A new photography book documenting more than three decades of club culture is set to arrive this November, bringing together more than 550 images from Liverpool photographer Mark McNulty’s extensive archive.
In Clubland: 35 Summers of Love traces nightlife from the early 1990s rave explosion through the superclub era and into the modern festival scene, taking in some of the clubs, parties and people that shaped dance music culture along the way.
The 240-page book begins at Liverpool’s Quadrant Park in 1990 before moving through venues and club nights including Manchester’s Haçienda, Back to Basics in Leeds, Bristol’s Lakota and Berlin techno institution Tresor.
Liverpool naturally features heavily. McNulty photographed Cream, Garlands, Bugged Out! at Nation and Club EVOL at EBGB’s, while the collection also stretches to Southport soul all-nighters, Creamfields and emerging club scenes in Germany and Italy.
There are appearances from Daft Punk and The Chemical Brothers during the Heavenly Social years, alongside plenty of images focused away from the DJ booth. Crowds, club fashion, afterparties and the general chaos surrounding nights out form an equally important part of the archive.
The timeline eventually reaches Liverpool’s Eurovision celebrations in 2023, where Girls Don’t Sync represent a considerably newer generation of DJs and clubbers.
McNulty began taking photographs at gigs, festivals and clubs during the mid-1980s, initially making use of guest passes he had gained while playing in a band. As acid house and rave culture gathered momentum, his work appeared in publications including The Face and i-D, documenting scenes in the north of England for a much wider audience.
More than 190 pages of In Clubland are devoted to photographic reproductions, with McNulty adding his own recollections and context around the places and people he encountered. The result is less a collection of famous DJs than a visual record of how club culture itself changed across three decades.
Some of that archive has already made its way into galleries. McNulty’s earlier 35 Summers retrospective was shown at Oriel Colwyn in North Wales, while his work is also included in the British Culture Archive’s The 90s: Art & Fashion exhibition at Tate Britain, which opens on 8 October.
Liverpool has also been getting an early look at the project. Images from In Clubland have been projected onto the façade of the Maritime Museum at Royal Albert Dock each evening in the run-up to 2 October.
In Clubland: 35 Summers of Love is published by Modern Sky on 5 November 2026. The first edition is limited to 100 hardback copies and 303 softbacks, with both editions signed and numbered. The hardback is priced at £85 and includes an additional 36-page zine and archive print, while the softback is £40.
The book is available to pre-order through 80s Casuals.
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