The Pop Corporation

Nightlife is changing in the UK, and not for the better. Everything being more expensive is hurting businesses and customers alike, resulting in fewer people wanting to go out, and ultimately, it’s our sense of community and literal togetherness is lost.

Another legend is closing their doors as G-A-Y in Soho have said that it is “time to say goodbye”.

The owner, Jeremy Joseph, who also has nightclub Heaven, has made a lengthy post about why we’re seeing an end to such a legendary spot. And this isn’t a temporary thing, but a permanent one.

The bar had previously been up for sale, with Joseph saying that the area of London G-A-Y sits had “lost its vibrancy”.

He says: “Old Compton Street has been my home & my work. When I opened G-A-Y Bar, it was to be on one of the safest & most proudly LGBT streets. A place where you could be who you are & feel safe. For Me, Old Compton Street has lost that LGBT identity.”

Of course, in years past, they’ve hosted Madonna, all manner of initiatives for safer sex and inclusivity, and had mobile stages with Derek Jarman, and coming together in solidarity for a number of social causes. It has been a cornerstone in the community for years, but at least in Soho, no more.

He continued: “I was so proud to be part of publicly defining a street as a safe place, where you can hold hands with your partner, go buy a sex toy, not be afraid to have a cheeky flirt, to wear whatever you want, but most importantly to be openly whoever you wanted to be.”

“But sadly thats not Old Compton Street anymore.”

The old enemy of landlords reared its predictably ugly head during Jeremy’s sign-off.

“There has to be a way to protect businesses with zero costs to taxpayers, maybe a change in the law in the same way residential tenants have rights, so should commercial tenants. Not reliant on who your landlord is, but all businesses treated equally.”

With Heaven, Joseph explained how landlord troubles caused no end of grief, with a case ending up with the Rent Review Arbitration. He explained: “Here’s what happened with Heaven – we knew the date for Heaven’s rent review. We asked the landlord, ArchCo, to start the process a month before the review date but they waited until the date itself to serve notice that gave us no time to agree or budget before an increase took effect. If we disagreed with the rent increase, then as they told us on the day of the rent increase, while we went into negotiation, with immediate effect, we were paying backdated rent on an unknown figure.”

“On the advice of two rent surveyors, we appealed & went to arbitration. Nearly two years later, costs of over £100,000 & having Heaven’s future unknown, we finally have a result and it’s in Heaven’s favour. There is a rental increase, nowhere near what ArchCo wanted but it’s doable & now I’ll work on ways to cover it with the least impact on Heaven’s customers.”

The fact is, this is a real problem facing many culturally important venues around the country, and while nothing is done about it, we lose our spaces. It is incredibly unsexy or bite-sized fun to talk about the legal wranglings and red-tape that venues have to deal with, which is why people switch off when hearing about them.

It is in the margins of this tedium that landlords try and ride venues roughshod, and the ones without any financial clout, vanish entirely.

Joseph added: “No one should have to go through the stress and uncertainty I faced, yet every commercial tenant is at risk under the current system. The government cannot say it wants to protect workers unless it also protects the businesses that employ them.”

It has been a staple in London since 1979, drawing people from all over the world and being a go-to for inclusive spaces, especially those in the LGBTQIA+ scene, as well as hosting pivotal acid house nights from Paul Oakenfold, Hi NRG nights by Ian Levine, S’Express’ Asylum, and so much more.