Scream bars, pound a pint, scene kids hanging out. Is this still a thing, anyone remember this period of time from their childhood?
Posted by Distinct_Weather_601@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 111 comments
When I was 18 or 19 years old, I used to go drinking with my friends. This would have been in about 2004, 2003, god, maybe even 2002. No, probably about 2003.
And we used to go to these Scream bars where you needed a yellow card and you could get a pint for a pound. All the sort of metalheads, the grungers, the alternative kids, emos, baggy jeans. We all used to go to these bars.
Where is that scene these days in 2025? Because there's nowhere cheap to drink. Is there? Where are all of the scene kids? Is that gone? Does that just not exist anymore? Nostalgic, heady days.
wolfodongland@reddit
Good times were had in Lincoln '03/04 but my stinky alt friends and I were in Sugarcubes most of the time which was the slimiest rock club ever; the Scream bars were more chill by comparison. Still got some mosh scars š¤
Omnissiah40K@reddit
Spent a lot of time in the scream pub during university, pound a pint, 3 blue wkds for a fiver to wash the pills down - trance on the jukebox - the absolute glory years
JagoHazzard@reddit
My abiding memory of them is how sticky they were.
Rumhampolicy@reddit
Beer and a burger (and chips) for less than Ā£5 šš
honestlyVERYhonest@reddit
Somewhere near Hull uni 2007: burger, chips, and a pint Ā£3.50.
I feel like I'm lying, but coming from Kent I knew it was a bargain even then.
Boring_Amoeba_9031@reddit
Also from Kent and went to hull - I remember this place š¤Ŗ
Rumhampolicy@reddit
I thought it was 3.50, but then I thought, nahhh, it couldn't be š I'm glad you've said that.
Rumhampolicy@reddit
I dont think I ever saw a drug free Scream pub though š
ben_jamin_h@reddit
We were honking hash spliffs out in the garden area, the security guard said 'I don't give a shit if you smoke that, just don't do it right near the doors'
Ok_Profile9400@reddit
Yeah buddy probably didnāt open his eyes much
Distinct_Weather_601@reddit (OP)
Oh I donāt doubt it, but I donāt think it was really on my radar at all when I was 19
Siggi_Starduust@reddit
āItās A Screamā bars were utter gash and a nail in the coffin of good nightlife. In Aberdeen we used to have a brilliant alternative nightclub (Exodus) above a decent traditional boozer with a predominantly student crowd. The atmosphere downstairs was chilled but the music was good and the drinks reasonably priced. Upstairs was proper sticky carpet vibes and amazing tunes.
āItās a screamā moved in. Ripped up the sticky carpet. Turned the downstairs bar into something resembling a Tokyo Pachinko Parlour and started playing Ronan fucking Keating upstairs. As far as chain pubs go, I rated them worse than Wetherspoons!
Kuhneel@reddit
A few pints in The Swan, then piling into the Krazyhouse and headbanging until you hurt your neck.
The K1 bar is a thing now but it's so small.
hc1540@reddit
Love The Swan
Enigma_Green@reddit
Remember on a Thursday this one night club, 1 pound entry and 50p vs drinks all night.
Liquid envy on a Thursday 341 drinks, nuts.
StanleyChuckles@reddit
Jillys in Manchester has been gone a good long while now.
No-Road251@reddit
The scream bar in Manchester (town) was the Footage and we would go there before Zoo (now bread shed), Rock Kitchen or Jillys.
Good times circa 2004.
No_Promotion_65@reddit
Didnāt fallowfield have a couple
No-Road251@reddit
Yeah I think so, maybe Orange Grove or Queen of Hearts?
plasticirishman@reddit
Queen of Hearts and Robbos, spent far too much of my student loan in those pubs. Cheshire Cat was another one I think?
No-Road251@reddit
Cheshire Cat was the other I was trying to think of!
I can't remember if that was the scream bar but I did frequent it a fair bit.
StanleyChuckles@reddit
The Salisbury for me before Jillys or the Ritz, good times circa 1994.
