Sol & Viva

Lawdy Lawdy Lawdy, Hello Bury Massive!!!
Who hasn’t had the displeasure of Sol and Viva nightclub. If you’ve ever been to Holy Cross College, or Bury College, then the chances are, you’ve taken your underage self to Sol and Viva on any night of the week and found yourself queuing up, paying too much to get in, before faking your date of birth before the gold tooth grin of the men in black on the door, dropping your coat off, and realising that yes, the carpet extends from entry into nightclub all the way through the damn place. Open the psuedo gothic doors and what do you get, oooh yes the whiff of cheesy feet, well that’s what happens when you’ve got underage drinkers and carpet and alcohol all under one roof, the faint smell of vomit in the air.
The music is bog standard commercial, it’s fair enough, and to be honest, it’s doubtful that the people who visit here would appreciate a calibre beyond this.
The venue is essentially on two levels, down stairs is Sol, the and upstairs is Viva. Sol is for 18 – 21 or 25 and Viva is supposed to be the classier more older bods area. Yeah right… people have been sneaking into Viva for I don’t know how long.
Coming here when I was 16 and 17 and even 18 it was a laugh, and acceptable, reuniting with a bunch of mates and trying it out beyond our teens, well, it’s like watching a beloved cartoon when you’re too old to appreciate the memory of it. Scantily clad teenagers and pubescent boys all intertwined, tongues rammed down each other’s throats and groping hands everywhere. I think we lasted about 30 minutes before escaping never to return.
Various deals are to be had, there are spin the wheel nights, drinks that would run steep otherwise, can be a bargain when the wheel hits the 3 for 1 sign, and special student nights bring the price down again and all that jazz.
Music wise, like I said, commercial enough to appeal to everyone, and it is a venue that is open late enough to satiate the nightclub needs of the Bury teens.
When you hit 20 never ever step foot in here. EVER!

Oh old sticky floors Sol.
This is the kind of place I regret ever stepping foot in. But I stepped foot in there a fair few times in upper sixth. The music is chart r ‘n’ b, old school dance and the poppier of indie tunes. I overhead some girls the other day trying to convince another one on the phone ‘They play Kings of Leon and that…’ Somehow I don’t think the boys would be thrilled to know that Sol in Bury was playing tracks from their fourth album.
It is too expensive considering what it is offering: a big space with enough bars, balconies and dancefloors to lose people and find them again later. Students tend to go on Thursdays and on Fridays or Saturdays it is a predominantly older crowd. Their over 21s cheesy room is often chock full of under 21s who, for some reason, think they are better than the rest of their peers. Needless to say, they act exactly the same.
You get the typical cliches here: girls throwing up in toilets, guys ‘out on the pull’ for anything in a short skirt. The only reason that I can see for people returning is that other people they know from days gone by will be there. Which really doesn’t make sense — why don’t they just all go somewhere else to meet? Somewhere with more character, better music or even just cheaper?

Sol & Viva is a club located across from the ‘new Bury’, a huge building site comprising off several leisure facilities — even rumoured to be the location of the new Sol & Viva.
Back to the Sol & Viva club itself, it is comprised of two different sections inside. Sol is for all patrons who are aged 18+, whilst Viva, located upstairs inside Sol is for patrons aged 21+. Sol, from my experience is mainly dance music, whilst Viva can be playing a wide variety of music, anything from the 80’s to modern tracks.
As Sol attracts many late teens to its venue, there is going to be the odd bit of scuffles here and there but don’t let that deter you. There is plenty of door supervisors on hand, both inside and out, who are usually on their game.
One last point I should draw your attention too. Sol & Viva is a paying venue so once it’s opened at approx. 11pm each night, expect to pay a small surcharge to get in (usually no more than £5). Once you’ve paid to get in, they do have some great drink promotions such as ‘£1 a drink’ before 1am, (normal prices then resume, approx. £3−4 a bottle thereafter). Other promotions include ‘3−4−1 on bottles’; 3 bottles for the price of 1.
Overall, Sol & Viva can compliment a good night out in Bury.
Review was accurate at time of writing; 29÷12÷08.