Chox Posted May 30, 2008 Share Posted May 30, 2008 We've been down this road on this forum before! I have no doubt that new gay places will come along, but I don't think anything great is ever gonna come to Sheffield. History reveals a long, long line of gay pubs and clubs in Sheffield and they've all been and gone. Doubtless Dempseys and XS will go in the same way sooner or later. It's just sad that even if the odd place springs up, they've never as good as somewhere you'd find in comparable cities. They're always either half full, or they're full of straight people it seems. I don't think anyone has ever worked-out why Sheffield's always fared so badly, but I guess it has a lot to do with the student community (which has gradually attracted younger gay lads away to straight pubs and clubs) and the appaling rivalry between gay businesses in Sheffield, whenever they do come along. In this latter respect, even though I'm no huge supporter of Dempseys, I think they've done pretty well to avoid most of the old inter-venue rivalry stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clipboard Posted May 30, 2008 Share Posted May 30, 2008 FREE RAH RAH RAH BADGE for first 200 next Friday 6th June @ stardust bar 10pm doors Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craigpugh Posted May 31, 2008 Share Posted May 31, 2008 WEe poped into affinity today for the first daytime visit, we stayed for several hours and had a great time, the guys on the bar were great, really friendly and stuff and could even make decent capuccino, so hats off to em. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carborundum Posted May 31, 2008 Share Posted May 31, 2008 WEe poped into affinity today for the first daytime visit, we stayed for several hours and had a great time, the guys on the bar were great, really friendly and stuff and could even make decent capuccino, so hats off to em. I guess hats off to Affinity for deciding to open actuallu in the day time and do things like food and coffeee - see it isnt all that scary to make more money to support the venue !! Sadly, Chox, they cant put a scanner on the door to detect if a non-gay person walks through so they will just have to put up with taking some non-gay money iI guess !!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AgentLesbos Posted June 1, 2008 Share Posted June 1, 2008 I think the main reason that gay venues in the city struggle is because Sheffield is generally a fairly friendly place. I come from Liverpool originally which has a fantatsic gay scene. The reason Liverpool has such a good scene is because there is so much intolerance. If you go out in many city centre venues and are visibly gay, ie you are very camp/butch looking or you are with your partner, there is a good chance you will be beaten up or at very least get a fair amount of hassle. Therefore lots of people go to gay venues for reasons of safety and there are a variety of busy bars and clubs. In Sheffield I can go almost anywhere in the centre with very few exceptions and generally feel welcomed and have a good night - therefore the gay scene suffers as there is much more competition. The nights which have success are those with good enough venues/djs/events to compete with the rest of the city centre venues. There are nights which manage this such as Speed Queen and Climax but it is more difficult. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tyranna Posted June 2, 2008 Share Posted June 2, 2008 Heather, that is probably quite true, and a very clever observation; I myself have always wondered why Sheffield's Gay Scene is somewhat looser and less coordinated than that, say in Leeds, which is no larger in population (so I have been told). However, in Sheffield, you have lots of independent establishments and managers, as well as one-nighters, while in Leeds, and Hull, for example, you have most of the gay venues owned by powerful players which certainly deliver the goods, but they can leave less room for independent or entrepreneurial efforts. However, as there are currently NO Gay venues/nights at all in Rotherham, does that suggest that Rotherham, too is as 'Gay Friendly' as Sheffield, or Chesterfield for that matter? I was once refused service at a chain pub in rotherham town centre because I was clearly 'dressed gay' and had eyeshadow and a wig on. From my experience, Rotherham has real difficulty in maintaining any Gay venues/nights, because Sheffield is so much larger town centre, and is only 4-5 miles away; many people from Rotherham are able to afford to share a taxi back from Sheffield (or to stay at Club Xes until 6 on a Saturday/Sunday morning when buses start running again lol!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craigpugh Posted June 2, 2008 Share Posted June 2, 2008 I actually think we are at the dawning of a new golden age for the scene, with a proper Pride, 2 gay clubs (dempseys and xes), 2 bars/ pubs (lions lair and affinity)- of which there are 3 places open day and night where you can also get decent food!, plus the 'Monthlies'- Rarara, Climax, Speed Queen and then there's the red room every weekend, plus any others i always forget some when i reel of these lists... What we need now is: A 'gay alternative' night for the non scene gays and indie/ arty types a 'gay trad' venue- a FAB type place which is more exclusively gay to please those who want it, chox for instance. I also think we should lobby for a gay zone on campo lane and queen street, so perfect it's crying out for it!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discodown Posted June 2, 2008 Share Posted June 2, 2008 I actually think we are at the dawning of a new golden age for the scene, with a proper Pride, 2 gay clubs (dempseys and xes), 2 bars/ pubs (lions lair and affinity)- of which there are 3 places open day and night where you can also get decent food!, plus the 'Monthlies'- Rarara, Climax, Speed Queen and then there's the red room every weekend, plus any others i always forget some when i reel of these lists... What we need now is: A 'gay alternative' night for the non scene gays and indie/ arty types a 'gay trad' venue- a FAB type place which is more exclusively gay to please those who want it, chox for instance. I also think we should lobby for a gay zone on campo lane and queen street, so perfect it's crying out for it!! Maybe you ought to try to make The Quarter a gay bar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craigpugh Posted June 2, 2008 Share Posted June 2, 2008 yes i will try. Ill let you know how i get on etc etc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nick2 Posted June 3, 2008 Share Posted June 3, 2008 A 'gay alternative' night for the non scene gays In other worlds a kind of "not gay" gay night ? I don't see the point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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