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Last Ever Soho Pride On Sunday?

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This Sunday afternoon will see the streets of the West End crammed. Soho Pride, the smaller, younger (prettier?) cousin of London Pride will see street parties and all sorts around the central gay district of town off Old Compton Street and Rupert Street, including the infamous Candy Girls areas.

Our favoured bit to head to will be the natural focal point for the whole thing at Soho Square. In its fifth year, the theme for 2008 is – ahem – ‘American-style Summer Camp’, which could either be amazingly good fun or a bit calamitous (and either way it’s worth going along). Many DJs have been signed up from the frontline of London’s world-leading funky house music scene and our hot tip would be to catch Brent Nicholls, who we reckon will bring the afternoon to an uplifting climax from 7pm.

News of course will have reached the Soho Pride organisers that £10,000-worth of funding towards the event from the Mayor of London is no longer to be forthcoming (it will be used for a homophobic-bullying campaign instead, pledges Boris). Sunday may therefore be the last ever Soho Pride if businesses don’t step up their contributions and keep it going. Better go along to see what all the fuss is about before it’s too late.

More details here, and a handy map of everything is here. And to find out where the Pre- and After-parties are, go here.

What better warm-up for the bank holiday the week after? And with luck we might get a bit of summer, you never know.

Photo from red betty black’s photostream


MI5 To Go Gay

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James Bond would be neither shaken nor stirred by the news today that MI5 is to launch a recruitment drive for gays and lesbians to join the government’s security service.

The story was leaked to the Sun of all places (which we reckon isn’t particularly well-targetted at gays and lesbians in particular).

This is, however, a real turn-around. Until the early 1990s, a gay person couldn’t join the London-based national security service as they were ‘blackmailable’. This position was sooo last century, as it didn’t take account of people that were ‘out’ and therefore inherently unblackmailable. Today’s Fact For Pub Quizes is that it was John Major that changed the rules to allow gays into the UK secret service.

This latest change, however, ramps this up to the next stage – from ‘allowing’ gays into the service, to positively ‘encouraging’ them to do so. Respect here at Londonist Towers for a positive gay article from the Sun, which now seems to agree with us that our public services (police, army, security, etc) should reflect the communities they serve. But we do feel a bit of surprise that they went for ‘The Guy Who Loved Me’ as a headline, rather than something about ‘Roger More’. The temptation must have been huge.

* And yes, we know that James Bond is a) fictional and b) in any case was in MI6, not MI5. Will we see Bond’s first gay scene in the upcoming film?

Image of yellow-roofed Thames House (alleged HQ of MI5) along the north bank of the Thames from squishyray’s Flickrstream. Not be confused, of course, with MI6 which sits opposite.

ClubWatch: Salvation

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Salvation is a legendary clubbing brand. To those in the know, it reflects Decadence (so we’re talking a plushly-fitted club, everyone treated as a VIP, a real sense of occasion), and Carnival (great costumes, astonishing performance on stage, fab atmosphere). We sat Promoter/Director Steve Elliott and owner John Addy in our hotseat to grill them on exactly why people should seek Salvation:

Your club night has been around in different forms since it kicked off in 1998. 10 years on, how has it really changed since its first outing?

John: We’ve become bigger and better – responding to how things have changed on the gay scene by continually evolving our party product to stay ahead of the pack. Two years ago I bought the business started a new company to re-energise Salvation UK.

How has a clubnight that majors on being plush, decadent with a carnival atmosphere fit in at the less-than-decadent Hippodrome?

Steve: Have you been to The Hippodrome? It’s fantastic! We major in clubbing on a grand scale – in a gay scene where club promoters either struggle to fill large venues or simply stuff people under arches, we throw everything we have to make each night stand out. And you can see that in the production values, themes and dancers.

What is it about the music you play that makes Salvation different from other funky house nights?

John: Well, we’ve got Sharon ‘O’ Love for starters who plays sets you won’t ever have heard before in London. She twists funky house to bring it bang up-to-date with the most recent remixes played by stellar djs.

There’s discussion across the gay scene about just *how* gay a gay clubnight should be – do you welcome straight men and women into your club? Do you have a majority-gay policy?