RevellRider@reddit
When I dated someone in Manchester 20 years ago it used to be Grand Central before Jilly's
StanleyChuckles@reddit
Yes, of course, Grand Central as well.
No-Road251@reddit
+1 for Salisbury
Good times
EldritchElise@reddit
Dry dock in Leeds.
Sigh.
rovstuart@reddit
Those were the days, when you could go out with a tenner and that would see you through the night, now you're lucky if that gets you 2 drinks.
andyrocks@reddit
40p shots and sticky carpets
rovstuart@reddit
And the smell of tobacco throughout the pub/club to mask the smell of the toilets
EasySignature179@reddit
Used to be a club near me that was Ā£10 in, all you can drink on Thursdays, never get anything like that now!
rovstuart@reddit
There used to be a thing called round the world. They would spin a wheel with country names and whatever it landed on. The drink from the country was like 80p for half an hour. Think Tennant's for Scotland, or Vodka and mixer for Russia, and either Guinness or Jameson for ireland.etc.
No-Calligrapher-718@reddit
I remember being able to get rat arsed for a tenner, and still have change for cheesy chips on the walk home!
CrimpsShootsandRuns@reddit
Student bars with Ā£2 trebles. We bought 3 each when we walked in, downed one at the bar and then went and hit the smoking area with the other two. By the time the six shots of vodka had settled it was dancing time.
No-Calligrapher-718@reddit
Pretty much how it went, cheap shots and then dance time on a dance floor that's a bit more sticky than it probably should have been lol
CrimpsShootsandRuns@reddit
And wading through ankle deep... liquid to have a piss.
DadsArmchair@reddit
They all work at CEX now
mitchley@reddit
Remember them very well. The Phantom in Loughborough was our regular when at University, The York was the first pub I ever went to in Sheffield, Footage in Manchester when visiting the girlfriend (now wife), can't quite remember the Nottingham one's name, but went there a lot before Rock City and Rescue Rooms.
Around the same time we went to a few Orange Tree pubs, one in Loughborough, one in Leicester. The indie band Voom Blooms did their final gig at the Loughborough one.
nogeologyhere@reddit
You did exactly the same as me. Loved the Orange Tree garden in Lboro
Appropriate_Trader@reddit
They converted āThe libraryā pub to a scream bar near my halls of residence the year I moved to Leeds for uni. My mum was genuinely pleased Iād have a place to study so close.
Thatās the day I realised she really isnāt that bright.
Ok_Net4562@reddit
I was always in leeds library. Same thing with my mom but i told her about a year in that it was actually a pub. I even took her and my dad in. He slammed 4 pint in the 1st half of the england game to show off to the "light weight students". Ended up having to carry him out.
ecapapollag@reddit
Took a taxi to the actual (uni) library and was SO annoyed that they dropped me off outside the pub! (I was in my final year, I needed the library a lot more than I wanted a night out).
Martipar@reddit
Yep, I still have my Yellow Card somewhere. I posted an image to Reddit but I can't find it so here is the image from my files. It was my "ID" for a while at my local Scream Bar they asked you for ID when you got a Yellow Card, I was 17 but the bar staff didn't ask my mate for ID when they got theirs so I went up and got one too. When it came to nights out and I was asked for ID i'd say "I haven't got my ID but i've got my Yellow Card and I had to show my ID to get it" they'd accept this and serve me.
nogeologyhere@reddit
My god the memories. Used to go to the one in Loughborough all the time
Les-tah-farian@reddit
Leicester had a good range of scream bars... Loaded Dog, Dry Dock, Soar Point and the Polar Bear. Had some good nights in all of them, especially cause they did Quids on different nights of the week IIRC.
