Queer artist Leigh Bowery fed New Romanticism and the look of gay culture 1980s London.
Contents:
- NIGHTCLUBBG: GAY CLUBBG ’70S LONDON
- HOW LEIGH BOWERY DEFED THE LOOK OF GAY CULTURE 1980S LONDON
- GAY MEN LONDON, OM PERSECUTN TO PRI
- REMEMBERG THE 1980S UK LBIAN AND GAY CENTER THAT DIED TOO SOON
- THE BT GAY BARS IN SOHO
- STEPHEN FRY OPENS UP ON FEELG LIKE ‘UNSIRABLE PERSON’ ON 1980S LONDON GAY SCENE
- LOST GAY BARS OF EARL’S COURT, LONDON
- STEPHEN FRY FELT 'UNSIRABLE' ON THE LONDON GAY SCENE
NIGHTCLUBBG: GAY CLUBBG ’70S LONDON
How London’s gay scene travelled om the unrground to Heaven a few short years" name="scriptn * london gay scene 1980s *
1866 The Coleherne, gay om the 1950s?, closed 24 September 2008 (261 Earls Court Road, Earls Court). ↑ Rictor Norton, Life of Thomas Neav 1729, Homosexualy Eighteenth-Century England. (Monday and Saturday) and also Propaganda (Thursday) were n at 'Bbys Nightclub' (London) by gay club promoter and DJ Col Peters (Peter Dbeney), whose brother Jamie ntued as promoter for a perd followg the passg of Col.
There were the members’ clubs that provid dner and dance, pl baret, for the stately-homo set.
DJ Tricky Dicky was one of the first promoters to grasp the ia of the one-nighter – hirg out a pub or bar for the night, jt to put on a gay night. His Dick’s Inn Gay Dis operated out of straight venu as far afield as Croydon, Ilford, Bishopsgate and Eton, packg a few hundred gay boys and girls at a time. Wh his pop and soul mic reviews and dis chart Gay News, Tricky Dicky received verage om a gay prs more terted polics, cema, theatre and opera than the mercial gay 1975 Tricky Dicky held a one-nighter lled Fangs unrneath a hotel Paddgton and, much to his surprise, the place was full to pacy, wh 600 dancg queens lappg up every mute.
HOW LEIGH BOWERY DEFED THE LOOK OF GAY CULTURE 1980S LONDON
Lookg through our llectn for signs of the long stggle for gay rights. * london gay scene 1980s *
The night didn’t last long due to terference om the venue’s owners, who were none too happy about homos takg over their space. 1976 was a groundbreakg year for gay dis London, thanks to the arrival of Bang, London’s first gay superclub. Gary London, already rint at the Sundowner on straight nights, took his spiratn for Bang om the big gay clubs of New York, LA and San Francis.
For London’s scenters and disphil, a trip to Bang s early days, wh s vastns and hedonistic dis energy, uld be as liberatg as gog on a Gay Pri march (whose numbers those days were srcely bigger than a Bang crowd). Speakg at the time Gay News, London proselytised for the newly overground clubs: “Diss create the right environment for gays. Legendary gay dis DJ Talullah, who up until his untimely ath 2008 was still DJg London and abroad, had first-hand experience of New York dis at s height.
However, the number of smaller gay diss that thrived durg this perd proved that Bang certaly didn’t have the monopoly on hedonism or dis. The Rabow Dis, hoed unrneath the Rabow Rooms Manor Hoe, was advertised Gay News as playg all the bt Amerin soul and funk, but also boasted dis mic on the playlist. Meanwhile, Chris Hill DJ’ed at so-lled “New York gay dis” nights such as Wt End Affair at Crackers Soho and East End Affair at the Lacy Lady Essex.
GAY MEN LONDON, OM PERSECUTN TO PRI
* london gay scene 1980s *
Lus then went back to Earls Court to take his rincy at the Copabana, a much-need large club for the area, then still the hub of London’s gay scene, givg the regulars of The Colherne and Bromptons pubs some late-night actn. But took the arrival 1978 of the Embassy Club Bond Street to really brg an element of glamour to the gay dis scene. Jeremy Norman, chairman of historil high-society gui Burke’s Peerage, was spired to open The Embassy after numero trips to New York clubs, where the openns and signer dg-fuelled liftyle of the cy’s flourishg gay life ntrasted wh London’s parochial feel (you uld still get banned some venu for sniffg poppers).
