Lost Spaces: Memories from Gay Bars, Lesbian Clubs, and LGBTQ+ Parties

Today we are talking about Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, Florida, which on June 12, 2016, became the site of the deadliest terrorist attack in the U.S. since the September 11 attacks of 2001.  And, the repercussions were felt worldwide- I remember how shocking and terrifying it was to hear about this happening in a country like America.. But, before it was the sight of this tragedy Pulse was a place where people came to meet likeminded queer folks, dance, be messy and forget their regular lives. I caught up with leukaemia warrior and makeup artist Jared Lipscomb, who grew up in Orlando to talk about body image, first times and why that space will always have a special place in his heart. In lots of ways this is a very serious episode because we’re talking about a horrific incident, but in other ways it’s very joyous as we talk about what made the place special. Do you have any memories of Pulse that you want to share? Well, if you do please get in touch - you can contact me on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter as @lostspacespod, or you can go to my website www.lostspacespodcast.com and leave a comment there. Follow Jared on Instagram at @jaredlips, and give a wee listen to his podcast Back on Air (wherever you listen to podcasts)

Today's guest has a pretty damn impressive CV. She is the recently elected Chair of the San Francisco Democratic Party, as well as the co-founder of San Francisco's Transgender District (which happens to be the first transgender district in the world, so no small feat!). Oh, yeah, and you might know her as a contestant on Season 5 of Ru Paul's Drag Race, where she showed off, amongst other things, her love of kaftans.  In 2016 Honey Mahogany became a co-owner of The Stud after it became the very first co-operatively owned nightclub in the United States. The bar, which was San Fransisco's oldest queer bar, having first opened in 1966, was another victim of Covid-19, and the collective chose to close in 2020. We caught up to discuss Honey's early days in drag, what makes San Francisco drag so unique, and why the bar will always have a special place in Honey's heart. Do you have memories of The Stud? Anything about today's episode that you want to talk about, maybe the stigma of being a drag queen? Well, I'd love to hear from you. Get in touch and let's have a chat about the show and where we should go next on Lost Spaces. We're on facebook, instagram and twitter with the userhandle is  @lostspacespod (or check out the website www.lostspacespodcast.com)  Follow Honey Mahogany on IG for more - @honeymahogany And, the Stud has its own podcast, Stud Stories, which you should definitely check out - https://www.studsf.com/podcast

This week we are heading to San Francisco to meet Creative Strategist Nat Gunn. And, when I say strategist I do mean strategist! Moving to San Francisco in 2014 Nat came equipped with a game plan that she took that seriously, throwing herself in to the dating world. It was this very plan that led her to meet her partner Bridget, and their first date together brought them to Virgil's Sea Room, a queer bar on Mission Street that recently closed as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. We caught up to talk about astrology, online dating profiles and the importance of queer spaces. Do you have memories of clubbing in San Fransisco? Anything about today's episode that you want to talk about? Well, I'd love to hear from you. Get in touch and let's have a chat about the show and where we should go next on Lost Spaces. I'm on facebook, instagram and twitter with the userhandle is  @lostspacespod

This week we are heading to the northern Scottish city of Aberdeen for some old school drag glamour. We are talking to none other than the mama of Aberdeen's drag scene, Romy Deepcheeks, a queen who has been pioneering the artform in the city since the early 00s. We caught up to talk about the scene, and discuss venues including Club 2000, Castro's and Foundation, but, in typical Lost Spaces style, we also talk about a whole host of tangentially related things, including Romy's coming out relatively late in life at 28, being ex-communicated by the Mormon church, hooking up with guys whilst in drag, and I get to ask a bunch of ignorant sounding questions about the fine art of tucking! Do you have any memories of clubbing in Aberdeen? Have you ever tried tucking? Got anything to say about this episode? Well, I'd love to hear from you. Get in touch and let's have a chat about the show and where we should go next on Lost Spaces. I'm on facebook, instagram and twitter with the userhandle @lostspacespod And, whilst you're at it say hello to Romy on IG - @missromy14

This week we are catching up with Craig Seymour, an American writer, music critic and former stripper. And, we are heading back to the 1990s to find out about his time stripping at various clubs throughout Washington, DC. At that point in time there was a strange quirk in the zoning laws that meant that strippers could be fully naked and fondled by customers. Whilst a graduate at the University of Maryland, Craig started to write an ethnographic study of the clubs, and what better way to learn about your subject than immersing yourself? We talk all about a number of clubs which include La cage aux folles, Secrets,  and Wet, and all of the experiences that lead to Craig writing his memoir, 'All I Could Bare: My Life in the Strip Clubs of Gay Washington, D.C.' Let me know what you thought of this episode - @lostspacespod on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.  You can also find Craig on Instagram and Twitter with the user handle @craigspoplife And go and discover his books -  Luther: Life & Longing of Luther Vandross; https://tinyurl.com/yz6uvtnj All I Could Bare: My Life in Strip Clubs of Gay DC. - https://tinyurl.com/3adkpt77

