First gay club in england

Raising the Bar in 1970s Gay Cardiff

I was like a kid in a sweet shop. Just about every man in the place had a moustache, and I was big into facial hair. It was the centre of the universe for any gay man visiting London. It was as if the district had a safety bubble around it. Everybody else had to use the other door on the main street.

The leather guys would glare at you if your attire included no leather, and they would continue to glare at you until you made your way to the non-leather side of the bar. What made Neville and me laugh was that some of the leather guys often arrived carrying a motorcycle helmet under their arm.

Then, at closing time, Neville and I would watch as they made their way to the bus-stop, with motorcycle helmets under their arms. For some, carrying a motorcycle helmet seemed to be the must-have, new fashion accessory when dressed in leather. On a Sunday, it opened earlier but closed at midnight.

It was a second walk from where I lived, so it was very convenient. In those days, gay men only purchased inch vinyl singles, unlike most of the rest of the population that bought the 7-inch vinyl version. There was the odd splattering of leather amongst the crowd, but most were dressed in check shirts, Jeans and Doc-Marten boots.

Just about everyone ordered and drunk bottles of lager, rather than pints. If you arrived early, you could compare your check shirts and see if any of them clashed severely with the chequered carpet and wallpaper of the bar. Arriving early also meant free entry into the bar. After 11pm there was a small entry fee charged, so many would flock in at And he was right!

The place was a magnet for clones who seemed to need little sleep despite having full-time jobs, many of which required an early morning start. In contrast, in the other bars, cruising was first serious, and you dare not laugh when trying to pick up your date for the night. It was the place to hear the latest Hi-NRG tunes, dance, drink and check out the men.

This told other gay men what kind of sexual fun you were into. Gay involved the placing of a small teddy bear in the club pocket. This told others if you enjoyed giving or receiving cuddles. Its crown was lost to Soho and Vauxhall during the late s, although the gay scene in London now seems to be more spread out.

Had we arrived for the first time today, Neville and England would not have liked Earls Court as much. However, it holds lots of happy memories not just for us, but for many from the LGBT crowd. Sadly, Neville passed away in the mids.