G-A-Y originally began in 1976 in the Sundown club in the basement of the London Astoria as a Monday night event called Bang!. It was started by club promoters Norman Scott, Damien Tony and Jerry Collins, who worked as a DJ under the name Gary London. During the 1980s, Bang! and Propaganda were run by gay club promoter and DJ Colin Peters, whose brother Jamie continued as promoter for a period following his death. In the early 1990s, Bang! was acquired by DJ and promoter Jeremy Joseph, formerly employed by Peters, who oversaw its change of name to G-A-Y. At this point, G-A-Y expanded further from two nights a week to four, hosting at the LA2 on Mondays and Thursdays and the London Astoria on Fridays and Saturdays. It operated from the London Astoria music venue for 15 years until July 2008. The Boston Globe described it as "London's largest gay-themed club night", NME reported that it "attracts 6,000 clubbers each week", and The Independent described it as "the one London gig that really matters" for "today's pop stars". G-A-Y is associated with G-A-Y Bar and G-A-Y Late. A major stake in the brand was bought on 13 August 2007 by the MAMA Group. On Friday 3 October 2008, G-A-Y moved to the famous gay venue Heaven, which MAMA Group had acquired a few weeks earlier on 22 September 2008.
The G-A-Y Album
In 2000, a 40 track compilation album was released, featuring songs from some of the artists who had appeared at G-A-Y. A promotional campaign took place in the weeks leading up to release, including television and radio advertisements, a nationwide poster campaign and magazine advertisements in both the gay and teen press. On Saturday 1 July 2000, a show was held at G-A-Y to promote the release of the album. Seven acts who appeared on the album performed. These acts were Shola Ama, All Saints, Bananarama, Dina Carroll, Billie Piper, Honeyz and Louise. Each act performed only one song, apart from Louise, who also performed her new single "2 Faced". The G-A-Y album was released on Monday 3 July 2000 and peaked at number 18 in the UK compilations chart.
G-A-Y brand
The G-A-Y brand has expanded to two other bars in the same area: G-A-Y Late and G-A-Y bar. In April 2011, the G-A-Y brand arrived in Manchester's Canal Street gay village, with a G-A-Y bar opening in the former venue of Spirit Bar. The brand is now 100% owned by Jeremy Joseph.
Controversies
The current owner of G-A-Y, Jeremy Joseph, has attracted criticism at various points. On one such occasion, staff refused disabled comedian Rosie Jones - who has cerebral palsy - entry into one of his nightclubs. This was followed by a swift apology on Twitter; however, many other commentators came forth to comment on the policies of the club in the same article, stating that Joseph had denied entry to those who he thought were 'too old' or 'not gay'. In 2011, Joseph tweeted that straight people were not welcome to a One Direction gig at his London venue, stating: "My birthday wish is for little girls to realise that G-A-Y is a lesbian and gay club so there's only one direction and that’s no direction for them". Joseph was also embroiled in a scandal in which he was accused of racism by some social media users after blaming crime in Soho on 'Somalians'. Joseph apologised for his outbursts, but many commented that as a proponent of LGBT inclusivity, his own views on race were questionable, if not outright offensive.
Performances
Saturday nights at G-A-Y/Heaven have seen many performances from a wide selection of artists and genres. Acts to have appeared in the G-A-Y/Heaven include:
