Caitlin McAllister, group managing director for Ministry of Sound and The Ministry, on keeping a legendary brand at the forefront of club culture

Lead image: New Year’s Eve at Ministry of Sound. Credit: Luke O’Brien

Interview: Cheryl Caira

Ministry of Sound means a lot of things to different people. To some, it’s about compilation CDs. Other people had their first rave in the club, and some have been to Ministry of Sound Classical. Gen Z consume nightlife completely differently. We just launched a big ‘No and Low’ range – which seems slightly counterintuitive for a nightclub – but the fact is, a third of Gen Zers don’t drink, so it’s giving them better options. 

Nightlife is tough at the moment. We’re still pulling an average of 6,000 people through our doors weekly, but we’ve had to pivot to doing more day parties, because some people want to go out at 3pm and be home by 10. They can’t afford to waste a day being hungover, but they still want to party. It’s reimagining what people want then being quick to execute it, or you’ll just get left behind. We have a young, dynamic team who are out all the time, understanding what’s happening in the music scene and staying on the pulse.

Caitlin McAllister, group managing director for Ministry of Sound and The Ministry

I’ve been with the business for 10 years. I’d been working in events in Glasgow, and initially joined the brand to project manage building a new nightclub. That fell through, but then I opened our workspace and members’ club. I’ve worked in loads of areas of the business and come up through the ranks, and in 2024 the founder asked me to take on the group MD role, which I’d always wanted. It was semi-daunting, but pretty incredible. 

Fatboy Slim at Ministry of Sound

We have a lot of amazing nights. Fatboy Slim played at a fundraising event at the club in November, and although it’s a big nightclub with a capacity of 1,550, his gigs would normally be 15,000 people-plus. To be in the box and see him play was pretty special, because it was so much more intimate. 

We launched a new tech-house night called Urge in February, and that was a goosebumps moment for me. The team had worked really hard on it, and the music programming, creative execution, tech and production was just so good. There’s a little section of the balcony that I like to stand on so I can see different parts of the club. I get real pleasure out of bringing that experience together, and watching people on a dance floor sweating, smiling, kissing and raving. That’s the joy of this job.