G-A-Y Club at Heaven, London - gay dance club London, UK - Travel Gay

Contents:

• G-A-Y @ HEAVENONE OF THE LONGT-NNG GAY DANCE VENU ANYWHERE EUROPE. TODAY 'S HOME TO G.A.Y WEEKLY PARTI.LONDONMENUHOTELS · LUXURYHOTELS · MID-RANGEHOTELS · BUDGETGUTHO & B&BSHOSTELSON TODAYBARSDANCE CLUBSLBIAN BARSCISE CLUBSSNASGAY SOHOMASSAGETHEATRECABARETSSHOPSGYMSCAF & RTRANTSSERVICATTRACTNSCY GUITOURSGAY MAPUK EVENTSGAY WEDDGSG-A-Y @ HEAVEN
• THE BT LGBTQ+ AND GAY CLUBS LONDON
• HEAVEN, THE GAY ULTRADIS - AND THE STORY OF TERRY HIGGS
• HALFWAY TO HEAVENLONDONMENUHOTELS · LUXURYHOTELS · MID-RANGEHOTELS · BUDGETGUTHO & B&BSHOSTELSON TODAYBARSDANCE CLUBSLBIAN BARSCISE CLUBSSNASGAY SOHOMASSAGETHEATRECABARETSSHOPSGYMSCAF & RTRANTSSERVICATTRACTNSCY GUITOURSGAY MAPUK EVENTSGAY WEDDGSHALFWAY TO HEAVEN
• GAY BARS AND CLUBS SOHO

G-A-Y @ HEAVENONE OF THE LONGT-NNG GAY DANCE VENU ANYWHERE EUROPE. TODAY 'S HOME TO G.A.Y WEEKLY PARTI.LONDONMENUHOTELS · LUXURYHOTELS · MID-RANGEHOTELS · BUDGETGUTHO & B&BSHOSTELSON TODAYBARSDANCE CLUBSLBIAN BARSCISE CLUBSSNASGAY SOHOMASSAGETHEATRECABARETSSHOPSGYMSCAF & RTRANTSSERVICATTRACTNSCY GUITOURSGAY MAPUK EVENTSGAY WEDDGSG-A-Y @ HEAVEN

Gay Bars • Dance Clubs & DissAboutHeaven is a super-club venue, based London wh regular club nights on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Monday.

My iend who is a female gay poc, two straight male poc and me who is bi, were all standg there while the staff kept ignorg untill I got angry and stopped a bouncer to let blow. This is supposed to be a Gay club and a safe space, yet the only person not allowed last night was me, a gay man. Heaven is renowned as one of the longt-nng gay dance clubs Europe.

Tradnally home to London's popular G-A-Y party, the club has now turned to London's biggt gay bar wh extend openg hours to ter to bee London's largt socially distanced gay bar. When Heaven opened s doors to the dis-hungry gay hedonists of London 40 years ago this month, was clared the hippt place Europe. “Heaven’s biggt headache uld be terrg London’s non-gay disphil who uld end up tryg to pass for gay to get past the elegant bouncers at the dis’s equivalent of the Pearly Gat, ” he not born 1979 may know the club’s fabled history as the early home of hoe mic and have seen featured vios and documentari.

THE BT LGBTQ+ AND GAY CLUBS LONDON

But back then, for members of London’s burgeong gay scene, the arrival of Heaven was the moment when a rich hidn culture beme part of mastream nightlife. ” Ellitt adds that, to mark the big birthday, the club has won permissn to operate as a marriage venue, wh the first ceremony to take place on 15 December, almost exactly 40 years after the openg Heaven’s arrival had an impact, drew on strands of alternative dis culture already threadg through the cy the 12 years sce homosexualy had been crimalised. Ctomers at tablished gay dancefloors and discreet venu, such as Bang, Napoleons, Sndals and Catabs, had ially moved on to a club on Old Bond Street lled the Embassy, opened 1978 by Jeremy Norman.

