Having struck a chord with his map of 1990s’ nightlife in Budapest, graphic artist Ákos Vizi has now created one focusing on the 1980s. With the Communist censors then in control, the city’s music and party scene contrasted radically to its later equivalent after the Fall of the Wall in 1989. University clubs and cultural institutions were the main venues, though a vibrant alternative was alive and kicking against the system for most of the decade.
With far fewer venues plotted on it than the one referring to the 1990s we recently featured, this second map of 1980s’ nightspots tells a whole different story to its predecessor.
While the initial chart has already received many additions thanks to reader feedback, many streets covered in dots and addresses, this one covering the last decade of Communism is much barer.
You can still spot a few gems, though: the dark punk recess of the Fekete Lyuk was already in full spiky swing, while discos at the Izzó Klub on Megyeri út in Újpest must have been illuminating. Attached to the Tungsram lighting company, the Light Bulb Club catered to workers who would have got through the week just to let loose on a Saturday night.