This week we are heading back to the Big Apple with Conor Kelly O'Brien, an actor, theatre maker and creative arts organiser, originally from Scranton, Pennsylvania -- after a day of soul-zapping auditions Conor found himself at 9th Avenue Saloon, a gay dive bar in Hell's Kitchen. It was here, whilst commiserating over an alcoholic beverage or two, that Conor met a man, got pleasantly distracted, got frisky, and then... well, you'll have to listen to the episode to find out... but, yeah, definitely one of the more interesting one-night-stands I've heard about. Find out more about Conor -  www.conorkellyobrien.com https://twitter.com/ConorKOBrien http://instagram.com/conorkellyobrien https://www.facebook.com/ConorKellyOBrienActor/

This week we are heading back in time to the early 00s - this is the time when the Spice Girls were unravelling, we had e-mail but not social media (not even MySpace!), and electroclash was at its peak. And it was at this time that my guest Jordan King - a Canadian multi-disciplinary artist, archivist, and historian, with her personal work currently focused on the overlap of drag culture and trans female identity - and a small group of friends started to host a weekly party in the then recently renovated basement of the Lotus Hotel in Vancouver. We talk all about the subtle difference between being a 'ringleader' and being a 'wrangler', Jordan's casting in the Hollywood film Connie and Carla,  and the magic and chaos of throwing yourself head first in to something you're passionate about... Follow Jordan on Instagram - JordanKingArchive Listen to Jordan's podcast Radio Never Apart - https://soundcloud.com/neverapartmtl/sets/radio-never-apart-podcast

This week we are heading back to Bristol to meet Sharifa Whitney James, a Queer, Black activist, footballer, model and facilitator. Originally from Wiltshire, Sharifa moved to Bristol to take a spot at a football academy when she was just a teenager about 15 years ago. And Bristol was the city where she first went out on a queer scene, visiting clubs like Flamingos, Vibes and Bent. But, those spaces didn't always feel quite right and weren't always welcoming... and that's where Kiki Bristol came in, a night co-founded by Sharifa and created for QTIPOC (Queer, Transgender and Intersex People of Colour) and their friends. We caught up to discuss homophobia in football, having sex in a tent, and drunken straight male stag parties... If you want to find out more about Sharifa make sure you follow her on IG - @gold_fro And, she's also going to be starting her own podcast soon - The Queer Blackity Black Joy Podcast - you can also find that on IG - @thequeerblackityblackjoypod

This week it's my very first three-way interview, which I was absolutely shitting myself about beforehand, but which turned out good (well, you'll see!).  Nana and Rose are the hosts of the Two Twos podcast, which they describe as 'two black lesbians living in London speaking their unapologetic truth whilst creating a safe space for people like themselves and bridging the gap between LGBT+ people and cis-gendered straight people'. We caught up to talk about Hidden, and more specifically a night there called Work, which was held every Wednesday night in a railway arch in Vauxhall, London, which Rose and Nana visited before they'd even met each other in the early 2010s. Find out more about Two Twos by following them on Instagram @twotwospodcast, and on Twitter @TwoTwos_Podcast

Inspired by the American direct action group of the same name, Queer Nation was a club night that started in London in 1990 and quickly built a reputation as an attitude free, affordable and welcoming night that played the best in soulful house. And my guest this week is the activist, health promoter, and mentor Marc Thompson, who tells me why the night is so dear to his heart.  As well as being an absolute sweetheart Marc has an incredibly impressive CV and I'm just going to break down a few of his accomplishments. He is: Co-director of The Love Tank (http://thelovetank.info/), a community interest company that promotes health and wellbeing of under-served communities through education, capacity building and research, Co-founder of Prepster.info (https://prepster.info/), a community based intervention that aims to educate and agitate for PreP access in England and beyond. Co-founder of Blackout UK (https://blkoutuk.com/about/) a movement dedicated to working with and building safe spaces for Black gay men. Key to all of this work is a focus on Black and queer communities, sexual health and HIV, and he is particularly interested in the intersection of race, sexuality and HIV. Ah, and a quick note - the club got around, having been hosted in venues including Fire, Crash, and Barcode, but the era that we focus on in our conversation is in its early days at Gardening Club, where it first started, and Substation South. Follow Marc on Twitter - https://twitter.com/marct_01