THE 10 BEST London Gay Clubs & Bars (Updated 2023) - Tripadvisor

Contents:

• THE BT LGBTQ+ AND GAY CLUBS LONDON
• THE 10 BEST LONDON GAY CLUBS & BARSGAY CLUBS & BARS LONDON
• THE BT GAY BARS LONDON
• NIGHTCLUBBG: GAY CLUBBG ’70S LONDON
• LONDON'S LANDMARK BUILDG DOTTED WH STRIP CLUBS, GAY VENU TO TURN TO MOSQUE
• LONDON GAY CLUBS
• GAY LONDON, LGBTQ+ CLUBS AND EVENTS

THE BT LGBTQ+ AND GAY CLUBS LONDON

24 plac sorted by traveler favorBars & Clubs • Gay BarsTrafalgar Square / EmbankmentGay Bars • Dance Clubs & DissTrafalgar Square / EmbankmentBars & Clubs • Gay BarsLeicter Square / Shaftbury AvenueWhat travelers are saygBier than expected but service was fast and iendly. Loted the heart of London, Comptons is a mt-vis gay pub that guarante an credible experience.

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

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. A beguilg, alternative London gay bar. 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.

Before 1976, gay venu London me two tegori. There were the members’ clubs that provid dner and dance, pl baret, for the stately-homo set.

NIGHTCLUBBG: GAY CLUBBG ’70S LONDON

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.

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

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.

Talullah ttified to Bang’s unifyg effect on the gay unrground. 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.

LONDON GAY CLUBS

Adams Leicter Square was another Wt End gay club playg all the latt dis sounds. 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 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.

GAY LONDON, LGBTQ+ CLUBS AND EVENTS

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.