Bars and Live Music

There's more going on in London's bars and music venues than we could possibly list. Take That and Girl's Aloud playing at the O2 is clearly the event that the cameras are going to be trained on this year, but some of the best New Year's in London will be happening in the little music pubs and DJ bars that make the capital's nightlife so varied, vibrant and friendly.

Carry on Throbbing

The Telegraph, London, SW2 1HE
New Year's Eve, 31st December 2007

Brixton regulars Throb always promise 'It's a party, not a club-night', and their laidback attitude and chat-to-anyone regulars have earned them serious loyalty in the nine years they've been running parties in the capital. They started out in Liverpool, and there's an easygoing attitude to these nights which (along with the dodgy music and hen night fashions) is the closest you'll get in London to a proper Northern house club. This is, so we're told, the very last of their south London bashes, and the theme is 'Nine Years of Throb', so if you've been to one of their previous parties, you're asked to turn up in whatever outfit you wore to that. If you've not been before, check the website for costume ideas (www.throbbing.info/), or just bring the silliest clothes you own. The Telegraph has lost a little charm since the refurbishment, but it's still a great place for this sort of night, with cheap drinks, a big dancefloor, and plenty of comfortable places to chill out and shoot the breeze with randoms. Take yourself seriously, and you'll have an awful New Year, but roll in with an open mind and a healthy enthusiasm for getting wrecked, and you'll make some of the best friends you've ever had.

More info: Carry on Throbbing Map, Prices, Opening Times and Nearest Tube

Viennese New Year's Eve Gala

Barbican Centre, EC2Y 8DS
New Year's Eve, 31st December 2007

All the beauty and romance of the music of 19th-century Vienna is captured in this sparkling new programme of favourites from the Strauss family and their contemporaries. The London Philharmonic Orchestra will be directed in the traditional Viennese manner from the violin by John Georgiadis. It's all slightly let-down by the fact that the show ends before midnight, but we assume there'll be something going on at the Barbican that you can join in with if you want to stay up for the bells.

Including:
Waldmeister Overture
Old England Forever! Polka
New Years Gallop
Where the Lemon Trees Bloom
Cuckoo Polka
Ohne Sorgen Polka
Radetzky March
The Blue Danube Waltz
Champagne Polka
Zivio! March

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Lorina Gore - Soprano

More info: Viennese New Year's Eve Gala Map, Prices, Opening Times and Nearest Tube

Hat Club New Year

The Tabernacle, EC2A 4LE
New Year's Eve, 31st December 2007

Hat-Club rules. These goodtime kids went from throwing smallish parties for a crowd of mates to regularly selling out the colossal Canvas in 2005. They've deliberately kept things a bit quieter in the last couple of years (the first rule of Hat Club is now 'don't talk about Hat Club') and it's allowed them to keep throwing brilliant, silly parties, as well as the occasional enormous rave. The main thing, of course, is to sort your headgear out: ticket or no ticket, if you forget your hat, you won't get in. This is a great venue and an event organised by some party people who simply want to spread their love of hats and house, but have found an army of followers.

Line-up to be confirmed.

More info: Hat Club New Year Map, Prices, Opening Times and Nearest Tube

Countdown to Midnight: With Take That and Guests Live at the O2

The O2 Arena, London, SE10 0AX
New Year's Eve, 31st December 2007

The biggest boy band of the eighties take to the stage of the O2 in what will certainly be Britain's most-watched New Year's Eve celebration in 2007. Gary, Mark, Jason and the other one are your hosts and main attraction in a concert that will also feature The Sugababes, and other special guests yet to be announced. Take That have ten No 1 hits under their belts, which makes them an appropriate act to be counting down to the bells (though we suspect that they may drop a couple of the more embarrassing early efforts), finishing with a triumphant performance of comeback single 'Shine'. It's a great spot for celebrating at midnight, as the O2 Dome sits almost on top of the Greenwich Meridian, the line from which countries all over the world measure the time.