Steve: Yes, we do. We attract the best looking crowd of gay men in London and their friends – whatever their persuasion. If it came to people just piling in off Leicester Square, we’d say no, but it never comes to this since we’re always packed to the rafters with a great crowd – and tickets are sold in advance through gay outlets.

The funky house music stops half-way through every Salvation night for a stage performance. The last one took our breath away – and Mark Almond played a part in another. Can you give us a sneak preview clue what the next one will be about?

Steve: Oh that’d spoil the surprise! (laughs)

Oh, go on, go on go on…

We’ve never delivered a dud. If you stop the music you mustn’t kill the atmosphere so these days we focus on one huge carnival explosion that turns up the temperature and gets the party started.

What for you is the greatest highlight in Salvation history?

John: Our move to the Hippodrome – it’s a party that goes off with a bang every time. It brings tears to my eyes to think we’ve got a venue where the likes of Shirley Bassey and Judy Garland have performed. And the Alton Towers weekend was a big splash.

Have you had many celebs on your dancefloor? Any regulars we can expect to see boogying away beside us?

Steve: There’s a rumor that John Barrowman is coming down. In the past we’ve had the likes of Dolce Gabbana, John Paul Gaultier, Rupert Everett, Alexander McQueen, Julian Clary…

Tell us about Salvation DJs who we’ve probably not heard of but MUST check out.

Steve: You must keep an eye or rather an ear out for DJ Minx, and of course we’ve had Miswhite too – but I’d say that Sharon O Love is a must. I know she says she’s inspired by ‘passion enjoying itself’ – and this comes through as she connects with artists and producers, and incorporates it into what she plays – so expect some Roger Sanchez, Soulseekers, Jose Nunez, Harry Choo Choo Romero, Full Intention, Bob Sinclair, Jason Herd, Carl Kennedy, David Vendetta, Joey Negro, Jerry Ropero, Thunderpuss, Soul Avengerz, Mouse T, David Morales, Junior Jack…

And finally, a question we ask everyone – have you ever been sick on the tube?

John: I once was accidentally dragged down a tube escalator when a group of people fell down from the top – it didn’t make me sick, but I certainly felt it. These days, all I’m saying is I get cabs!

The next Salvation takes place this Sunday (24th) from 6pm-2am at the London Hippodrome, and will then celebrate its 10th birthday in October. Tickets available through www.salvation-london.com

Image provided by Salvation

So… Who Won The World Gay Footie?

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You may remember that we previewed the 2008 World Gay Football Championships, which took place over the last week in Regent’s Park. We’re happy to report that our very own Leftfooters FC organised the tournament, which seemed to embody the best of British – fun, sporting achievement, fair play, and a sense of community.

Forty teams of men and women competed in three Leagues for six days, watched over by 56 referees. Today the finals were held in the sunshine at Leyton Orient’s excellent stadium. Everything reached a heady climax this evening at a lavish celebrity-rammed* closing ceremony with trophies galore under the arches of Vauxhall rail station.

This Londonista walked in to the ceremony to grab a cider and black, just as the Pink Singers were busy belting out a medley to build up to the trophies. Here’s your guide to who won what:

Men’s Division 1 champions – London’s own Stonewall Lions knocked last year’s hosts Argentina into a topped hat with an impressive 5-0 victory (over the whole tournament Stonewall scored 43 goals and conceded none).

Men’s Division 2 championsLeicester Wildecats eventually scraped through to win after a dramatic 3-3 draw, going 2 penalties down in the shoot-out, and just pulling through during sudden death.

Women’s champions – 
Hackney WFC cruised to victory after playing, at points, up to four matches a day against strong teams from South Africa and the US

Fair Play AwardSamurai Japan (OutGames champions), London Titans 2, and Alexander Park women (despite lots of “feisty” players)

Top ScorerJose from Mexico, who seemed a little over-awed and excited, also with credits to David Ellard from Stonewall Lions and a woman from South Africa who had already headed home (“are you all sure they’ve gone and aren’t at the back? they’re very small!”)

