Gay bars London - the bt LGBTQ+ bars and pubs - Time Out

Contents:

• THE BT LGBTQ+ AND GAY CLUBS LONDON
• THE BT GAY BARS LONDON
• THE 10 BEST LONDON GAY CLUBS & BARSGAY CLUBS & BARS LONDON
• LONDON'S LANDMARK BUILDG DOTTED WH STRIP CLUBS, GAY VENU TO TURN TO MOSQUE
• GAY BARS AND CLUBS SOHO
• GAY LONDON, LGBTQ+ CLUBS AND EVENTS
• NIGHTCLUBBG: GAY CLUBBG ’70S LONDON
• LONDON GAY BARS
• GAY UNED KGDOM
• THE BEST THGS TO DO COVENT GARN, LONDONSEE ALL THGS TO DOGAY CLUBS & BARS COVENT GARN

THE BT LGBTQ+ AND GAY CLUBS LONDON

While London’s queer nightclub scene has seen some sad, untimely partur, such as the Coleherne (briefly the Pembroke), London’s olst gay bar until s closure, and the Joer’s Arms, there are still some long-standg venu and new-ers to the scene workg hard to keep London’s queer nightlife alive. Heaven, Charg Cross Cred: Lda Brdley, via Heaven One of the bt-known, most historic gay clubs London statned up s inic Charg Cross spot.

Royal Vxhall Tavern, Vxhall The Royal Vxhall Tavern is a te slice of LGBTQ+ history London – a Gra II Listed venue that was famoly raid by police 1987 amidst over-policg of London’s gay muny. BJ’s Whe Swan, Limehoe Another longstandg London gay bar, which has been gog strong for over 30 years, is BJ’s Whe Swan East London.

THE BT GAY BARS LONDON

The Glory, Haggerston The Glory pris self beg one of East London’s bt gay bars, drag hotho, LGBTQ+ performance venu, nightclubs, and curators of London shows, ftivals, ntts and battl. Bars & Clubs • Gay BarsTrafalgar Square / EmbankmentGay Bars • Dance Clubs & DissTrafalgar Square / EmbankmentBars & Clubs • Gay BarsLeicter Square / Shaftbury AvenueLearn more about this ntentTours, activi and experienc bookable on Tripadvisor, ranked g exclive Tripadvisor data cludg reviews, ratgs, photos, populary, er preferenc, price, and bookgs ma through travellers are saygBier than expected but service was fast and iendly. Brilliant staff (pecially Jack, the fabulo bar manager and cktail maker), fabulo cktails and a relaxed atmosphere for all whether gay, straight or somethg else.

Adam* said was dangero to e out as gay his home untry and feared beg forced to an arranged marriage wh a said he was "so lucky" to wed his soulmate, Ray, Manchter and wish everyone uld marry who they love.

THE 10 BEST LONDON GAY CLUBS & BARSGAY CLUBS & BARS LONDON

There are more than 60 untri wh laws that crimalise same-sex sexual acts acrdg to the Internatnal Lbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Associatn, cludg Sdi Arabia.

LONDON'S LANDMARK BUILDG DOTTED WH STRIP CLUBS, GAY VENU TO TURN TO MOSQUE

'Authentilly myself'Ray said he had also stggled growg up gay the 1970s and 80s England, which was "tough" said his relig school "dmmed to you, 'you are gog to hell'" Adam returned home to Sdi Arabia, spe beg more than 3, 000 apart and later rtricted by the Covid-19 panmic, they kept touch daily and the romance years ago, Ray proposed on a vio ll and after succsfully applyg for a UK fiancé visa, Adam moved to Manchter December 2022. Adam said he had been aaid to even wear lours his home untry so the first thg he did when he moved was start to "grow my mullet, got my ears pierced and booked appotments for tattoos" relled how, ntrast, one of his gay iends Sdi had been forced to marry a woman, addg: "It has ed not only his life but the life of his wife. The uple, who live London, said a "really betiful memory" was on the way home when one of their sons shouted out of the black b wdow to Trafalgar Square, "My dads jt got married" and cheered "Yay, gay marriage".

The area is also known for s ncentratn of bars, nightclubs, gay venu and strip jots – all of which are nsired sful Islam. The Glory pris self beg one of east London’s bt gay bars, drag hotho, LGBTQ+ performance venu, nightclubs, and curators of London shows, ftivals, ntts and battl. Comptons of Soho Photo:, Shutterstock Comprisg of two bars and a quieter lounge area, Soho’s Comptons pub has been a staple the cy’s gay scene sce 1986.

GAY BARS AND CLUBS SOHO

Halfway To Heaven, Trafalgar Square Loted between Charg Cross Statn and Trafalgar Square, Halfway To Heaven is a tradnal gay pub and baret show bar wh a laid-back ground floor and club-like basement area. Kgs Arms, Soho Loted on Soho’s Poland Street and open sce the 1700’s, the iendly Kgs Arms was one of the first spots Soho to serve the gay muny, billg self as a ‘gentlemen’s bar’ the 1970’s. Officially a gay bar sce 1981, ’s now a firm favoure wh the LGBTQ+ muny – ‘bears’ particular – om London and around the world.

GAY LONDON, LGBTQ+ CLUBS AND EVENTS

From tablished legends of the gay scene to on that play baret and everythg between, there’s somethg for everyone here.

NIGHTCLUBBG: GAY CLUBBG ’70S LONDON

(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. Though the number of LGBT+ venu London has seen a cle the last or so, the cy's gay scene isn't ailg yet – fact, a handful of excellent new venu have opened recent years around the cy. The hight ncentratn of LGBT+ spac n still be found around Old Compton Street Soho, a former red light district that's been heavily gentrified recent years, but remas London's gay heartland.

It’s closed on Mondays and Tudays, but hosts a r Sunday pub quiz and gets pretty packed on Friday and Saturday nights when the small dancefloor fills up wh a largely, though not exclively, gay male crowd.

LONDON GAY BARS

Loted Clapham, a 15-20 mute tube ri om the cy centre, this tradnal gay pub-club is a perennial favoure wh LGBT+ Londoners who love an unpretent party. Keepg the gay flame burng out wt is this tradnal gay pub Ealg, a leafy suburb that’s about 25 mut by tube om central London.

GAY UNED KGDOM

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.

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).

THE BEST THGS TO DO COVENT GARN, LONDONSEE ALL THGS TO DOGAY CLUBS & BARS COVENT GARN

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. 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). 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 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.

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. The bar scene London is hugely diverse, and youll fd great venu regardls of your tast; om bear bars to gay super clubs, the cy has all.

London’s gay nightlife scene attracts all sorts, and you’ll fd a mix of lols and travelers the pal’s gay s exposed brickwork and timber beams, The Yard is a particularly popular bar London’s queer Soho.