Up the Youth Club: Illuminating a Hidden History

by Emma Warren

'Youth clubs have always existed. They always will, because there will always be young people. How we care for our youth, and what we owe them, is a question for all of us.'

In Up the Youth Club, Emma Warren maps the shifting story of youth clubs in the UK and Northern Ireland, from factory workers in Victorian Boys' and Girls' clubs to renegade self-emancipatory spaces in the 1970s and the music-generating youth clubs of more recent decades. With a mixed lineage in church evangelism, the patronage of the upper classes, grassroots' DIY, and erratic state funding, the youth club has had a huge, yet almost invisible, effect on music, sport, culture and society.

Arguing that we cannot advocate for what we do not understand, Warren positions youth clubs as a kind of engine room - from the famous success stories to come out of their doors, such as The Specials or Stormzy, to the untold stories of young people finding shelter, sustenance and stimulation for centuries - and why their dwindling numbers, largely due to austerity and funding cuts, is of serious concern for us all.

With this impassioned history, Warren invites us to pick up the torch and play an active part in protecting and re-igniting this vital part of UK society.

Audible Audio

Published September 9, 2025

Reviews

[Harry · Rating 4 out of 5]

'the business case is the worst of all cases when trying to advocate the value of any community space'

a tale of valuable services lost due to austerity, with as much of a focus on the value of youth clubs as the value lost due to the lack of youth clubs

i really took away how soulless it is to judge these spaces by the revenue generated by their alumnus - the author makes the case that while these examples are good, these spaces don't need to generate any revenue to be hugely meaningful

[George O'Reilly · Rating 4 out of 5]

National Treasure Emma Warren has done it again ! inspiring/bleak, we had so much... in the 60s the UK gov built 3,000 youth clubs, how bleak that I can't imagine someone even suggesting we build 10 now. Great read, loads of important stories have been pieced together to show the depth and range of Youth work and what can/has been achieved.

[juha leskinen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Had high hopes for this, but ended up feeling that this served people who went to these youth clubs, or worked there themselves. It was still nice to read about the importance of youth work, and how certain policies and obstacles come in cycles, threatening youth work funding.