So overall, it was an English 1-2-3, with our teams coming top in each league. The Leftfooters were clearly too busy organising the event, however, to do that well themselves on the pitch. As the night finished, drunken Thank You’s were gibbered from the stage to the tea-makers, volunteers, referees and the red cross – and there was even one ironic “Thanks To My Mum For Making Me Gay”. All headed straight to the bar to reunite with their WAGs, discuss dodgy referee decisions, and worry about how there will be no ‘unlimited substitution’ rules next year. In the words of top scorer Jose, “Muchas Gracias a Londres”. Next stop, Washington DC.

* Well, celebrities were limited to Peter Tatchell and the London order of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. It wasn’t the BAFTAs.

Celebratory image from new 2008 World Gay Football (Division Two) Champions Leicester Wildecats

Above The Stag: New Theatre Venue In Victoria

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It’s always nice to keep up with new developments in the performing arts and this is good news for new theatre: there’s going to be a new venue above The Stag pub in Victoria. And it’s going to focus on new gay writing, which is handy as the pub is a big rainbow mirage tucked away in a back street between Billy Elliot and the Cardinal Place shopping centre.

Shameless Theatre Company are going to take over the space above the pub that dares wear its colours on its sleeve / pub exterior and will become Above The Stag Theatre. We’re looking forward to what looks like a cracking inaugural programme: while coachloads of festive dinner, theatre, hotel package tours squash themselves into Billy Elliot or Wicked nearby, there’ll be a male burlesque show above The Stag as a very alternative alternative. American Briefs, a series of short plays by US-based writers will open the new theatre space and the be the first production for Above The Stag Theatre, starting 28 October. Watch this space – with pride!

Image shows rainbow flag on St Martin-in-the-Fields during Pride 2008. Image author’s own.

Possible Homophobic Murder – Did You See Anything?

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We hate hate crimes at the best of times.

This last Tuesday, 28-year old David Cooper drank with friends in several of our favourite haunts on Old Compton Street, in Soho. He finished off with a drink in the Friendly Society at about 11pm. He then – somehow – travelled home, to Woolwich.

He was discovered at home the next day, murdered after a vicious assault and with serious head injuries. The police suspect this is a homophobic crime.

If you were in Soho on Tuesday night and recognise him, or perhaps you saw him on a bus, the tube or getting out of a cab in Woolwich – give the incident room a call on 020 8721 4868 (to remain anonymous, Crimestoppers is 0800 555111). The LGBT officer for Greenwich is on 020 8284 9864.

At a time when Martina Navratilova is helping change attitudes by talking about ‘coming out’ on one of the highest-rated mainstream TV shows, this demonstrates we still have a long way to go.

Write Queer London

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UL2008_206.jpg Untold London has been doing sterling work for a number of years unearthing and sharing stories from this city’s diverse communities. In October they launched a writing competition to lure LGBT stories out of the closet to expand on the history of London from a gay perspective and grow their pool of writing talent. The deadline for entering the competition is 8 January, so the next couple of weeks might provide the ideal, last minute opportunity for you to get your words and tales together, in between festive feeds and frivolities, to contribute to this fascinating project. They’re looking for the “the pride and the prejudice, the sensible and the highly senseless” so go crazy. Rules, regs and prize details all online.

Recessionist: How The Recession Made Soho

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People can get in lots of trouble for saying that good things can come out of recession, but no doubt about it, the legacy of the last was not all bad. Here we start 2009 with the first of our uplifting investigations into the silver lining behind the cloud.

In the 1980s gay London existed at the fringes: in scruffy pubs, in basements and behind unmarked doors. The gay liberation movement was making political progress in the face of Thatcher’s Government, prevalent homophobia and the tragedy of HIV, but in the champagne fuelled boom years of Chancellor Lawson there were few places for gay bars in London’s bustling west-end. The (then) unfashionable district of Earls Court had been a hub for some time, but a large part of the scene was scattered around the fringes of central London.

As the fortunes turned, and the Dom Perignon gathered dust, there was a breakthrough: some smart bar owners got their calculators out and worked out the gay men, without the financial pressures of dependent family, would have a few more pounds to splash out during the downturn (this was before Aussiebum’s £25.99 pants).

