Gay clubbg scene of Sydney: Allks' oral history

Contents:

• GAY SNAS SYDNEY
• A LEADG LADY OF SYDNEY'S GAY CLUB SCENE
• GAY SYDNEY: A GUI TO CLUBS, BARS, BARET AND CULTURE
• GAY SYDNEY HOTELS
• UNIVERSAL SYDNEYSYDNEY'S NEW GAY NIGHTCLUB ON OXFORD STREET.SYDNEYMENUHOTELS · LUXURYHOTELS · MID-RANGE + BUDGETHOTELS · DISUNTSON TODAYBARSDANCE CLUBSCISE CLUBSSNASBEACH SERVICTOURSCY GUIGAY MAPUNIVERSAL SYDNEY
• PALMS ON OXFORDSYDNEYMENUHOTELS · LUXURYHOTELS · MID-RANGE + BUDGETHOTELS · DISUNTSON TODAYBARSDANCE CLUBSCISE CLUBSSNASBEACH SERVICTOURSCY GUIGAY MAPPALMS ON OXFORD
• SYDNEY GAY CISE CLUBS
• OXFORD GAY BARS
• SYDNEY SNANEW GAY SNA WH MORN FACILI; OPEN 24 HOURS.SYDNEYMENUHOTELS · LUXURYHOTELS · MID-RANGE + BUDGETHOTELS · DISUNTSON TODAYBARSDANCE CLUBSCISE CLUBSSNASBEACH SERVICTOURSCY GUIGAY MAPSYDNEY SNA

GAY SNAS SYDNEY

While Oxford Street is still the se of many of the longt-nng gay clubs Sydney, the fun isn’t relegated to Darlghurst alone.

If you’re keen to really make a night of , keep an eye on the lik of Heaps Gay, Poof Doof, Hoe of Mce, Honcho Disko and Birdge (as well as the social media-elive Kooky) to fd out when their next soiree start planng your next night out, read on for our gui to some of Sydney’s favoure gay clubs, pubs and bars.

Chg-a-lgsSure, ’s not officially a gay bar, but Chg-a-lgs draws a pendably queer crowd. The ColombianOpen 9am ‘til 6am every day — y, you read that right — this sprawlg Oxford St hnt n always be unted on for a tipple the early 117-125 Oxford St, DarlghurstYou n fd all the tails for this year's Sydney Gay and Lbian Mardi Gras here. O'Donnell, who has died om ovarian ncer at 79, is often creded wh havg turned Sydney's Oxford Street to the gay pal of the southern hemisphere and Sydney to one of the most open gay ci the world.

A LEADG LADY OF SYDNEY'S GAY CLUB SCENE

Next me Sydney's first lbian bathhoe, over a ke shop Bondi Junctn, then Capricc's, a gay nightclub and theatre on Oxford Street, where the drag shows rivalled L Girls. Meanwhile, the troductn of laws that rtrict late-night socialisg central Sydney’s party preccts has severely damaged Oxford Street, the cy’s tradnal gay strip. And, while Oxford Street is fely hurtg, a handful of Sydney’s “tradnal” queer venu ntue to thrive there spe of the challengg and mixedTokyo Sg Song basement Patrick Abboud, a documentary filmmaker and televisn prenter who -hosts and produc for the Sydney Gay and Lbian Mardi GrasThe biggt challenge for visors who want to explore Sydney’s LGBTQI scene is that only the old, mastream optns tend to be listed travel guis.

On Sundays plays crowd-pleasg hoe, electro and two most mastream venu for gay guys are Stonewall and Arq. Lbian-iendlyThe Heaps Gay monthly rovg queer Geia Verkuylen, strategy and partnerships manager at Archer magaze, the Atralian journal of sexual diversyLbian-foced venu n be hard to fd Sydney. It’s also where the rovg queer party Heaps Gay has been held for the past uple of months.

Heaps Gay is a massive event that draws queer folk of all ag, sexuali and genrs.

GAY SYDNEY: A GUI TO CLUBS, BARS, BARET AND CULTURE

To fd out what is gog on across Sydney regards to arts events and queer culture, keep an ear out for the rad programm Canvas (on FBi), and Gay Panic and So Hot Right Now (both on 2SER).

Thk 1970s performance art meets homoerotic dience teractn, wh a sprklg of straight at boys who’ve stumbled downstairs om the pub above. The productn of Angels Ameri 2014 was heart-punchgly good, and I re-staged my turbo-gay one-man show, Blue Wizard, there durg Mardi Gras this year – so has fely supported this Wizard was part of the Mardi Gras Ftival, which ns the weeks leadg up to the para March. Stonewall is the club/ bar that ntu to party till the sun up, so if your lookg for a place to have fun till the wee hours, you have found your pot of gold s at the end of the gay rabow.

Between the drag queens and gay boys sweatg out on the dance floor your fely for a damn good time!! Midnight Shift is an stutn the gay male club scene and popular wh men om all over the globe. Phenoix is Sydney's only gay day club - open all afternoon and very by om 6am.

GAY SYDNEY HOTELS

Recently refurbished, the Oxford Bar has a loyal followg of more mature gay men.

If you are lookg for the waterg hole of the suburban gay crowd, this uld be . The crowd here is ually mixed gay/straight.

If Noah had have been gay this would have been the disthèque he built to help every ltle gay boy and girl the land learn how to party style! Another favore waterg hole for gay boys on Sunday afternoons if you like a crowd. Tudays is Bgay (adults Bgo), hosted by the Mzi will leave you lghg all night and all money ma on the night go to the AIDS uncil of NSW.

