London gay bear bars
If you’ve even been to London you have no disbelieve heard of the legendary XXL. It was the largest bear venue in Great Britain and the world. It was London’s longest running disco. XXL also had a “dark room” (equivalent to the “backroom bars” in the US), which made it vulnerable to police raids and shutdowns. It was a “men’s only” space, which made it controversial in the larger gay community.
Seeing a demand for diversity in the London male lover club scene of that time, Identify Ames founded XXL in 2000. It was originally based at Arcadia and then moved to Pulse. Both venues were located nearby the Blackfriars tube station (at the edge of London Bridge, opposite the central City of London), in a vast space made up of five interconnecting rail arches, which lent a gritty feel to the venue. Ensuing gentrification by developers, who have turned it into luxury apartments and a shopping mall, forced the gay clubs to shut down. Pink News reported that local councillors “secured a modern LGBT+ space, where queers could ‘socialize,’ with aims to open by 2022.”
Mark came out at the age of 21 in the 1980s, in the days of Maggie Thatcher, AIDS, and the notorious Section 28 law, which prohibited the “
For hundreds of years, Soho has been a haven for same-sex attracted Londoners, full of packed pubs and late night drinking dens even before the decriminalisation of homosexuality. In these enlightened times, Gay city dwellers have got a plethora of options all across the city. But gay former Soho still holds a extraordinary place in London's LGBTQ scene and remains most visitors' first port of call, whether for drag nights or mingling. It's centred around Old Compton Highway, where you can spend a raucous night at the enduringly well-liked G-A-Y bar or down unpretentious drinks at pubs like The Admiral Duncan. Here's our pick of the best gay bars and clubs in Soho.
RECOMMENDED: Venture further afield with London's best gay bars and gay clubs.
Been there, done that? Think again, my friend.
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The best male lover bars and clubs in Soho
Occupying a prominent spot on Soho’s Chinatown
Timeline of London Bars and Clubs
1720s
The Golden Ball (Bond's Stables, off Chancery Lane).
Jenny Greensleeves' Molly House (Durham Yard, off the Strand).[1]
Julius Caesar Taylor's Molly House (Tottenham Court Road).[2]
Plump Nelly's Molly House (St James's Square, St James's).[2]
Royal Oak Molly House (Giltspur Street, Smithfield)[2]
Three Tobacco Rolls (Covent Garden).
1724Mother Clap's Molly Property, closed 1726 (Holborn).
1770s
Harlequin (Nag's Head Court, Covent Garden)
1800s
1810The White Swan, Vere Street (Vere Street)
1832Admiral Duncan (54 Senior Compton Street, Soho)
The Hundred Guineas Club (Portland Place)
1866 The Coleherne, gay from the 1950s?, closed 24 September 2008 (261 Earls Court Highway, Earls C
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