For Westminster Council, which in 1986 used new licensing powers to close down many of over 200 sex establishments in this historic vice quarter, the new cafe bars of the 90s gay scene were the lesser evil. License applications were regarded more favourably from venues open about their gay orientation; less fighting and no street vomiting, so they argued). Though the historic industries of Soho have proved remarkably resilient to soaring rents and hostile neighbours, trend setting venues like the Village and the Edge redefined what a Gay Bar could be – opening the scene to many more people and playing a big part in building the diversity that London enjoys today.

While fears that the gay scene would be pushed off Old Compton street by a recovering straight leisure industry in the mid 90s proved false, in the last few years a combination of rents, property development and Crossrail have shaken the communities hold on London’s Gay Village. Bars like Trash Palace have moved out to the Zone One fringes, the Astoria stands ready (seemingly for an eternity) to be demolished and a new scene has grown up, dominated by the Arched clubs of Vauxhall and garnished by the check-shirted antics of Hoxditch and Camden. None the less, Old Compton remains the finest thousand feet of homosexuality anywhere in the world, and it could only happen thanks to the combination of London’s unique nature and the difficult economic times.

It’s too early to say what this all means for the 2010s: a resurgent gay Soho? A neighbourhood finally gentrified? Perhaps this part of London is destined to welcome it’s next bunch of miss-fits. The forces are in motion: London will take the hit of the recession and will – as it has many times before – surprise us again.

Photo by Simon Crubellier via the Londonist Flickr Pool


Write Queer London @ MoL Late

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tatchell_late.jpg The first Late at the Museum of London this year plays host to the winners of the Write Queer London Writing Competition. In association with UntoldLondon and Chroma Journal, writers were invited to come up with alternative queer histories of London. For example, what if Hadrian and Antinous had had a civil partnership in ancient Cheapside? As we noted before, this could either be brilliant or a wet fish but you won’t know unless you turn up. Peter Tatchell will be on hand to give out the prizes and there’s plenty of musical and wordy entertainment throughout the night. As always, the rest of the Museum is staying up late for you to explore and yes, there is a bar. Late at Museum of London, Thursday 5 Feb 6-9pm FREE. (Image / Loz Flowers)

London Gay Pride Comes Out (With A Webcam)

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London Pride 2009

Pride marchs/celebrations are hugely important to the LGBT community. We like to think that London hosts the country’s best Pride each year.

Hundreds of thousands of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered folk from across the land meet up with their families, friends and supporters to converge on the capital on one special Summer day. Walking together, they demonstrate strength in numbers and express their identity. For us, it is a very visual way to tell our city’s best story of all – that London is multi-cultural, diverse and so much stronger and more exciting as a result. (Helpfully, it also involves a massive party.)

This year’s Pride is on 4th July. If it’s your first, then it will be a transformative experience – and perhaps your first cautious footstep outside of the closet door en route to ‘coming out’ as L, G, B or T. The theme of this year’s pride is ‘Coming Out To Play’, and so organisers have teamed up with HOMOVISION.TV to produce a series of short Coming Out Stories on video to be broadcast on the web and at the main stage in Trafalgar Square during Pride itself.

So, fancy supplying a video message of your own Coming Out Story? Is it a tale of woe, of comedy or of inspiration? Just what would you say to someone stood nervously in Traffie Square, mulling their very own Big Decision? If you’re in London, HOMOVISION may come and film you – email info@homovision.tv to describe your story. If you’re outside of London and have access to some form of webcam, film yourself and send it directly to them at the same address. (You may need to use a website like yousendit.com).

Record your story, mark the date in our calendar, book the Monday off work and get ready for a fabulous Pride.

Full details of Pride itself are all up at www.pridelondon.org. Video project details are at www.homovision.tv/pride.

Image from www.pridelondon.org

Stonewall 40th Anniversary Marked

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The anniversary march sets off by zefrog

There was a rainbow in the sky yesterday in NYC as the Stonewall 40th anniversary celebrations happily coincided with Pride in the US. It was an altogether quieter affair in London but around 40 people gathered yesterday afternoon to march from LSE via Soho Square to a free cabaret and consciousness raising event in Kings Cross, parading rainbow colours through the streets. Read more reflections on Stonewall at the Times Online and have a look through pictures of San Francisco’s Pride march, courtesy of SFist.

