The last Macumba in France, a vestige of the 80s and the nightlife, will close its doors near Lille at the end of February. At the end of 60 years of history and 23 rooms throughout the country, the director of the last club Dimitri Derepas mourns “the end of a legendary chain” of nightclubs.
At Macumba, it will soon no longer be possible to dance every evening, as Jean-Pierre Mader's song promised. From the end of February, the last nightclub under this name in France will permanently close its doors in Englos (North) after almost 50 years of existence. A “last dance” is planned at the establishment for the weekend of February 22 and 23.
“Heartbreaking” for director Dimitri Derepas, at the head of this nightclub for 10 years. “Beyond that of Englos, today it is a legendary chain which is closing its doors, a page is turning. Afterwards, it is also the end of an era…”
An unfavorable context for nightclubs
A few weeks before the closure, Dimitri Derepas says he is “very moved” by the messages of affection, the testimonies of love and sadness that he has received in droves from customers since the announcement. “I know that we are in the hearts of people, many of whom have met there,” he explains to BFMTV.com.
The last Macumba closes its doors: discotheques on the verge of disappearing?
If times are hard for discotheques and the nightlife in France, the irreducible Macumba from Lille is in no case closing due to financial difficulties. “Its historic founder Henri Souque, who created the concept in 1965 upon returning from the Algerian war, is now 84 years old. He simply wants to enjoy a well-deserved retirement,” insists the director of the establishment, for whom the Macumba remains to this day “a reference room”.
“We could have continued for years! Macumba was Henri Souque's whole life. We have to understand that now… With age and years, he could no longer manage everything. The theaters closed one after the other and his children were not interested in taking over the business,” confides Dimitri Derepas.
The Englos business, with a surface area of 1500m², was thus sold to a real estate group. “Unfortunately today a discotheque can no longer really be redeemed. The market is no longer as flamboyant as in the 80s, when nightclubs were the only leisure activity for young people. Today they are on the verge of disappearing “.
-Clubs that “knew how to talk to everyone”
In this unfavorable context, Dimitri Derepas still prides himself on the fact that Macumba has remained in the spotlight for so long – 60 years. According to him, the multiplication of cinemas on French territory between the 70s and 80s (up to 23 establishments) is primarily due to the innovative concept at the time.
It was at that moment that “the first multi-room nightclubs with significant surface areas” were born, the director recalls. The sign has become so emblematic that the word Macumba has ended up entering the French vocabulary and everyday language, not without the help of Jean-Pierre Mader's song in 1985.
“When we thought of Macumba, we thought of the round dance floors or even the podiums on which dancers danced topless or in Chinese shadows,” continues the director of the Northern club. “Now it’s widespread but it was at Macumba that it all started.”
“Our strength is that we have always kept the original soul, we followed fashion without following it. I can say that we were simple, popular and family-oriented in the good sense of the word. Some were able to make fun of it, but we knew how to remain general and talk to everyone. We never stayed in just one musical style.
“It’s an era synonymous with the 80s which is coming to an end,” Jean-Pierre Mader told BFMTV. “These were places where you could enter easily, unlike the big clubs in Paris where there was a doorman who filtered in,” recalls the 69-year-old singer. “It was a less stressful time, people mixed.”
Jeanne Bulant Journalist BFMTV
