Entertainment in Liverpool
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Masquerade Bar
There's no discernible gay quarter in Liverpool, with most of the gay-friendly clubs and bars spread about Dale St and Victoria St in Ropewalks. The Masquerade Bar attracts a real mix of gays, lesbians and bi's looking for a few laughs and a sing-song.
reviewed
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B
Barfly
This converted theatre is home to our favourite club in town. The fortnightly Saturday Chibuku Shake Shake (www.chibuku.com) is one of the best club nights in all of England, led by a mix of superb DJs including Yousef (formerly of Cream) and superstars such as Dmitri from Paris and Gilles Peterson. The music ranges from hip-hop to deep house - if you're in town, get in line. Other nights feature a superb mixed bag of music, from trash to techno.
reviewed
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C
Baby Cream
This supertrendy bar, run by the same crowd that created Liverpool's now-defunct-but-still-legendary Cream nightclub, is gorgeous and pretentious in almost equal measure. One pretty cool feature, though, is Creamselector - a set of touch screens where you can make your own compilation CD from a databank of more than 4000 tracks (for a price) - it's like taking a piece of the famous nightclub home with you.
reviewed
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D
Philharmonic
This extraordinary bar, designed by the shipwrights who built the Lusitania, is one of the most beautiful bars in all of England. The interior is resplendent with etched and stained glass, wrought iron, mosaics and ceramic tiling - and if you think that's good, just wait until you see inside the marble men's toilets, the only heritage-listed lav in the country.
reviewed
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E
Magnet
Red leather booths, plenty of velvet and a suitably seedy New York-dive atmosphere where Iggy Pop or Tom Waits would feel right at home. The upstairs bar is very cool but totally chilled out, while downstairs the dancefloor shakes to the best music in town, spun by up-and-comers and supported with guest slots by some of England's most established DJ names.
reviewed
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F
Blue Bar
You don't need a premiership contract to guarantee entry anymore, which means that mere mortals can finally enjoy the relaxed ambience of this elegant waterside lounge. So where have all the footballers gone? Downstairs, to the far more glam Baby Blue, a private members' bar.
reviewed
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G
G-Bar
There's no discernible gay quarter in Liverpool, with most of the gay-friendly clubs and bars spread about Dale St and Victoria St in Ropewalks. G-Bar, in a small lane off Dale St behind Metrolink, is the city's premier gay bar, even though it attracts a mixed crowd.
reviewed
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Hannah's
One of the top student bars in town. Try to land a table in the outdoor patio, which is covered in the event of rain. Late opening, a friendly, easygoing crowd and some pretty decent music make this one of the better places to get drunk in.
reviewed
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Cavern Club
Reconstruction of 'world's most famous club'; good selection of local bands.
reviewed
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J
Baa Bar
One of the first and still the best of Liverpool's style bars, Baa is packed most nights and remains a favourite watering hole with anyone looking for a good night out; the patio is perfect during the longer summer evenings.
reviewed
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Babystorm
Many Liverpool clubs host gay nights, but Babystorm, a relatively new club and bar aimed primarily at the lesbian and bi community, has really taken off; it is a good rival to Superstar Boudoir as the best gay club in town.
reviewed
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Nation
It looks like an air-raid shelter, but it's the big-name DJs dropping the bombs at the city's premier dance club, formerly the home of Cream. These days, it also hosts live bands as well as pumping techno nights.
reviewed
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Philharmonic Hall
One of Liverpool's most beautiful buildings, the art deco Phil is home to the city's main classical orchestra, but it also stages the work of avant-garde musicians such as John Cage and Nick Cave.
reviewed
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N
Ye Cracke
Discreet and dilapidated, this atmospheric boozer is a favourite with pensioners and bohemians from the nearby college of art; in the early '60s these included John and Cynthia Lennon.
reviewed
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O
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Garlands
House in all sounds and guises rules the roost at this banging club, whose punters were extolled by Mixmag magazine as one of the best crowds in England.
reviewed
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Curzon
The Curzon is what one might euphemistically term a man's bar, with lots of hairy, tough-looking guys getting to know each other.
reviewed
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Unity Theatre
Fringe theatre for those keen on the unusual and challenging. There's also a great bar on the premises.
reviewed
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S
Philharmonic
This extraordinary bar, designed by the shipwrights who built the Lusitania, is one of the most beautiful bars in all of England. The interior is resplendent with etched and stained glass, wrought iron, mosaics and ceramic tiling – and if you think that's good, just wait until you see inside the marble men's toilets, the only heritage-listed lav in the country.
reviewed
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T
Masque
This converted theatre is home to our favourite club in town. The fortnightly Saturday Chibuku is one of the best club nights in all of England, led by a mix of superb DJs including Yousef (formerly of Cream nightclub) and superstars such as Dmitri from Paris and Gilles Peterson. The music ranges from hip hop to deep house – if you're in town, get in line. Other nights feature a superb mixed bag of music, from trash to techno.
reviewed
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U
Magnet
Red leather booths, plenty of velvet and a suitably seedy New York–dive atmosphere where Iggy Pop or Tom Waits would feel right at home. The upstairs bar is very cool but totally chilled out, while downstairs the dance floor shakes to the best music in town, spun by up-and-comers and supported with guest slots by some of England's most established DJs.
reviewed
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V
Liverpool FC
Doff o' the cap to Evertonians and Beatle-maniacs, but no single institution represents the Mersey spirit and strong sense of identity more powerfully than Liverpool FC , England's most successful football club. Virtually unbeatable for much of the 1970s and '80s, they haven't won the league championship since 1990, but they did bag the European Champions' League in 2005 for the fifth time under the tenure of Spanish manager Rafael Benitez, who left the club in 2010 after yet another disappointing season.
The fans' disaffection is aimed primarily at George Gillett and Tom Hicks, the US owners who bought the club in 2007 with the promise of a new stadium and plenty of funds…
reviewed
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Lime Kiln (Lloyd's Bar)
It's a chain bar, but it's immensely popular with revellers in Ropewalks, who come for the cheap drinks, charty music and the surprisingly pleasant covered outdoor area where you can smoke and observe the carnage on Concert Sq.
reviewed
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W
Le Bateau
This oddly named club – there's nothing boatlike about this building – is home to a superb indie club, where 500 punters cram the dance floor and shake it to sounds that have nothing to do with the charts – you'll hear everything from techno to hard rock. Friday night is the excellent Indiecation.
reviewed
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X
Korova
A new, supercool bar that takes its name from the Russian for 'cow' (fans of A Clockwork Orange take note), it is a great place to drink, hang out and hear some decent live music from a range of up-and-coming bands. Very trendy, but not at all stuck up.
reviewed