Pride London 2009

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By Daniel_C_C By zefrog By vanouxe By Nick Peligno By Nick Peligno By Darren Lehane By simon white By simon white By Daniel_C_C By Nick Peligno A week after London’s minimalist Stonewall celebrations, London’s Pride Parade took over town yesterday afternoon. There are grumbles that it’s been depoliticised and some were unhappy at the growing commercialisation of the colourful event (Selfridges and Calvin Klein taking advantage). But Gordon and Sarah Brown hosted a morning reception at no. 10 for Pride organisers and the pink press and the usually backstage Mrs Brown was at the vanguard of the march down Oxford Street. It’s estimated up to 500,000 people gathered to party in Trafalgar Square in the blazing sun. Boris couldn’t make it but his deputy, Richard Barnes, urged London to be “out and proud everyday”.

Thanks to our Flickr friends for capturing it so beautifully on camera.

London 2012 Same Sex Hand Holding Relay Walk

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London 2012 Open Weekend saw the first heat of an unlikely new discipline: the same-sex hand holding relay walk. The relay, which aimed to promote more visibility for same-sex couples and quietly fight homophobia, was part of the three-day celebration marking the countdown to the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

In total, 12 couples of the same sex held hands along 11 different routes crisscrossing the capital. Brought together by A Day In Hand, a global campaign around same-sex hand holding (SSHH) by Schools Out, which is also behind LGBT History Month. They were pleased to report very few reactions at all from the public. Sshh, indeed!

By Nicolas Chinardet

Testimonials and short videos for each route are available here. Image courtesy of A Day in Hand.

Art Review: Gay Icons @ NPG

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Joe Dallesandro by Paul Morrissey 1968, k.d.lang by Jill Furmanovsky 1992 & Joe Orton by Lewis Morley 1965 all courtesy of the National Portrait Gallery

The National Portrait Gallery has gone a bit queer this summer. Beyond the perennial portraits of gay, lesbian, bi or trans (LGBT) people that the initiated can spot around the gallery, there is a selection of colourful portraits of George Melly by his friend Maggi Hambling on offer. The pièce de résistance however is only a few butch strides down the corridor.

The soft-lit, aubergine confines of the Gay Icons exhibition huddle together a selection by 10 prominent LGB figures of 60 photographic portraits they personally deem significant. Waheed Alli has gone rather trashy in his choices, Alan Hollingshurst is high brow, Ian McKellen, political and Chris Smith, cultural. The Village People, Quentin Crisp, Alan Turing or Lily Savage thus end up vying for our attention with Kenneth Williams, Martina Navratilova, Princess Diana or Harvey Milk. No sign of Judy Garland though.

John Lennon, Bernie Taupin, and Rostropovitch also make rather bemusing appearances. The name of the exhibition is the problem here. So many of the “Icons” are not actually icons, let alone gay ones. Elton John chose to nominate his famous mates, while Billie Jean King pitched for her family. Obscure writers are also being dragged out of the photographic closet. Role models, sources of inspiration, they no doubt are but gay icons, they ain’t.

Still, despite its flaws this is a ground-breaking exhibition for a major museum and probably a first. Catching a glimpse of these lives sketched in a few words by those who nominated them is an often moving, sometimes funny experience.

In the words of Sandi Toksvig, chair of the selecting panel: ‘How I wish this selection had been available to me when I was young…. How inspirational to have had portraits of the great and the good staring out at me telling me that I was not by any measure on my own.’

By Nicolas Chinardet

Gay Icons runs until 18 October at the National Portrait Gallery and comes accompanied by a varied series of events.

London Remembers Tel Aviv Victims

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vigil.jpg This afternoon at the time when hundreds of people were also gathering in Tel Aviv, 30 to 40 people, mostly friends and friends of friends gathered by email and via facebook, came together in Soho Square for an impromptu vigil in support of the victims of yesterday’s attack on an LGBT youth centre in Tel Aviv. The attack killed 2 and wounded at least 10 people.

More pictures available here.