REMEMBERG THE 1980S UK LBIAN AND GAY CENTER THAT DIED TOO SOON
Ben Gazur’s whistle-stop tour of the history of gay men London tak om 14th-century persecutn to morn Pri events. * london gay scene 1980s *
The Embassy was signed for an upmarket, mostly gay clientele who wanted somethg ls provcial and clstrophobic. The Embassy was immortalised the vio for Sylvter’s “You Make Me Feel Mighty Real, ” but ultimately s populary was s downfall, as the upmarket straight crowd outnumbered the gay element. At s time of openg, Heaven was the biggt gay club Europe, markg Norman’s attempt to extend his Embassy achievements while retag a re gay crowd.
THE BT GAY BARS IN SOHO
For 37 years, The Backstreet was an inic part of London’s leather and gay bar scene. Fd out more about s history. * london gay scene 1980s *
The key figure on the cks was Ian Leve, who as rint DJ at the Blackpool Mec had been at the heart of the Northern Soul scene, broang s rem to embrace dis after wnsg New York gay clubs on trips Stati huntg rare soul. Leve was among the first on the gay scene to tly embrace mixg, keepg the tempo steady and puttg paid to the Motown medleys monplace at Bang, Copas or Sndals.
Heaven’s attractns may have been s mic and lights, but s prime purpose was for cisg and Norman was termed to prevent straight punters om takg over, enforcg a rigoro gay men-only door policy. The London Eveng Standard, reviewg Heaven’s openg night, liberated: “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.
STEPHEN FRY OPENS UP ON FEELG LIKE ‘UNSIRABLE PERSON’ ON 1980S LONDON GAY SCENE
Geni Pictur has optned Emmett Monterey’s memoir about growg up gay and disabled 1980s London for TV adaptatn. * london gay scene 1980s *
Gay dis, Boystown or hi-energy (named after Evelyn Thomas’s h of the same name), beme the soundtrack to the clone scene that took over Heaven and gay Earls Court.
By the 1980s, the mercial gay scene was takg off and dis fell out of favour as electronic, hi-energy sound took hold.
LOST GAY BARS OF EARL’S COURT, LONDON
A gay gui to the bt gay bars and gay clubs Soho, London. Central London gay bars, Old Compton Street gay bars. Gay bars Soho. * london gay scene 1980s *
In the 18th and 19th century, certa London pubs and ffeeho beme popular gay meetg plac, known as "Molly-ho".
The 18th century book Pla Reasons for the Growth of Sodomy England attributed a supposed crease homosexualy to men's drs. The thor claimed gay men wanted to drs like women: "they would appear as soft as possible to each other, any Thg of Manls beg diametrilly oppose to such unnatural Practic.
STEPHEN FRY FELT 'UNSIRABLE' ON THE LONDON GAY SCENE
Stephen Fry breaks our heart as he says he felt like an ‘unsirable person’ on 1980s London gay scene. * london gay scene 1980s *
It was not until the 1960s that gay men's flamboyant drs styl fluenced mastream fashn, makg more lourful and adventuro.
More evince of historil homosexualy our llectns om a grimmer source: rerds of the prosecutns, and sometim executns, of men who had sex wh men. This right-hand figure this prt is Samuel Drybutter, a bookseller Wtmster Hall, who was a public figure 18th century London, famo for his flamboyant drs and supposed homosexualy. Gay Pri events are now mon ci across the world, public celebratns of equal rights for people of all orientatns and sexuali.
But they began as tensely polil events, challeng to a world where homosexual activi were first Gay Pri march took place London on 1 July 1972, spired by the 1969 Stonewall Rts New York. The were triggered by police harassment at the Stonewall Inn, a bar terg to New York's gay, lbian, transgenr and crossdrsg muny.
It may be hard to image, but there was a time when Soho and Vxhall weren't the centre of gay nightlife London. Way back the 1970s and * london gay scene 1980s *
The leaflet om Gay Pri Week 1978 mentns creasg attacks on gay people over the past year, cludg the attack on the Royal Vxhall Tavern by the Natnal Front.
Wh the slogan 'Lbians and Gay Men Come Out On the Streets', Pri was an opportuny for LGBT Londoners to show their strength and numbers, and show "the posive si of the beg gay: GAY IS FUN; GAY IS PROUD; GAY IS BEAUTIFUL! The badg celebratg Pri and gay activism were created durg the 1970s and 80s, when wearg them on the streets was a powerful and dangero polil statement, sometim met wh abe or vlence.
The pk triangle badg are a reference to the cloth badg that gay prisoners were forced to wear Nazi ncentratn mps.