SOCIAL distancing is a "non-starter" for embattled nightclubs which have been closed for nearly a year, the owner of Glasgow's most famous club has claimed. 

Mike Grieve, 62, has run Sub Club in Glasgow since 1994, and the club has been ranked 'one of the best rave experiences on the planet' by MixMag.

More than £180,000 was fundraised to help it stay afloat after a furlough application was declined and has been used to keep 30 staff plus freelancers including DJs in their jobs.

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Dad-of-two Mike ruled out many proposals put forward including mass testing and rapid flow tests which he believes are better suited to festivals than nightclubs - and would 'take the magic' out of the experience.

He hopes the vaccine rollout will mean clubs can open by the summer, preventing a repeat of illegal raves which sprang up around the UK when the first lockdown was lifted.

Mike said: "Without the people who supported us the club wouldn't be here.

"There is still no roadmap out of this for the late-night sector.

"There has been talk of a rapid testing solution, we don't hold out much hope for that as a practical solution, it is just impossible.

"Rapid flow tests are about 60 per cent reliable and people need to have experience in doing it, it takes all the magic out of the situation.

"What do we do if four people get out of a taxi and three are negative and one is positive?

"If we drew 1m sq boxes on the floor, how do you get to the bar or the toilet?

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"Social distancing is a nonstarter, I think mass testing is probably easier at festivals with big open spaces.

"We can't reopen until physical distancing is no longer needed.

"From a club's point of view, it is impossible to estimate when we will reopen."

Last year Sub Club was granted £40,000 under the Grassroots Music Venues Stabilisation Fund and is applying for a second round, a maximum grant of £70,000, which would be designed to provide support until June.

It missed out on the chance to apply for the Culture Organisations and Venues Recovery Fund.

Mike said club owners were used to operating within strict restrictions and trying to keep punters safe, with the risk of having a licence taken away prompting closure always a threat.

He added: "I'm not in favour of over-policing, we are so used to managing risks and mitigating potential risks.

"We are used to running a business in a very serious level of restrictions."

Mike said the level of non-compliance which could be seen in supermarkets was shocking, and questioned why hospitality had been treated as 'fall guys'.

He believes young people thrive off the opportunity to have fun with their friends on a dancefloor and said the value of that had been underestimated.

Mike said: "It is a massive thing for people, it is a cornerstone of youth culture and society.

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"I feel so sorry for young people, and the impact it has had on their lives.

"When we do reach a situation where there is a high saturation of vaccine uptake in the community and those most at risk have been fully vaccinated, barring the advent of new strains, something needs to change.

"Zero covid doesn't exist, we won't get that.

"There needs to be a chance for young people to go out and socialise not least for mental health.

"I think this summer if we don't get to that stage, there will be more parties like there were last summer.

"I think there has got to be a managed approach to it, they have got to take a scientific approach, there is no point setting a date.

"At the moment it is a hopeless situation, they need to set out the conditions to reopen."