I remember one night they did a stock exchange night where the prices of the drinks would vary based on demand. The highest price ones were their original prices, then the as the shares/demand of drinks went down, they'd drop the price of the drink, which would change every 10 minutes or so. Tequila down to Ā£1. Then Carling down to Ā£1. Then cider. Then sambuca. And so on. It was a messy night needless to say
PrincessStephanieR@reddit
I vaguely remember what you mean but I donāt think thereās many places like this now. I think that the only ācheapā place to drink is Wetherspoons? I kind of miss the grunge era of the early 2000s. Loved the music and still do.
hhggffdd6@reddit
They're all student places now. Less character, more 18 year olds trying to get pissed on a tenner
Badnewsbrowne316@reddit
Grunge era?
IndividualCurious322@reddit
Subcultures are dead because they became more accepting and refused to gatekeep. Goth, for example, is primarily known for its fashion and dark colours, but there's a music element to it, too and even more. I've seen goth groups die out because they weren't willing to turn away posers (or people just there for a "QT goth mommy!") and allowed their unique identity to be watered down.
Western_Estimate_724@reddit
The student bar in Aberdeen back in the day - finish lectures and off to the Bobbin to spend Ā£8 on a terrible burger and a bottle of rose. Happy days!
hallerz87@reddit
Weāre about the same age Iām guessing. Iād forgotten about Scream bars until now but yeah, had one in Bristol during my uni days (05-08). Ā£20 got you club entry, 4-5 drinks, chips and cheese, and a shared cab back to halls. Different times!
Norman_debris@reddit
This doesn't exist anymore because people don't go out. Or rather, the same types are the ones going out all the time. Town centres are culturally homogeneous now.
ResplendentBear@reddit
Never heard of this.Ā I started drinking in the mid 90s and went to university in the late 90s and never experienced pound a pint either.
foulveins@reddit
it was a specific brand of pub in the early 2000s
i remember the adelphi up near uclan in preston used to be one
Norman_debris@reddit
And Roper Hall too.
docju@reddit
The Crags (now the much more genteel Salisbury Arms) and Tron in Edinburgh. Good times!
JavaRuby2000@reddit
No drug use or fighting in Scream bars?
Scream bars was where you went to score in the student town I was in and there were fights there every week. There was even one guy got killed from a one punch during an acoustic night.
cmpthepirate@reddit
Yeah we once cued up Andrew WK Party Hard 10 times in a row on the bristol pear jukebox, they manually changed the tune after the 5th time and said we could have the rest of the plays next time we went back š
Wenlocke@reddit
The scream bars were a later addition for us. Before that it was the Firkin pubs, and one or both of the big chain Irish bars (O'Neills, and Seamus O'Donnells.)
Bitter-Crazy4119@reddit
Yes! We didnāt have a Scream bar but our equivalent was called Metros and it would have been a bit more like the late 90s for me but sounds very much like the same scene. Ā£1 for a shot of aftershock. Weād sacrifice our bus fare home some nights for a final shot if weād run out of money. The best times
swoticus@reddit
Metros in Cardiff? There was a Scream/Yellow pub up on Crwys road.
Knee-Deep-In-Static@reddit
Gassy Jacks was the Scream pub, I would always load up on 20 chicken wings before the cheap pints! Simpler times before the metabolism kicked inā¦
Bitter-Crazy4119@reddit
Yeah Cardiff. Ah I know the yellow pub, didnāt know it was a Scream one!
Danandcats@reddit
Probably been 10 years since I last went in there but it really started to struggle after the smoking ban from what I remember.
Funnily enough an underground cave with no ventilation, filled with sweaty people, vomit and toast didn't smell great and the smoke from about 95 million cigarettes was required to cover it up.
Still many a great night in there drinking turbo Shandys
Distinct_Weather_601@reddit (OP)
I fucking loved Metros, Cardiffās metal scene - absolutely class. Spent many a drunken night in that place š
Bitter-Crazy4119@reddit
Haha me too, I wonder if we crossed paths!
NecroVelcro@reddit
Ah, the sweaty walls ...
swoticus@reddit
Sweatros
Bitter-Crazy4119@reddit
Thatās the one! I moved away about 15 years ago so no idea if itās still open. Iād forgotten the sweat would sometimes drip from the ceiling
No_Atmosphere1852@reddit
I don't know the name scream bar or the yellow card, but we still have a pub that matches your description! It's called Finns and from what I can see it's thriving, but I only walk past now.
