The beloved Soho nightclub will shut its doors for the last time on Sunday 10th December
G-A-Y Late, which had a 4am licence, has been a stalwart of London’s LGBTQ+ scene for many years, so the news that the club is closing for good this winter has come as a shock to its punters. Owner Jeremy Joseph, who also operates G-A-Y Bar in Soho and Heaven in Charing Cross, announced the closure “with great sadness” on social media, citing a number of reasons why he had come to the decision as he was fighting “a losing battle”.
The Soho venue is located on Goslett Yard and was first impacted by the Crossrail building works and then by the development of St Giles and Denmark Street. This has resulted in the area of the Yard being used for parking by the public, often blocking the entrance, fire exit and queue area for G-A-Y Late. There have also been safety concerns, with Joseph saying that as the only venue open late in the area, customers and staff have been attacked on their way to and from the club and there’s not enough support from the police due to understaffing. As he states, “Crime continues to be one of the biggest issues for LGBT venues, but even harder when you are at a venue with no other venues around you.”
There is a silver lining though – not only will all the staff be moved across to G-A-Y Bar and Heaven, so no one will lose their job, but G-A-Y Bar will now stay open until 1am and Heaven will have increased capacity, plus wheelchair access, to cope with the increased demand.
Stay in the loop…
Sign up to our drops & get us in your inbox.
We’ll be in your inbox every Wednesday at 11:30am.
Put the kettle on!