UNIVERSAL SYDNEYSYDNEY'S NEW GAY NIGHTCLUB ON OXFORD STREET.SYDNEYMENUHOTELS · LUXURYHOTELS · MID-RANGE + BUDGETHOTELS · DISUNTSON TODAYBARSDANCE CLUBSCISE CLUBSSNASBEACH SERVICTOURSCY GUIGAY MAPUNIVERSAL SYDNEY

Brgg a massive gay and lbian crowd the ner wt - this is probabaly one of Sydney's largt pubs wh a gay crowd every day of the week.

Head to the Newtown Hotel on weekends for drag shows, heavg gay and lbian crowd set over floors and floors, rooms and rooms. This place is very relaxed and a much iendlier alternative crowd to the mastream gay bars on Oxford Street. From drag palac at the Gay Goln Mile to queer-ky digs, here are 10 bars and clubs Sydney that will wele you wh a warm embrace:UniversalThe Beard TSecret GarnChg-a-lgsThe ImperialPalmsStonewall HotelThe ColombianThe Berford HotelRed Rattler1.

More like Wedn-gay when you e for happy hour and smell the ros at Secret Garn. It may not officially be a gay bar, but Chg-a-lgs wel everyone wh their lo-fi drag shows and queer drawg nights. As a treasure trove of live performanc, drag and beret shows, DJs and parti hosted by groups such as Honcho Disko, Canned F and Heaps Gay, the Imperial Erskeville is the perfect spot for a good feed and boogie.

PALMS ON OXFORDSYDNEYMENUHOTELS · LUXURYHOTELS · MID-RANGE + BUDGETHOTELS · DISUNTSON TODAYBARSDANCE CLUBSCISE CLUBSSNASBEACH SERVICTOURSCY GUIGAY MAPPALMS ON OXFORD

Named after the Stonewall Rts of 1969, the Stonewall Hotel is the beatg heart of Gay Liberatn Sydney. It’s every queer’s favoure gay club and is home to the biggt night-outs Harbour Cy. Set a former bank, this inic Goln Mile hnt is a revered gay stutn.

Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.We had a nice time at the gay bar here although everythg was jt a ltle sticky on the night we went. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.We had trouble fdg reliable rmatn on the gay bar and club scene Sydney. Once here, we disvered that Oxford Street is the qutsential gayborhood of Sydney and Universal is the only major gay bar open 7 days a week.

SYDNEY GAY CISE CLUBS

That fluence is celebrated each year at the Sydney Gay and Lbian Mardi Gras para – one of the world’s largt parti and one of the most anticipated days Sydney’s cultural lendar. Stephen Allks is arguably the most important DJ that Atralia has ever produced and this year marks his 40th anniversary DJg, cidg wh the Sydney Gay and Lbian Mardi Gras’ 40th spoke to Stephen Allks 2018 to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Sydney Gay and Lbian Mardi Gras as cid wh his 40th anniversary of DJg. Allks succumbed to the tentacl of Sydney’s unrground gay nightlife the mid-’70s when Oxford Street was still s clubbg fancy.

OXFORD GAY BARS

From that life-changg disvery he has gone on to see all - om the bchery of the Dis days, the New Wave of the ‘70s and early ‘80s, the dg heads of the Hoe days the late ‘80s, the cimatn of the Sydney gay muny wh the onslght of AIDS, the ‘90s mastream acceptance and explosn of Mardi Gras, to then takg the scene back unrground the Noughti and beyond.

Stephen Allks© Supplied by Stephen AllksHe has been an eyewns and a major player wh the gay muny om the very begng, when clubbg was a form of self-disvery and a way to create fay around shared nocturnal experienc. He was ont and centre buildg the scen, which have bee as legendary as the mic he has the turn of the century he beme an award-wng mic producer as [Love] Tattoo and sred worldwi hs wh a tr of classic hoe tracks, which were signed to Pete Tong’s Essential Rerdgs is a Class Act, the same name as one of his many famo wh quill hand, he tak through a journey of some of Sydney’s most inic, sane, artistic and ntroversial gay clubs, parti and nights as only he knows, memory the great Bette Davis once quipped, “Fasten your seatbelts. It was a mixed crowd but a lot of gay people went but alternative gay.

SYDNEY SNANEW GAY SNA WH MORN FACILI; OPEN 24 HOURS.SYDNEYMENUHOTELS · LUXURYHOTELS · MID-RANGE + BUDGETHOTELS · DISUNTSON TODAYBARSDANCE CLUBSCISE CLUBSSNASBEACH SERVICTOURSCY GUIGAY MAPSYDNEY SNA

It turned to DCM (another legendary Sydney gay nightclub) the early ‘90s.

“In the early ‘80s, the Exchange (gay nightclub across the road) was huge. But was the Exchange crowd at that pot, so the clon and the other gays who had been at the club earlier had gone to the Midnight Shift (gay club jt up the road) matchbox© Supplied by Stephen Allks“When first opened was the bt Dis ever and by the time I had got there, New Wave had permeated Dis so I would play Donna Summer’s Love Is In Control and follow wh, say, The Members or Na Hagen’s New York New York or Was (Not Was) to Yoko Ono’s Walkg On Th Ice.

Sleaze has always been a more sexualised party than Mardi Gras on the gay lendar and was held once a year. The people that end up g on Sundays were jt gay men. “I was there for about two years but left bee I started hearg girliends of me were beg physilly threatened by gay men and nsirg there were four women there wh a group of 400 men and they were beg phed and threatened and told to fuck off, I jt left.