Sober karaoke on the rise as Gen Z ditch booze

Telegraph

15-06-2025

Young people who shun alcohol are driving a boom in 'sober karaoke', putting them at odds with older generations who typically only sing after a few drinks.
Charlie Elek, chief executive of Britain's biggest chain of karaoke bars Lucky Voice, said he had seen an increase Gen Z eschewing booze during their singing sessions – breaking with the popular image of karaoke as a late night activity only undertaken when the pubs have shut.
He said 8pm was now the most popular time for bookings, compared to 10pm 'back in the day', because of a shift in drinking culture.
'Back in the day we were very much about post-pub activity. People would feel the need to have five drinks before coming to Lucky Voice. With Gen Z not not drinking the same ways that we used to, that that has changed over time,' he said.
He said that older people were still drinking more ahead of karaoke sessions. 'There's definitely some people who feel – it's an older generation – that, 'well, I'm not going to do karaoke until I have about five pints'.
'There's something kind of more guarded about the older generations.'
It comes amid a broader shift away from traditional pubs in terms of where younger people socialise.
While Britain's pub industry has suffered many closures in recent years, so-called 'competitive socialising' venues offering activities like karaoke, axe throwing and shuffleboard have become more popular.
Younger people in particular are cutting down on alcohol – with many now going completely teetotal.
In a survey by Kantar last year, 59pc of Gen Z – which are defined as people born in or after 1997 – claimed not to have drunk any alcohol in the last 12 months.
Mr Elek said this meant the chain was having to cater to a 'different type of customer'.
'They do come earlier,' he said. 'We have had to work a lot on our low & no [alcohol] menu, and that's getting really big pick up.'
Founded in 2005 by Martha Lane Fox, the Baroness of Soho and her business partners Julian Douglas and Nick Thistleton, Lucky Voice is Britain's biggest chain dedicated exclusively to karaoke. It runs five bars in London and one in Brighton.
As drinking habits have changed, the chain has also begun taking more corporate bookings and hosting more parties for children. The business pulled in its best Christmas on record in 2024, with sales rising 17pc compared with the prior year.
However, as well as seeing a rise in sober karaoke, Mr Elek said he had noticed some customers staying out later on Sundays and week nights because they are working from home and do not have to go into the office the next day.
He said: 'There's just a slight different attitude from the days where everyone was working five days a week and you knew that you were going to be at desk at 8:30am.'