©Serge
Before Vlasmarkt, Oude Beestenmarkt, Klein Turkije and Overpoort became entertainment centres, Kuiperskaai was the place to be!
Kuiperskaai, Ghent
It currently features a kind of Stalinist Playmobil construction, but in the 20th century Kuiperskaai was the city’s principal entertainment district. It initially targeted the upper classes, but by the 1980s – undeniably the golden age of Kuiperskaai – the neighbourhood had lost its bourgeois character and became the favourite haunt of night revellers.
“In one club we played hip-hop, reggae and salsa for a mostly black audience,” influential DJ duo Mo & Benoelie told the Belgian magazine Knack Focus in 2004, “and in another club we played new beat, new wave and acid house for a wider range of partygoers.”
The most famous clubs from that period were 55, Elpee, Fash and Barney’z.
Club 55 on Kuiperskaai in Ghent
