22-year-old singer says people over 40 should be banned from nightclubs

Scottish singer Tallia Storm added gasoline to an online discussion this week by suggesting that people over 40 should not be allowed into nightclubs. The 22-year-old made the controversial statement during an appearance on ITV's Good Morning Britain after UK minister Michael Gove was spotted dancing in an Aberdeen nightclub over the weekend. Echoing the sentiments of some of her peers in response to photos and videos of Gove letting loose on the dance floor, Storm said that clubbing should be "left to the youngsters." The singer claimed that while she is "all there for" people living their best lives, she didn't "want to see her dad" grooving in the club.

Speaking to hosts Charlotte Hawkins and Sean Fletcher in a debate involving DJ Tony Blackburn, Storm said: "I love that, the thought of seeing everybody live their best lives I'm here for it. But I'm 22-years-old, I'm only just coming into my prime. I do not want to walk into the club and see my dad, see my dad's friends, or even my granddad cutting some shapes. And I'm just not sure what we have in common. You know, do they like Tion Wayne? Do they like Central Cee? I'm not sure if they'd even be able to relate to, you know, Top Hits UK right now."

"So I think [I'm] all up for cutting some shapes but I think £5 entry fee, £2 shots, they can be left to us youngsters and you guys have many more options to head to," she added. According to Daily Mail, 78-year-old Blackburn pointed out the flaws in the ageist response to Gove's fun night out by tapping into his own experiences. "I think Michael Gove was having fun. If you took this to extremes and banned people over 40 from being in a club - all those people in Ibiza all the DJs, they're all over 40 do you stop them performing?" he asked.

"I was 60 when I first went to Ibiza, I don't go there now, but I was 60 and then I went to a club that was playing trance music and I loved it," the DJ continued. "I don't just see why it should be that you're over 40 and you can't go to a club, it's obviously ridiculous. And with all due respect someone of 22-years-old, you've only got 18 years left, so you better get on with it." He went on to argue that perhaps there should be nightclubs exclusively for individuals over 40 years of age, and that seeing older people "getting up and dancing is fabulous."

"Why shouldn't we over 40 be able to have some fun?" asked Blackburn. "When you are over 40 you don't care as much as when you are 22 or 24-years-old and I know what she means about seeing her dad in the club but why not? It doesn't matter." The idea of separate venues for people older than her seemed to appeal to Storm. "My brother just turned 17, so he has one year left until he hits the clubs, I asked him what would he think if he saw a politician in the club, and he said 'absolutely not.' Perhaps we should talk about a separate place for the over 50s, 60s to cut some shapes. I'm just not sure when we're having fun and dancing with our friends I'm not sure are in sync."

"Speaking from my own experience, the 50 year olds and 60 year olds, they're not there to dance. From my own experience, it's kind of cringey, it's kind of creepy, they're judging, they're staring at me and I just want to have some fun," she added.