Fufflewaffle@reddit
Of course there are tons in Camden. Theres a relatively decent one in Kingston, The Fighting Cocks. Still quite pricey now though. They have a venue in the back, and then there is an alt club called Bacchus 5 minutes away if you wanna keep that vibe going.
RevellRider@reddit
Stop, you're making me feel old
Ours was called Speak Easy, or Speasy for short. Had the Horn next door, another student pub. Ā£30 in your back pocket, couple of beers in there, round the corner to Rock City, kicked out at half 2, quick donner and chips and some change for the late bus home
Eyupmeduck1989@reddit
God this takes me back. Ending up at Rock City or Phlebas if it was a Tuesday.
Dry-Significance-271@reddit
Immediately thought of Speasy when reading the OP. Loved that place
stepage@reddit
Nottingham life
RevellRider@reddit
Oh yeah, if wasn't Speasy or the Tap before City, it was West Side Bar when all the skaters and bmx'ers used to hang out there. Such was the influence of Non-Stop in that area
reeko1982@reddit
This post has poked my nostalgia! Great times, I worked on the bar at Westside, finish work then over to Bar Schnapps for one (!) then Cookie Club. Oh to be young again!
Distinct_Weather_601@reddit (OP)
Nottingham?
weatherwaxs_broom@reddit
We had the most watered down shots in human history when I was at uni, but they were Ā£1 each and had silly names so of course they were really really popular. Especially with me. Fantastic days.
SignificanceOld1751@reddit
I remember those, yeah.
You're deluded as fuck of you reckon we weren't high though.
antdd_c@reddit
Big up The Plough š±
quellflynn@reddit
student / uni pubs usually!
tobotic@reddit
Are you seriously asking if a pound a pint is still a thing? Pints that cheap were hard to come by even 25 years ago.
DownrightDrewski@reddit
No drugs?
I often went out the back for a spliff - sometimes with the staff. I do miss those days though. I think I mostly miss being young and attractive.
Sin_nombre__@reddit
There were some of these pubs in Glasgow, I hadn't realised the chain was so wide spread.
notprotonated@reddit
Big up the Royal London in Wolverhampton. Some good times there in the '00s. I'm glad it's still there, but it's nowhere near as good as it used to be. Ah well!
Cheeseit86@reddit
Ahhhh, booze addled memories.
TwentySevenMusicUK@reddit
Stoke on Trent native here.
I was 18 in 2008. We had The Sugarmill & The Underground. Both alt nightclubs/gig venues.
They had shows on 3-4 nights a week and club nights at the weekend. Not entirely sure what they do now but I know The Sugarmill only has a couple of gigs a year on.
I was a Friday at The āMill room 2 lad. Pop punk/emo night! Was ace.
r_keel_esq@reddit
I visited all three in Glasgow on more than one occasion - they were terrible, but a good terrible.
I was not complaining when Curlers on Byres Road aged up at around the same time I did.Ā
ExcitementKooky418@reddit
Sounds like a blast, sign me up!
Digidigdig@reddit
Giant jenga, connect four, and flavoured vodka.
idontlikemondays321@reddit
Donāt forget meeting strangers there from MySpace. Networking with side fringes
ohitmustbe@reddit
It's A Scream paid for me and a load of other student journalists to cover the Carling Festival in 2001. Amazing stuff really: huge backstage tent with bar, got loads of bands to come and have interviews, gave us free booze and accommodation. I think I submitted one 50 word review to their in-house magazine for the privilege (unfortunately the mag had to be scrapped because it had a picture of the World Trade Centre in it). I'll always have fond memories of the chain for that brilliant experience.
JP198364839@reddit
Two Scream pubs helped me through my three-year drinking degree.
