom floors since 2005; the capacity on the top floor has recently been increased, yet there are still plenty of sell-out shows. It's not at all unknown for some proper famous boys to choose it for an 'intimate' gig on the down low - Super Furry Animals, Lost Prophets and Bullet For My Valentine are three recent examples. Notable shows in the last 12 months have come courtesy of Blood Red Shoes, Dead Meadow, Turisas, Foals, Black Lips, Future Of The Left, Los Campesinos!, The Cardiacs and Surgeon; prominent promoters at the time of writing include Forecast, Music Events Wales, Pedigree Falcon, Holodeck, Aperture, Sumo and Lesson No.1. Got designs to be among that list? Call up the venue. There's always room for more of this sort of spirit. Well, we hope you found that illuminating. Oh! What's an Ifor Bach? It's a who, not a what - Ifor Bach was the Welsh lord of the Cantref of Senghennydd, who in 1158 kidnapped the oppressive Earl of Gloucester and thus had hero status bestowed on him. He's a symbol of sorts for those in Wales who don't give in or take the easy route. Some people even named a music venue after him.

A new Soul night bringing you Motown, Northern Soul, Rhythm & Blues on vinyl till late.