“Prr to that, gay clubs were only found unrground pub cellars, ” rells Ellitt. Until then, would have been difficult for people to tell people you had been to a gay club. “When started was still difficult for gay people to be accepted.

But Heaven was a place that changed perspectiv and brought the two muni, gay and straight, together, ” says Whyte. In 1981, The News of the World nmned the place as “more like hell”, and eight years later the Sun me down hard on dg Carey at GAY 2003. Wele to Heaven, the 'gay ultradis nightclub' on Villiers Street.

HEAVEN, THE GAY ULTRADIS - AND THE STORY OF TERRY HIGGS

Wele to Heaven, the 'gay ultradis nightclub' on Villiers Street, a street so laced wh queer sctn is even named after Kg Jam I's lover, Gee Villiers, the 2nd De of Buckgham, the 17th century. Daytim were spent ntuo back-breakg meetgs, protts and the creatn of alternative spac to close the void of the ‘partial’ aspect of the law – the different age of sexual nsent for homosexuals, and the discrepanci of acceptance across the whole LGBTQIA+ muny. At the time of s openg, Heaven was the biggt gay club Europe.

The Eveng Standard, reviewg Heaven's openg night, was clearly imprsed: "Heaven's biggt headache uld be terrg London's non-gay disphil who uld end up tryg to pass for gay to get past the elegant bouncers at the dis's equivalent of the Pearly Gat. Gay dis and hi-energy beme the soundtrack to the parallel scen that took over Heaven and gay Earl's Court. The liberatn takg place on the dancefloor, however, didn't stop the tabloid prs om producg homophobic headl, which the News of the World nmned the place as 'more like hell' 1981.

"Prr to the arrival of Heaven, gay clubs were only found unrground pub cellars", rells Mark Elltt, current general manager, "Heaven was the only venue of s sle the last few years before the arrival of the AIDS epimic. There's a new VD, a venereal disease that is affectg people who are gay men Ameri, where you jt keep gettg flu and then you die. Rupert was fully aware, and eply sred of what the few reports were referrg to as the 'Gay Cancer' which then beme known as 'Gay Related Immune Deficiency' or GRID.

HALFWAY TO HEAVENLONDONMENUHOTELS · LUXURYHOTELS · MID-RANGEHOTELS · BUDGETGUTHO & B&BSHOSTELSON TODAYBARSDANCE CLUBSLBIAN BARSCISE CLUBSSNASGAY SOHOMASSAGETHEATRECABARETSSHOPSGYMSCAF & RTRANTSSERVICATTRACTNSCY GUITOURSGAY MAPUK EVENTSGAY WEDDGSHALFWAY TO HEAVEN

Casual homophobia of the time laid bare; there were no 'heterosexualy-related ndns' that affect primarily heterosexuals and there still aren't. Lbians were nursg gay iends, bee as a muny we had to e together.

They banned gays om the funeral. The alchemy of grief led this small group of mted volunteers to foc all their energi and try to build relatnships and work equally wh gay men, lbians, haemophiliacs, sex workers and dg ers to raise funds for rearch and awarens of the still unknown illns. In the subsequent years, had opened s doors the daytime to serve the needs of the muny as the AIDS epimic beme a turng pot for gays and lbians Bra.

GAY BARS AND CLUBS SOHO

The followg year, a public meetg about GRID was -anised by THT and the London Lbian and Gay Swchboard (now known as Swchboard LGBT+ Helple), the biggt LGBTQIA+ telephone helple at the time to rpond to the risg aths and the simultaneo, adly Government bigotry and actn. As mentned prevly, 1986 homosexuals were seen as 'swirlg a csp of their own makg', the words of Greater Manchter Chief Constable Jam Anrton, who later claimed God told him to say .

The rise of the 'moral majory' vilified people diagnosed wh AIDS, and the wir gay muny.

Headl at the time clud "Gay — and Wicked" (the Sun), and "Bra Threatened by Gay Vis Plague" (the Mail on Sunday).