Friendly_Features@reddit
Yes! The āYellow Pubā in Bangor was a scream bar, first visit of freshers week tours
OpenedCan@reddit
Used to be called 'The Park' in Luton.
Thursday nights. Good times.
Distinct_Weather_601@reddit (OP)
And then on to The Edge for tenner all you can drink and some bloke called Andy with sleeves moshing to Tool upstairs on the dance floor
Ugglug@reddit
I remember a place like this. Low ceilings, grungy floors and walls, pool tables that they pushed out of the way to make room for a dance floor for Friday metal night.
No Ā£1 pints but you could get 20 vodka shots for a tenner that theyād line up on the bar and some poor sod would no doubt attempt it at about 2pm during a free session at college then have to be propped up during final registration so they didnāt lose their ESA for the week. Good times
Alert-Performance199@reddit
Oh god, yes. Had one in Plymouth by our halls of residence in 2005.
Scream burgers were good
TwoPintsYouPrick@reddit
Worked in a scream bar in ā07 onwards at uni. I stole so many of those freshers free beer and burger vouchers I ended up trading them for pints elsewhere. We also used to log every transaction as YC discount and then feed pints into the system and drink for free daily.
DMMMOM@reddit
55p a pint for me.
StereotypicallBarbie@reddit
Student bars.. you could go out with a tenner! And still come home pissed as a fart with a pizza and chips!
astromech_dj@reddit
Firkin pubs around 00 had these massive bread bun sandwiches. You could get battered chicken pieces with BBQ sauce, or cheesy chips. They were like 10ā across.
ijs_1985@reddit
Yes to scream bars but they werenāt particularly for moshers just general students and younger people overall
Also had sport on where we used to go
Molly_Hatchett@reddit
I WAS one of those scene kids! In my uni days we had the rizer (the rising sun), super close to our student house. Good times
leyland_gaunt@reddit
Before Scream pubs there were the Firkin pubs, pints of delicious dogbolter in a dingy room. Fantastic.
thegreyman1986@reddit
I knew of them but never went myself. Funny enough though I guess Iām roughly the same age as you and was talking with a lad in the gym over the weekend, only 22/23 and he was talking about how expensive his night out was and I thought fucking hell I used to be able to go out with maybe Ā£30 in my pocket and come home hammered with a kebab! Some clubs had nights where it was like Ā£20 entry but you got a wristband that got you unlimited free drinks (dogshit drinks mind you! The absolute worst vodka ever made with a bit of lemonade or a Smirnoff Ice/WKD kind of thing), a big kebab would be about Ā£5 with plenty of chilli and garlic sauce and my taxi home was Ā£5
I think the taxi alone would be Ā£10+ now
zoltan_g@reddit
No idea what a scream bar was but i remember the local 'alternative' pub.
All manner of goths, metal heads, punks, hippies and ravers went there, including the dwarf Dani Filth and the Cradle boys before they got big.
It was cheap, pretty scuzzy but super friendly and everyone knew everyone else.
Last-Supermarket-439@reddit
One was my local Uni pub. Great place.. such a wild mix of people knocking up against each other
There were a few bars that really did the grunge era right, but this place stood out because of the deals you used to get with the card
It's a generic shithole now.. It's still "ok" but lost all of its character
Same with the likes of Belushis.. used to be full of tourists, Metallers, grunge kids etc and staffed almost entire by Aussie surfer types which made a really amazing laid back and chilled atmosphere.
But then greed took over, and now they are all tourist trap shit houses
AcademyBorg@reddit
There isn't.
You can look at it from two ways.
It's more expensive so that age group doesn't go out as much.
That age group doesn't go out as much so it's more expensive for those who do.
Additional-Nobody352@reddit
God I remember the yellow card too. Just unlocked a memory.
AutoModerator@reddit
Please help keep AskUK welcoming!
When repling to submission/post please make genuine efforts to answer the question given. Please no jokes, judgements, etc.
Don't be a dick to each other. If getting heated, just block and move on.
This is a strictly no-politics subreddit!
Please help us by reporting comments that break these rules.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.