Death knell tolls for London’s most famous party district and here’s why

Matthew Hodson couldn’t believe what was in front of him. It was 1991, and the 34-year-old was at Soho’s newest LGBTQ+ bar.

Standing outside The Village, he did something that no other gay man had done before him: look through the windows.

‘Prior to that, gay bars didn’t have windows, they were boarded up so that people wouldn’t be able to see us,’ Matthew, now a 57-year-old actor who works in HIV prevention, told Metro.

‘We thought this was the most novel and exciting thing we could ever imagine, a gay bar where people could look out and look in.’

But the central London neighbourhood is running out of windows. They’re being boarded up, demolished and replaced as the capital’s gay village becomes, as locals, punters, performers, business owners and historians told Metro, a lot less, well, gay.

After all, American sweet shops won’t exactly be leading the Pride in London parade anytime soon.

Jeremy Joseph, owner of G-A-Y bars and clubs, knows this well.

Last week he announced plans to sell G-A-Y Bar; the area’s strict licensing, Nimby residents and Soho ‘losing its queer identity’ among the reasons why. The bar’s sister club, G-A-Y Late, shuttered in 2023.

‘When I opened the Old Compton venue, it was the gayest street in London, but now it has lost its identity,’ the 58-year-old told Metro, adding that he no longer feels safe enough to hold another man’s hand in the area.

‘During last year’s Pride month, I looked at other businesses and a third couldn’t even be bothered to put a Pride flag out.’

Jeremy, who lives in Soho, said he looks back to nearly 10 years ago, ‘when there was a real sense of community’, particularly after the Orlando Shooting in 2016, which killed 49 people at gay nightclub Pulse.

‘We hosted a two-minute silence, and you could feel the love and warmth from the hundreds of people who gathered on Old Compton Street.’

Other clubs have revealed how much they are struggling to remain open in the face of angry residents’ groups and restrictive council decisions.

Gary Henshaw, who owns Ku Bar and She, central London’s only lesbian bar, said he has been tempted to leave Old Compton Street due to how difficult it is to stay afloat.

He said he begged and pleaded with The Soho Society, a community association, to not object to an extension of opening hours which, he claims, ‘they did everything they could to stop it’.

‘We were allowed to extend our hours for two years after Covid lockdowns, and it helped us so much,’ Gary said.

‘I don’t understand why people don’t want it. Do they realise if we have to close we’ll just be replaced by Burger King’s and American candy stores?’

Gary’s application to extend Ku and She bar’s opening hours was rejected ‘citing concerns regarding public nuisance and crime and disorder’.

In the objection, the Metropolitan Police said the bar is located ‘in an extremely high crime area with crime levels likely to be some of the highest in the country’ that increases between 11pm and 3am.

Tim Lord, chair of The Soho Society, told Metro: ‘Ku bar and She bar have always had a 12am licence and were only granted a 1am licence on a temporary basis during Covid. In fact, as far as we are aware, only Ku bar and She bar were granted these temporary extensions by the council – no other bars were.

‘When visitors returned after the pandemic so did the crime, and, the temporary extension was to be withdrawn. We agreed with the Met Police that the extension shouldn’t be continued.’

’We agree that LGBTQ+ venues should be supported and thrive in Soho. We have actively engaged with the council and police to make Soho safer for all visitors – by for example campaigning successfully for increased CCTV coverage and safe dispersal.’

Gary added: ‘I still believe Old Compton Street is at the heart of London’s LGBTQ+ scene, but we are facing challenges businesses in Camden and Hackney don’t.’

Yet it’s not just Soho. More than half of London’s LGBTQ+ venues closed between 2006 and 2022.

Soho once ‘cast a spell’ on a 17-year-old Carl Mullaney. Now 42, the West End actor and cabaret host feels the area has gone from having a queer joint on every corner to fewer and fewer by the day.

As these iconic LGBTQ+ spots shut, Carl’s feeling of safety and acceptance is going with them. After all, in the year ending March 2024, there were 22,839 reported homophobic hate crimes and 4,780 transphobic crimes across England and Wales.

‘Years ago, I saw a group of bears scare away a group of teenage boys trying to intimidate us all, but it’s not like that anymore,’ said Carl.

‘When I leave work, I make sure I don’t look visibly gay.’

Much of Soho’s queer history is within the brick and mortar that makes up the area, says Alim Kheraj, the author of Queer London: A Guide to the City’s LGBTQ+ Past and Present.

At the beginning of the 19th century, theatres began opening in Soho. This sparked a thriving art scene that gave way to secret havens for queer people at a time when being gay was illegal.

‘You had spaces like the Caravan Club in the 1930s and was described as “London’s greatest bohemian rendezvous”, a coded way of saying it was frequented by what we would now consider LGBTQ+ people,’ Alim said.

More queer spaces opened their doors in the 1980s, Alim said, as the council ‘cleaned up’ Soho by offering cheap rents.

‘Of course, in 1999, there was the Admiral Duncan bombing,’ added Alim, referring to a nail bombing that killed three at the LGBTQ+ pub. ‘This cemented the area as a spot of queer tragedy but also resilience.’

But Alim said Soho has been shedding its queer identity since the mid-2000s as council officials and developers began rebranding the district as leisure first, LGBTQ+ second.

Queer venues Astoria, First Out and Ghetto were flattened to make way for the Elizabeth Line when construction started in 2009, Alim said.

‘In the years since Westminster Council invited many of these businesses to flood Soho, the council has become hostile to nightlife, especially when they see how profitable redevelopment and tourism can be,’ the journalist added.

Many queer venues in Soho are not owned by queer people themselves. They’re operated by firms such as the Stonegate Pub Company, which owns eateries like Slug & Lettuce.

‘I think the area has simply fallen victim to what has occurred throughout the rest of London: gentrification and the prioritisation of profits over people,’ Alim added.

‘Now, instead of gay bars like Man Bar, Shadow Lounge and the Green Carnation, you have The Soho House Group operating venues across half of Old Compton Street.’

For Alim, however, Soho’s queerness isn’t just in the concrete – it’s the people, too.

‘It’s in loaded gaze as you catch a man’s eye swishing down Old Compton Street, or the night out where you end up hopping from venue to venue, or chatting to a drag queen outside Comptons on a summer evening,’ he said.

‘Those moments are diminishing, of course, but almost every LGBTQ+ person living in London will have one like it.

‘I hope that they can continue, at least, for a little while longer.’

Westminster Council has been contacted for comment.

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