The hill I will die on: Private karaoke is the death of socialism – only a pub singalong is good enough for the people | Kelli Blanchett

Community, camaraderie, connection: I learned about all these things while hosting pub karaoke nights. Sticky private booths are their absolute antithesis On a gloomy Wednesday evening, my best friend and I decided we wanted to scratch our singing itch. We searched for a pub that was hosting karaoke but couldn’t find anything in our area.

So we headed to the local branch of a well-known private-booth karaoke bar instead. But it wasn’t just the astounding £18 per hour (per person! ) charge or the poor sound quality that made the whole experience so profoundly sad. Private karaoke booths are sticky little cubicles for people who like singing but don’t want to be seen. They’re places…