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G-A-Y
StatusActive
GenreNight club
Location(s) London, England
Years active46–47 years
Inaugurated1976; 47 years ago (1976)
LeaderJeremy Joseph
Organised byG-A-Y Ltd by Jeremy Joseph
PeopleJeremy Joseph
Sponsor G-A-Y Ltd, MAMA Group
Website www.g-a-y.co.uk

G-A-Y is a long-running gay nightclub, based at Heaven in Charing Cross, London.

History

BANG exploded onto London's Gay scene in 1976 at the Sundown club in the basement of the London Astoria. It was founded by Jerry Collins and Jack Barrie; Jerry worked at the Marquee Studio and Jack was the manager of the Marquee Club in Wardour Street. [1] Jack was the door host and Jerry DJ'd under the alias Gary London, along with Tallulah (DJ) and Norman Scott. In the early 1990s, BANG was acquired by Jeremy Joseph, who changed the clubs name to G-A-Y. G-A-Y operated from the London Astoria for 15 years until July 2008. The Boston Globe described it as "London's largest gay-themed club night", [2] NME reported that it "attracts 6,000 clubbers each week", [3] and The Independent described it as "the one London gig that really matters" for "today's pop stars". [4]

G-A-Y is associated with G-A-Y Bar and G-A-Y Late. A major stake in the brand was bought on 13 August 2007 by the MAMA Group. [5] On Friday 3 October 2008, G-A-Y moved to the famous gay venue Heaven, which MAMA Group had acquired a few weeks earlier on 22 September 2008. [6]

Mama was sold to HMV & when they went into Receivership, Jeremy Joseph bought out HMV to claim sole ownership & now own G-A-Y Bar, G-A-Y Late & Heaven & since started up their own charity G-A-Y Foundation which has nearly raised £1m over 13 London Marathons

The G-A-Y Album

Main article: G-A-Y (album)

In 2000, a 40 track compilation album was released, featuring songs from some of the artists who had appeared at G-A-Y. A promotional campaign took place in the weeks leading up to release, including television and radio advertisements, a nationwide poster campaign and magazine advertisements in both the gay and teen press[ citation needed].

On Saturday 1 July 2000, a show was held at G-A-Y to promote the release of the album. Seven acts who appeared on the album performed. These acts were Shola Ama, All Saints, Bananarama, Dina Carroll, Billie Piper, Honeyz and Louise. Each act performed only one song, apart from Louise, who also performed her new single "2 Faced".

The G-A-Y album was released on Monday 3 July 2000 and peaked at number 18 in the UK compilations chart[ citation needed].

G-A-Y brand

The G-A-Y brand has expanded to two other bars in the same area: G-A-Y Late (located near the former Astoria site) and G-A-Y bar (located nearby in Soho's Old Compton Street). In April 2011, the G-A-Y brand arrived in Manchester's Canal Street gay village, with a G-A-Y bar opening in the former venue of Spirit Bar. [7] On October 28, 2021, Jeremy Joseph announced that G-A-Y Manchester would be sold to Lee Kellow as a G-A-Y franchise. Jeremy Joseph remains the owner of G-A-Y Bar, G-A-Y Late & Heaven. [8]

Controversies

In 2011, owner Jeremy Joseph tweeted that straight people were not welcome to a One Direction gig, stating: "My birthday wish is for little girls to realise that G-A-Y is a lesbian and gay club so there's only one direction and that's no direction for them". [9]

In 2016, Joseph was also accused of racism after blaming a rise in crime in Soho on "Somalians"; [10] this led to criticism from Black and South Asian LGBT groups. [11] [12]

In March 2019, staff refused comedian Rosie Jones, who has cerebral palsy, entry into one of the G-A-Y nightclubs after they believed she was drunk. Joseph later apologised on Twitter. [13]

Performances

Saturday nights at G-A-Y/Heaven have seen many performances from a wide selection of artists and genres. Acts who have appeared at G-A-Y include:

See also

References

  1. ^ BANG, Last Night a DJ Saved My Life; The History of the Disc Jockey by Bill Brewster and Frank Broughton, publ. 2000, Grove Press, page 531
  2. ^ "London has hot tickets, big hair, and a club night for every taste". Boston Globe online. 28 April 2004.
  3. ^ "Sing If You're Glad To Be at G.A.Y." NME. 19 June 2000. Retrieved 3 May 2009.
  4. ^ "Why they're all glad to be G-A-Y". The Independent. London. 28 October 2003. Retrieved 3 May 2009.
  5. ^ "Music group buys into G-A-Y bars". PinkNews.co.uk. 13 August 2007. Retrieved 3 May 2009.
  6. ^ "MAMA Group "delighted" at acquisition of Heaven". PinkNews.co.uk. 25 September 2008.
  7. ^ "GAY Website". Archived from the original on 4 August 2011.
  8. ^ James Holt (1 November 2021). "G-A-Y owner gives away Manchester branch after 'struggle' with mental health". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 4 July 2022.
  9. ^ Cullen, Jack (18 January 2011). "Is there only One Direction for G-A-Y?". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 February 2021.
  10. ^ Jourdan, Edwin (31 December 2016). "Jeremy Joseph apologises for racist outburst".
  11. ^ "Racism is rife in the LGBT community. Gay people can't demand equality while discriminating themselves". The Independent. 30 December 2016. Retrieved 13 January 2021.
  12. ^ "Why G-A-Y nightclub owner was wrong to scapegoat Somali people for crime in central London". gal-dem. 29 December 2016. Retrieved 13 January 2021.
  13. ^ ""Bloody flabbergasted": Disabled woman turned away from G-A-Y nightclub after confused bouncer thinks she's drunk". outnewsglobal.com. 19 March 2018.
  14. ^ "Resurrecting at G-A-Y". Gaypers. London. 2 August 2014. Archived from the original on 17 November 2016. Retrieved 16 November 2016.
  15. ^ "G-A-Y Divas Album Launch with B*Witched @ G-A-Y". QX. 8 October 2014. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
  16. ^ "Britney Spears partying at G-A-Y Nightclub in London". Brit-s.net. 30 November 2008. Retrieved 3 May 2009.
  17. ^ "Back on? Niall Horan cheers Ellie Goulding on at G.A.Y gig". Glamour. 18 November 2003. Retrieved 22 March 2018.
  18. ^ Staff, B. T. L. (12 July 2007). "Enrique Iglesias gets G-A-Y".
  19. ^ "Lady GaGa storms G-A-Y in London". Gigwise. 17 January 2009. Retrieved 9 December 2010.
  20. ^ "Leona Lewis Performs For G-A-Y Club In London". gettyimages. 13 October 2012. Retrieved 27 June 2022.
  21. ^ "Madonna Plays G-A-Y at Astoria – Getty Images". Retrieved 24 October 2016.
  22. ^ "Marina Diamandis Pictures And Photos – Getty Images". Retrieved 20 June 2016.
  23. ^ "Check out McFly at G-A-Y on View. For further info, reviews, tickets and to see what's on". Retrieved 20 June 2016.
  24. ^ "McFly Get Naked at G-A-Y". Retrieved 20 June 2016.
  25. ^ "Olly Murs at G-A-Y". Retrieved 3 June 2017.
  26. ^ "One Direction @ G-A-Y". QX Magazine. 17 September 2011. Retrieved 19 January 2018.
  27. ^ "THE HUMAN LEAGUE". Retrieved 20 June 2016.

External links

Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/?title=G-A-Y&oldid=1183300805"