Going to the discotheque was a popular entry in the diaries of many Nairobians, who wanted to paint the town all colours of the rainbow. A typical night owl was spoilt for choice: Beat House, Lips, Visions, Bubbles, Club Boomerang, Mamba Disco, Beauty and the Beast, Brilliant, Holly-Mbao and Zigzag.
But discos chewed a blackout come the mid 1990s when only the Floridas, the Carnivore and Dolce the Club on K-Street called the shots. They still do.
So, did you know the disco culture in Nairobi died courtesy of the K1 Club House at the Parklands Shade Hotel?
Well, it so happened that the government deregulated beer prices in the 1990s and bars could set their own. The Kahama brothers, in a moment of inspired genius, sought the services of an architect named Jack – then slaving as a civil servant – to design the ground floor Paradise Bar with a disco and the upstairs Heaven Bar that is popular with pool players. Result? The bamboo- and makuti-styled K1 Club House, where revellers could dance the night away without a cover charge, that was recovered through sale of pocket friendly booze and largely to the patrons sporting college moustache.
To attract older and more upscale party animals, Ciru Waweru of Amber Africa was invited to design Pitcher & Butch at K1, where jazz aficionados congregate most Tuesdays.
Nairobians migrated to K1 in droves. Discos closed. To catch up, many other establishments were renovated, featuring swanky decor. Out went the barmaids with protruding petticoats. In-house DJs were introduced in what has become a Nairobi standard.