A Gay Old Saturday

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Photo by steve.wilde

You’d be forgiven to think that Gay Pride is already back in town, today. No less than three Lesbian, Gay, Bi and Trans events will be taking in various parts of the capital. First there is the 4th UK Black Pride in Regents Park, headlined by Beverley Knight with many other artists and weird and wonderful events. Then there is the 6th annual London Pride Run. A 10K run in Victoria Park in support of the London Lesbian & Gay Switchboard. Finally, Vauxhall is hosting Milk in the Park, featuring various tents and a huge cinema screen showing the Life and Times of Harvey Milk, Paris is Burning and The Celluloid Closet.

Some Travel Card Wallets Are Gay. Get Your Own!

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courtesy of Stonewall

In February last year, Stonewall, the gay equality organisation, put vibrant posters saying “some people are gay, get over it” on 600 billboards around the country.

The posters, were developed with pupils and teachers as part of Stonewall’s Education for All campaign to tackle homophobic bullying in schools.

To coincide with pupils returning to school, the campaign is back for two weeks on over 500 display panels and 20 major railway station advertising screens across Britain. To mark the event, Stonewall are offering free branded travel card holders.

To get yours, visit the Stonewall website here and fill in the form.

Preview: RVT/GMFA Sports Day in Vauxhall

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courtesy GMFA

To make the decision of what to do during the Bank Holiday even more complicated than it already is, we are throwing another option in the already rich mix.

On Monday 31st, should you fancy a bit of sporty fun in aid of a few good causes after the festive exertions of the week-end, the Royal Vauxhall Tavern and GMFA (the gay men’s health charity) are organising their third Sports Day.

Events last year included egg and spoon, and sack races, alongside more specialist “sports”, such as the drag relay, handbag throwing or the 50m mince. Registrations to take part are closed but you can still go there to support teams with names as exotic as the Fantastic Fairies, the Trashbags, The Mighty Metamorphic Zebras (the team that raised the most money overall last year – nearly £1,000) or (last year’s winners) the Sodomites. You could also simply point and laugh. In a caring and sharing way, of course!

Over £4000 were raised in 2008 and shared between GMFA, the Vauxhall City Farm and the Friends of Spring Gardens. They are, of course, break the record this year.

The Sports Day is taking place in Spring Gardens (behind the Royal Vauxhall Tavern) between 1pm and 6pm.

Clubwatch: We Built This Speedwagon On A Prayer

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Speedwagon

As part of their ongoing new Friday night clubs, the Royal Vauxhall Tavern played host to a whirlwind of power ballads and soft rock a couple of months. This Friday, the meaningfully titled ‘We Built This Speedwagon On A Prayer’ returns to our favourite club in a pub with inflatable guitars and mullets aplenty. If you love rocking out to a bit of Meatloaf, Bon Jovi or even a bit of Cher, you don’t want to be anywhere else this weekend. We caught up with promoter Baylen ahead of the night to let you know exactly what you should be expecting.

When and why did you set We Built This Speedwagon On A Prayer up?

We had our first one in May. It was meant to be a one off but everyone had such a good time and have been asking us when the next one was, so we thought why not, lets go! We originally did it because it seems every other type of music genre is catered for except some good ole soft rock. You do get the odd classic thrown in at other nights, but there was nothing out there on the scene where you could go and really just indulge in the glory that is Soft Rock. A lot of the crowd on that first night came because it was a bit of a novelty, and admitted later that they didn’t really think they were going to be that into it, but those were the ones that were there til the end screaming for more! I think sometimes it’s easy to forget just how much great music falls into the soft rock genre, so we like to remind people.


Who are your DJs? What do they do in the real world?

It’s a group of us who are all really close anyway, so it made sense to do it together. There’s me, and I work on-air at BBC London and Radio 2, and also DJ around other Vauxhall venues. Then there is Lucio who is well known to the pop crowd because he presented the chart show hit40uk for years, and his own show on Capital, now you can hear him on Absolute Radio. He also pops up at PopStarz behind the decks from time to time. There’s Chris Woo who is a big mover and shaker behind the scenes in the music world. He manages producers and artists who have been responsible for some of the biggest hits in recent years. He’s had his finger in all sorts of pop pies – the likes of La Roux, Amy Winehouse and Mark Ronson to name but a few. So we all come from different musical places but find common ground with Rock.

