A few bands have written about Bank Holidays - Blur had a crack at it, leaping to its defence with the immortal line "Bank Holiday comes with a six-pack of beer", while Stephen Duffy got all grumpy on the album 'Keep Going' with the lyric, "Bank Holiday Monday you don't have a lot to say / You're waiting for pay-day, you can't wait to get away". Cheer up Stephen, there's no need to loll about at over-crowded airports - take a gander at the below ideas for a cracking party weekend:

Friday 30th April

The Gallery [club night]

The weekend in the UK seems to start on Tuesdays these days but, for this article, we're opting for the traditional Friday moment and, not surprisingly, the capital has what it takes when it comes to a great night out on the 30th April. Three whoppers spring to mind - Ministry Of Sound host a 'Gallery' club night with Danny Rampling, Paul Oakenfold and Tall Paul for £20, the Coronet Theatre has Felix Da Housecat and others for £10 and Matter wheel out the heavy-mob for a dubstep night with Skream and Benga leading the way (£15). Further north sees Manchester's Sankeys hosting a night of 'Religion' with drum n bass legends Grooverider and DJ Marky.

Saturday 1st May

Fabric [club]

There are some top-dollar club nights far and wide on Saturday 1st May - London's Fabric is hosting a Bank Holiday Weekender right up until the 3rd and for £23 you get a whole swath of top names including Carl Craig, Sasha, Craig Richards, Stacey Pullen and Terry Francis. Birmingham hosts a Gatecrasher do with Paul Oakenfold for £12, while down the road in Coventry at the Copper Rooms, it's atmospheric d 'n' b courtesy of High Contrast for £12 also. The junglist mood continues in Aberystwyth when DJ Fabio and Grooverider join forces at the town's Arts Centre - £15 gets you in.

Skream

More dubstep-madness continues in Cambridge at the Junction when Skream tops the bill for £10 and Kent gets messy with a Caspa and Rod Azlan night at the Loft (£6). Other Sunday beauties include DJ Zinc appearing at the Aberdeen Origin (£10) and James Zabiela hitting Belfast's Stiff Kitten for £14. And blow me if Manchester haven't got the cheapest night with Funkademia at the Mint - prime funk and soul for a fiver. Get in!

Camden Crawl

The 2010 instalment of the Camden Crawl kicks-off on Saturday 1st May, featuring: Dan Le Sac Vs Scroobius Pip, The Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster, Alex Metric, Speech Debelle, Plan B, Calvin Harris, Cornershop, New Young Pony Club, Pendulum, Shy Child, The Chapman Family, Lightspeed Champion, LostProphets, Eliza Doolittle, Stornoway. Oh, and of course: Sugababes, lest we forget. Tickets cost £35.50 per day or £57 for the weekend.

Sunday 2nd May

Fatboy Slim

Sunday is as tasty with the bigger cities hosting some hot nights for sure. Birmingham actually has the Digbeth Street Carnival starring Fatboy Slim, Calvin Harris, Tiga, Chase and Status and loads more for £35 (it's more like a half-day event), as well as a Gatecrasher Pacha night starring Erick Morillo for £17.50.

Cream - club night

Heading north and we hit Leeds. Cream have organized an Ibiza Party just for you, starring Laidback Luke and others for just £12 while over the Pennines, 'The Dawg' himself, Tim Westwood will be (ahem) dropping the hottest plates and white-hot joints at the Opus in Oldham Street for - fanfare - £4. That's four incredible quid, people. Buy upfront or pay loads more.

Godskitchen

The South is busy with loads of stuff as well - Bristol has a Godskitchen Warm Up party being held at the Syndicate venue for £10 while London claims that "This Is Not London" at the Coronet with none-other than the great Armand Van Helden (£17).

In comparison, Bank Holiday Monday is rather quiet on the clubbing front, giving you ample time to recover and get stuck in traffic jams or angry with rail-replacement buses, but if you can make it to the O2 Islington then they have the Official Breakin' Convention - After Show Party for £7. It's a night of Bashment, Boogie, B-Boys and Breaks!