Clubs: New year's eve clubbing

If you want to know about the best New Year's Eve gigs, then check out this week's "50 Best" feature, which lists 20 of the most promising. But in a busy week in clubland, even those cannot cover all the stand- out events on offer, which include Space 1999 @ The Mint in Leeds, where you can judge if Basics still throw the best parties in the city.

Electric Chair @ The Roadhouse in Manchester caters for an outrageous "mixed" crowd. But if you're looking for a rave vibe, try the excellent Middlesborough Empire - whatever gig it's staging on NYE, you can bet it will be rammed with 1,500 young punters determined to party themselves into oblivion.

Golden @ The Void provides the only reason to visit Stoke-on-Trent. Their New Year's Eve gig attracts the smartest, raunchiest, wildest clubbers across the Midlands.

On the south coast, one outstanding NYE gig is Cocoshebeen @ Poole Arts Centre. They've teamed up with Metalheadz and Mix-Mag to bring you an all-star drum'n'bass line-up including Goldie, Grooverider, Kemistry & Storm and Randall.

Ultimately, all roads lead back to London. Mark Herman and friends present the second instalment of Life @ Sound Republic for revellers who like US house and always make an effort in the clothes department.

If you're after something even more spectacular, then check out the much-heralded Titanic Tour at Wembley, which promises to be an unusual New Year's Eve experience.

With so many events in the capital, all the promoters are vying for your loot, but ultimately it's your companions, not the venue, who will make your night!

The are some massive raves going on, most notably Temptation @ Alexandra Palace and Cream @ London Arena. Both gigs have line-ups most people would walk a hundred miles to hear.

Be warned that some people have complete nightmares at events of this size: queuing for hours for a space in a cloakroom, wading through flooded temporary toilets, and surviving dangerous crushes when 2,000 people decide simultaneously to see the same DJ. Finally, of course, there's the infamous NYE mini-cab catch- 22; if you do manage to hail one, it will cost you a week's wages.