Other entertainment in England
-
A
Wimbledon
The All England Lawn Tennis Championships have been taking place here in late June/early July since 1877. Most tickets for the Centre and Number One courts are distributed by ballot, applications for which must be made the preceding year. Try your luck by sending a stamped self-addressed envelope to the All England Lawn Tennis Club (PO Box 98, Church Rd, Wimbledon SW19 5AE). Limited tickets go on sale on the day of play, though queues are painfully long. The nearer to the finals, the higher the prices. Prices for outside courts are under £15, reduced after 5pm. You might be better off going to the men’s warm-up tournament at Queen’s Club, which takes place a couple of wee…
reviewed
-
B
George & Dragon
Once a scuzzy local pub, the George (as ye shall dub it if you value your Shoreditch High St cred) was taken over and decorated with the owner’s grandma’s antiques (antlers, racoon tails, old clocks), cardboard cut-outs of Cher and fairy lights, turning this one-room pub into what has remained the epicentre of the Hoxton scene for more than a decade. It’s one of the most exciting places to go out, with a great jukebox, though it tends to get packed out at the weekends. Some of the best DJ nights in London are on offer here, with cabaret performances taking place on window sills. It’s total fun and mindless hedonism. Definitely not a place for a quiet pint.
reviewed
-
C
Royal Vauxhall Tavern
Rough around the edges to say the least, this is the perfect antidote to the gleaming new wave of gay venues now crowding Vauxhall’s gay village. Saturday’s Duckie, a wonderful indie performance night hosted by Amy Lamé, is rightly considered to be one of the best club nights in London. Also check out S.L.A.G.S. on Sundays, and keep an eye out on the website for other upcoming events – from cabaret nights to previews for the Edinburgh Fringe.
reviewed
-
D
Friendly Society
Definitely one of Soho’s friendliest and more relaxed gay bars, and thankfully one of the few fashionable queer drinking establishments that hasn’t initiated a dubious door policy or membership scheme to ensure that only the rich and beautiful arrive. A fun and up-for-it crowd assemble in the early evening, drink beer under S&M Barbie and Ken, and chill out to live DJs all evening.
reviewed
-
E
Two Brewers
Clapham may have a rather suburban feel in general, and the High Street in particular, but the Two Brewers endures as one of the best London gay bars outside the gay villages. Here there’s a friendly, laid-back, local crowd who come for a quiet drink during the week and some madcap cabaret and dancing in the club at weekends.
reviewed
-
F
Candy Bar
This brilliant bar has been the centre of London’s small but fun lesbian scene for years and is showing no signs of waning. Busy most nights of the week, this is very much a girls space (one male guest per two women are allowed though) and this should definitely be your first port of call on the London lesbian scene.
reviewed
-
G
Factory Club
The city’s former custard factory is now home to one of the hippest clubs in town. The feel is fi rmly contemporary industrial and it all resounds to a truly eclectic range of sounds, from Asian dub to breakbeat and electro pop.
reviewed
-
King’s Arms
This sprawling place with its nooks and crannies and photographs on the walls of famous guests (including the Queen Mum pulling herself a pint) is the place to get lost in on a chilly winter’s afternoon.
reviewed
-
H
Ye Old King & Queen
Cobbled together from an 18th-century farmhouse, a nobleman’s hall and the former Brighton Corn Exchange, this cavernous boozer is a convenient place to sup a pint after visiting the Royal Pavilion.
reviewed
-
I
Popstarz
This grand dame of gay indie has been revitalised by a recent transfer to the heart of the West End. It’s popular with a studenty, friendly, mixed crowd. There are three rooms of great indie pop.
reviewed
Advertisement
-
J
Freud
A boho hangout in a crumb-ling desanctified church, with distressed pews, stained-glass windows and modern art on the walls, this cerebrally named venue is especially popular with students.
reviewed
-
K
National Indoor Arena
Plays host to a improbable variety of sports and acts – ranging from indoor rowing, athletics and ice skating to artists like Oasis, Prince and Coldplay, as well as Peter Kay.
reviewed
-
L
Nightingale Club
At more than 40 years old, the Nightingale is the city’s most established gay and lesbian club. It rocks on three levels, with pop on the ground floor and techno upstairs.
reviewed
-
M
Showroom Cinema
The Showroom Cinema is the largest independent cinema in England, screening a great mix of art-house, off-beat and not-quite-mainstream films.
reviewed
-
N
Regency Tavern
This unprepossessing place from the outside hides what looks like a room from the Royal Pavilion: striped wallpaper, cameo portraits and brass palm trees.
reviewed
-
O
Powerhouse Nightclub
Powerhouse Nightclub , Newcastle's brashest queer nightclub, with flashing lights, video screens and lots of suggestive posing.
reviewed
-
P
National Exhibition Centre Arena
The giant National Exhibition Centre Arena , near Birmingham International Airport, hosts major rock and pop acts.
reviewed
-
Q
Zeffirelli's Cinema
A two-screen cinema next to Zeffirelli's Restaurant, with extra screens in a converted church down the road.
reviewed
-
R
AXM
You won’t go far wrong in AXM, which is more of a cocktail lounge for the city’s flash crowd.
reviewed
-
Rupert St
A spic-and-span gay bar offering a more relaxed experience than the boisterous party pubs.
reviewed
Advertisement
-
S
Camp David
An excellent mixed bar that is as trendy with straights as it is with the gay community.
reviewed
-
T
Club DV8
Club DV8 boasts one of the busiest midweek gay student nights in the country.
reviewed
-
U
-
V
-
W