More info: Countdown to Midnight: With Take That and Guests Live at the O2 Map, Prices, Opening Times and Nearest Tube

Xfm NYE

The Brixton Academy, London, SW9 9SL
New Year's Eve, 31st December 2007

London's oh-so-credible indie station staged a surprisingly jolly New Year's Eve party last year, with their DJs playing a selection of 2006's best party tunes, and the 'Xfm All-stars' playing covers of recent rock hits and the odd classic. They've scaled things up this year, and are taking over the whole of the Carling Academy Brixton. They're also staying pretty cagey about the line-up, though it remains to be seen whether this means that they have actually got some real stars in, or just that Nick Luscombe is going to be playing challenging electro-mash-ups all night long, and they're hoping to sell a few tickets before telling anyone. Assuming they manage to repeat last year's success, the fifteen quid price tag and reasonably cheap bar (by London New Year standards) make this is quite a bargain. And it's certainly the only place in the world where you'll hear a tribute band playing a Pigeon Detectives song.

More info: Xfm NYE Map, Prices, Opening Times and Nearest Tube

NYE Heavy Hitters Old Skool vs New Skool Party

Bar Rumba, W1D 7EP
New Year's Eve, 31st December 2007

The Eclectic Breaks crew have been running parties at this intimate bar for three years now, keeping the spirit of hip-hop alive in the West End, and ensuring that the otherwise unremarkable Bar Rumba continues to be a major destination for fans of urban music. It's all about party tunes, and the fast-paced mix of hip-hop, reggae, soul, bashment and old skool is accompanied by witty, energetic MCs. DJs on the night include Kiss FMs Manny Norte and 1Xtra's Mista Jam, as well as the usual Getdown crew, and there'll be live PAs from some of the sharpest stars of the UK underground, including Ear Dis, Steelo, and Donaeo. There's no dress code, but it gets seriously hot in there, so you might as well leave your hats and hoodies behind unless you want your NYE threads drenched in sweat before they've even rung the bells.

More info: NYE Heavy Hitters Old Skool vs New Skool Party Map, Prices, Opening Times and Nearest Tube

School Disco

Kentish Town Forum, London, NW5 1JY
New Year's Eve, 31st December 2007

If you can muster a posse of like-minded party animals, why not ring in the New Year at this massive disco party? The dress code may be demeaning but the music is spot on - classic tunes every one, and perfect for drunken dancing. The combination of silly clothes and the special time of year also mean that you are virtually certain to pull, so if you've been feeling a lack of snogs under the mistletoe over the festive season, then this might be the opportunity you've been waiting for. So bad it's good, with lashings of booze and cheery 80s and 90s tunes, this as an unforgettable, albeit embarrassing, way to roll into 2008.

More info: School Disco Map, Prices, Opening Times and Nearest Tube

NYE at the Westbury

The Westbury, London, NW6 5UA
New Year's Eve, 31st December 2007

A lot of London pubs cheekily ask their regulars for ten or fifteen quid for the privilege of hanging around in their local with their mates on New Year's Eve, but there's nowhere else in London providing value for money quite like The Westbury. Along with the comfort, friendly faces and low prices that make a pub the perfect spot for welcoming in 2008, they've provided some of the finest hip-hop/breakbeat DJs in the country, in the form of Ninja Tunes pioneer The Herbaliser, former Scratch Pervert Mr Thing and Fabric regular DJ Vadim. It's the kind of line-up you'd happily spend a fortune to watch at a superclub, so to have them spinning out their inimitable party mix in a fun pub is will make for a fantastic occasion.

More info: NYE at the Westbury Map, Prices, Opening Times and Nearest Tube

Unabombers

Big Chill House, London, N1 9NL
New Year's Eve, 31st December 2007

The Big Chill is at its best in summer, when the fantastic terrace comes into its own, but being owned by one of the best festivals in the UK ensures that on special occasions like this, they tend to get everything just right. They've certainly picked the ideal DJs to take you into 2008. The Unabombers' Electric Chair nights in Manchester were everything that their reputations suggested, mixing all that was best about the spirit of the Northern Soul and Hacienda eras into a mad mix of house, disco, hip-hop, broken beat, Latin, soul, RnB and techno. A decade later, they've spawned many imitators, but if the music is less full of surprises, they still make an absolutely pounding big club sound from the most unlikely material. Upstairs, Deepsoul 3 keep it a bit more conventional, with some cheery Balearic pop.

More info: Unabombers Map, Prices, Opening Times and Nearest Tube