FAVE FICTIONAL GAY BARS for Dalston Superstore

After last week's run-through of the best gay bars in Europe for DS, here's the follow up: my top 5 (6 actually) favourite fictional gay bars:

The Tool Box, Wayne’s World 2

A great little nod to The Village People and gay culture in general, this scene from Wayne’s World 2 is one of those rare comedy moments where gay bars and patrons are in on, rather than the butt of, the joke. In a way it also foreshadows Mike Myers’ gig as the ULTIMATE gay landlord, Steve Rubell of Studio 54, and also hints at the top-notch job Myers would do with the role.



Blue Oyster Bar, Police Academy

The, ahem, Daddy of them all. Say the words “gay bar” to most people and this is what most of them will answer with. Actually not as offensive as it could have been, Blue Oyster Bar is perhaps now most notable for its excellent choice in music.



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FERAL IS KINKY un-edited Gay Bars piece

These answers got trimmed down a fair bit fo the finished "Best European Gay Bars" piece for Dalston Superstore, so here they are in full. Many thanks to Caron aka FERAL IS KINKY for this! 

Vogue Fabrics 

Run by the enigmatic Maori princess AKA Chief Witch and Mayoress of Dalston: Lyall. This bar/club performance space started life as “Death Trap Disco” with parties rockin through til at least the next morning on most occasions. This subterranean lair still retains the feeling of a den of inequity and is now fully legal and even has a smoking area. The cute bar serves beers, spirits at reasonable prices and never shys away staging performances from the more art based, less commercial and way more exciting radical performers, without losing the full on party vibe. The crowd varies depending on what nights are on, ranging from boys to girls to mixed to fashion to Trans and everything in-between. I’ve spent many a hot sweaty night below stairs and last month saw a fab show from Christeene from Texas here. Once a year the Vogue drains the decanters and relocates to the Block9 field, in conjunction with the amazing NYC Downlow at Glastonbury Festival. “Fabulous Darling”

George and Dragon 

The George and Drag is at the start of Hackney road, has been running for years, it was one of the first places in the area that provided a more alternative vibe. I’ts got a warm atmosphere and the gorgeous landlord and performance artist Richardette let me have a party after the 1st year of my degree. I ended up dancing on the small tables with a large broom, that I think caught alight. I blamed it on the special cut price cocktails Richardette knocked up for us. The pub gets ridiculously packed, people pour out onto the street outside and different DJs play retro and alternative sounds most nights of the week. It’s unpretentious and friendly, there are a lot of regulars and some have almost morphed into the stools in the corner, but that’s part of the charm. Depending on what the night is, you can sit down and chat or dance all night. You’ll find a mixture of art and fashion and east London types, the interior is old British pub with a twist, the walls are covered in kitsch paintings camp objects and they also have art exhibitions in the toilet. There’s a particularly good vibe in the summer and it’s a good place to start the night or stay until closing time and move on to whatever else might be happening close by

Dalston Superstore 

This is the newest of the three bars, and sits on a well trodden route between the George and Vogue Fabrics. Its run by DJs and promoters Dan Beaumont and Matt Tucker so more emphasis is placed on the music. The interior is more industrial they have a really wide range of fab cocktails and the staff are young and good looking. In the daytime it’s calm enough to be able to work on your lap top of have meetings; you can get breakfast, lunch, snacks, cakes, teas, juices and sit outside. After dark it morphs into a really lively bar upstairs, sometimes with a gaggle of Trannies literally rocking the bar top in major heels, or with DJs who have flown into London and want to play there, as well as their busy regular nights run by different London promoters. The queues can be long, if you don’t know anyone on the door but everyone seems to get in. DSS operates on two floors with music on both. PAs, and art exhibitions and mellower music happen upstairs and after 11pm the full on sweaty club, known as the lazer pit, kicks off downstairs. You should check what nights are on before you go on their face book page, as they put on several different nights, some nights feel quite straight, there’s girl nights and Trans nights and often impromptu scenarios depending on what’s been going on that week or whos around. The music is varied but ranges from most types of house, to current pop, hip hop, disco and garage; the emphasis is on dancing, but you can still sit down and chat if you can find a space or dance upstairs along side the bar. Love box had their official after party here in July and the place was rammed with a really wicked atmosphere.

My GAY BARS piece for Dalston Superstore

I was comissioned by Dalston Superstore, roughly at the time of the Stonewall riots anniversary, to write a piece about people's favourite, or most historically important, gay bars. After thinking about America and Asia, in the end I decided to stick to continental Europe (and London), with gay haunts chosen by Daniel Wang, Hard Ton, Silvia Prada, Kiddy Smile and Feral aka MC Kinky. That means there may be a sequel looking further afield soon, maybe, and next week DS are going to publish the run down of our favourite fictional gay bars in film and TV.

Oh, the good ole gay bar! Love them or hate them, gay bars have been an integral part of LGBTQ social life since the beginning of time. Not always just a space for cruising and dancing, the gay bar/gay club has also been a vital tool for queers to define themselves and the kind of people we wish to be, the kinds of people we wish to interact with (for better and for worse) and, ultimately, the kind of lives we wish to lead, away from harassment and hetero-normative judgement.

Gay bars have also acted as a reflection of society’s acceptance, or lack of acceptance, of LGBTQ people, and our own increasing visibility in mainstream society. From New York’s Stonewall Inn (site of the Stonewall riots in 1969, the event which kicked the modern gay rights movement into existence) to Manchester’s Manito (the first bar in the city’s gay village to feature see through glass in the windows, ending the traditional stigma and shame of being seen in a gay bar) to London’s Admiral Duncan pub (which was horrifically nail bombed in 1999 to huge public outrage), it seems as though all of gay life could be traced through our pub and club spaces, and our interaction with, and within, them.

Although not always positive – very picky door policies have led to claims of exclusion and division among queer communities – gay bars and clubs are hugely important to this culture. As it was recently the anniversary of the Stonewall riots, we thought it was high time we celebrated the humble gay bar, so we’ve asked five of our favourite queer dance acts and DJs from around Europe to name their favourite gay bars for us. This isn’t a definitive guide however, consider it some insider tips for homos, don’t-knows, anything-goes and friends/allies to brighten up your next continental jaunt.

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