This is a New Economy, but there’s not a geek or a modem in sight. Britain’s thriving pub-and-bar scene suggests a socioeconomic shift. Many British towns, particularly those whose fortunes faded with the demise of heavy industry, have begun looking to the leisure industry to kick-start their economy. One out of every five new jobs in Britain is in the alcohol-fueled industry, which accounts for about 3 percent of the country’s gross domestic product. Nationally, applications for new alcohol licenses have increased 38 percent since 1992. People now have more free time and disposable income than in the past–which means there’s more money to spend on alcohol. “This new nighttime economy is built upon alcohol,” says Dick Hobbs, a sociologist at Durham University. “It’s built on pleasure, leisure and intoxication.”
But the booze boom isn’t without its costs. The French may have far higher rates of alcoholism, but Britain has worryingly high rates of alcohol-related violence, particularly among what have become known as MVVDs–male volume vertical drinkers: guys who stand packed together in pubs, guzzling as much as they can before closing time. Government figures issued last week showed that crime was down by about 10 percent over the last two years, but attacks by strangers rose by 29 percent, and in more than half of those cases the attacker was drunk. In Manchester, the number of fights outside city pubs and bars rose 30 percent between 1998 and 1999.
Britain is trying to find a way to control public drinking. The government is currently debating whether to grant 24-hour drinking licenses to prevent the binge drinking before the 11 p.m. closing time. On weekends, many city police departments have extra officers on patrol, and hospital emergency rooms brace themselves for glass lacerations. Some pubs have even begun banning large crowds of young males. Last week police in Watford went to court to try to prevent the Edwards chain, owned by Bass Breweries, from opening a pub on Watford’s main strip. Violent crime has “gone through the roof” since 1995, when the town got a nightlife, according to Gary Caulfield, an inspector at the Watford Police Department.
Drinking’s become rowdier, in part, because more people are doing it. A generation ago public drinking was largely for working-class men. But drinking has become increasingly commercialized since pubs were simply an outlet for beer distributors. Pubs, bars and beer distributors have targeted new markets: women, retirees and the very young. “We are aiming at younger professionals in growth industries like media, publishing and IT,” says Bob Cartwright of Bass Leisure Retail, which owns more than 3,000 pubs and bars in Britain and Germany. Chains like Bass’s All-Bar-One have tried to woo women with flowers, big windows and table service. It’s worked. Says Matt Jones, manager of the Golden Lion pub in London’s Soho, “You see more girls going out now in groups for a laugh.”
You’ll also see more young Britons, who drink more than their European counterparts–and more than their parents did in their youth. Increasingly, the 18- to 24-year-olds are quaffing wine, spirits and cocktails, most of which have higher alcohol content than the traditional tipple, lager. A recent rage among college-age Britons: Vodbull, which is part vodka and part Redbull, a high-caffeine energy drink. Vodbull-UK, a company that travels to college towns and throws parties where double Vodbulls sell for £1, has launched the venture in 17 cities. Founder Richard Boschi hopes to franchise it in 60 more. But getting people drunk, he claims, is not the aim. “It’s about capturing the current market for the leisure industry,” he insists. And when did anybody ever get hurt doing that?