So what is it about soft rock that makes it so special?

We have a very strict music policy of Soft Rock, Yacht Rock, 80s & 90s rock, and plain ole RockRock! Basically anything with rock in it’s description and we are all about it. I think sticking so closely to the music policy is what makes it special. There is nothing worse than getting all geared up for a night that promises one thing and chickens out half way through and delivers something else. With Speedwagon you get exactly what it says on the tin. We also come around with free shots every now and again, we like giving away things on the door to help everyone get into the mood, and there are always a couple of short song length performances that happen randomly through out the night to mix things up a bit.


Have you ever had any celebs on your dancefloor?


Of course! This is London, and with our backgrounds and jobs, we’ve had quite a few well known friends air guitaring and screaming along to Total Eclipse of the Heart or Bon Jovi or whatever but we don’t focus on that. To us everyone who comes through the door is a star, and we would never name names. The last thing we want is for people to come to Speedwagon to see famous people dancing, we want people to come because it’s an amazing great night out

If people haven’t been to the RVT, what can they expect?

The RVT is basically an old pub. Simple as that – there’s nothing flash about it, which we love! It’s friendly, the drinks are cheap and they have a great sound system. It hosts mainly cabaret during the week, but at the weekend it is one of the busiest club venues in the area, which says a lot considering it’s in the middle of Vauxhall with all of it’s mega clubs in arches.

It’s predominately a gay venue, but is everyone welcome?

Of course! The venue is legendary on the gay scene but our night is totally mixed in every way. Last time we had just as many straight guys and girls as we did gay ones which is as it should be. Soft Rock knows no barriers.

Tell us one artist who we might not have heard of that you play that we should check out?

Well because of the type of music we play, most of the artists are quite well known or were at one time at least! So what we concentrate on is playing those songs that you haven’t heard in ages. Although, having said that Lita Ford is someone that people always ask who it is when she’s played. She started in The Runaways with Joan Jett and then went solo and had a huge hit with Kiss Me Deadly which is an amazing rock song. Everyone remembers Joan Jett but not Lita Ford and she kicks ass! We LOVE chicks with guitars!!

What other club nights do you like going to in London?

We are all over the place but our regulars are Duckie, Horse Meat Disco, Popstars, Kimono Krush, Gutterslut, & Trailer Trash. We tend to go for smaller clubs rather than mega ones, but mega can be good too if you are in the mood.


What are the club’s plans for the future?


We don’t plan really, which may or may not be a good thing?!? At the moment we are still trying to decide whether we want to do it monthly or just keep it going as and when, although we do think Speedwagon would go down a storm on the festival circuit next year.

What’s your dream venue?

Any venue with a sticky floor, black walls and cheap drinks.



Name five songs we’ll definitely be rocking our air guitar to on Friday.

Pat Benatar- Love is a Battlefield

Whitesnake – Here I Go Again

Heart – All I Wanna Do Is Make Love to You

Quiet Riot – Cum on Feel the Noize

Rick Springfield – Jesse’s Girl


And your all time favourite floor filler?

Fleetwood Mac – Go Your Own Way …without question!

We Built This Speedwagon On A Prayer returns to the Royal Vauxhall Tavern this Friday night from 8pm with a £5 door tax. Go – it’s awesome!

The Fat Of The Land

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Ah, harvest festivals, a time to dig out the corned beef from the back of the cupboard, shove it in a cardboard box along with some other unwanted groceries, and thrust it upon some unsuspecting OAP whilst singing ‘All things bright and beautiful’.

Fast forward to the 21st century and this traditional harvest gathering gets a queer makeover. The fat of the Land celebrates all things chubby and gay along with the abundance of nature, in a kind of wicker man meets village fete fiesta. There’s art, activities, displays, eating, competitions and stalls and the day culminates in a rendition of the fat queer harvest hymn and a fancy display of cloggery courtesy of Blackhorse and Standard Womens North West Morris dancers.

Saturday 3 October 2009 2 – 6pm at St Anne’s, 55 Dean Street, Soho, London.

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