Lost Spaces: Memories from Gay Bars, Lesbian Clubs, and LGBTQ+ Parties
lost queer spaces
How do queer spaces help to shape people's lives?
Why are they so important to the LGBTQ+ community?
What is the impact of losing these spaces?
Lost Spaces explores these questions (and more!) through conversations with members of the LGBT community.
Each week host K Anderson sits down with a different guest to discuss a space from their past, why it was important to them, and how it helped shape who they are.
Expect conversations about coming out, going out, and getting down.
And snogging strangers on sweaty dancefloors. We can't talk about gay history without that coming up.
Why are they so important to the LGBTQ+ community?
What is the impact of losing these spaces?
Lost Spaces explores these questions (and more!) through conversations with members of the LGBT community.
Each week host K Anderson sits down with a different guest to discuss a space from their past, why it was important to them, and how it helped shape who they are.
Expect conversations about coming out, going out, and getting down.
And snogging strangers on sweaty dancefloors. We can't talk about gay history without that coming up.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Apr 15, 2020 • 60min
Embers Avenue, Portland, USA (with Diana Fire)
Diana Fire is Portland's Daddy Bear Drag Queen, and is best known as a contestant in Season 2 of Camp Wannakiki. She first cut her teeth in drag bar Embers Avenue, which she performed at for the last few years of its existence up until late 2017.
We caught up to discuss bachelorette parties, stinky basements (and no, that's not a euphemism!), and the confusing, confusing world of drag families!
Find out more about Diana Fire at https://www.godianafire.com/
Apr 8, 2020 • 1h 7min
135 Pearl, Burlington, Vermont, USA (with Gregory Douglass)
Gregory Douglass is a singer-songwriter, born and raised in rural Vermont. Though now based in Los Angeles, he still has a soft spot in his heart for 135 Pearl, the only gay bar in the state of Vermont which closed in 2006.
We talked breast reduction parties, making out in the men's bathroom, and sealing the deal with the love of your life.
Find out more about Gregory Douglass at www.gregorydouglass.com
Apr 1, 2020 • 48min
Vibe @ Club Ego, Edinburgh, Scotland (with Venn Smyth)
Aww, student life! Staying out late, sleeping in, eating cereal for dinner, and.... handing out condoms to strangers in bars...
Or, at least, that was Venn Smyth's student life, after he started working for LGBT Youth Scotland on their sexual health project.
We caught up to discuss the difference between Scotland and England, how a femidom works, and what it was like being one of the only boys on the netball team!
Find out more about Venn at https://www.instagram.com/vennsmyth/
Mar 25, 2020 • 38min
Triangles, Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada (with Drake Jensen)
Drake Jensen is a Canadian country singer, who was born and grew up on the tiny Cape Breton Island, which is on the Eastern coast of Canada. After coming out, he moved to the nearby city of Moncton, where he discovered Triangles, the only gay bar in town.
We caught up to discuss the straight gentrification of queer bars, why leather is the butch version of drag, and growing up gay in a small town.
Find out more about Drake at www.drakejensen.ca
Mar 18, 2020 • 50min
Big Cup, Chelsea, New York (with Norman Brannon)
This week's episode is our first trip to the US!
Norman Brannon, musician and writer, was busy figuring himself out when he first stumbled upon Big Cup, a gay coffee shop that stood in Chelsea, Manhattan between 1994 - 2005...
I ask a bunch of awkward questions about life as a hare krishna rock star (who knew that was a thing?), and the rules of living life as a Straight Edge-r. We also talk about the thrill of being in your first queer venue, the changing face of New York and the importance of non-alcoholised spaces.
Mar 11, 2020 • 40min
The London Lesbian & Gay Teenage Group (with Kevin O'Neill)
The London Lesbian & Gay Teenage Group, which started in 1975, was pretty damn revolutionary as one of the world's very first youth groups exclusively for queer kids.
Kevin O'Neill was a fresh faced 19 year old when he started going to the group, which at this stage was based in Manor Gardens in Islington, London. We caught up to talk about his coming out experience, his memories of the group, and some of the shenanigans he got up to with other members....
Mar 4, 2020 • 52min
Crash, Vauxhall, London (with John Lee Bird)
John Lee Bird is an artist/designer/musician and all around glorious human being. He is also one of the last people that I had imagined would have fond memories of Crash, a dance party held in South London from the 90s-00s (being a self-described 'pale awkward goth' type)!
I really enjoyed this interview, where John told me all about his time working as a barman during student life, avoiding the club's dark room, and whacking sweaty men with bags of ice!
Find out more about John at www.johnleebird.com
Feb 26, 2020 • 45min
The Fallen Angel, Islington, London (with Colin Clews)
Though he only lived in London for a short while, author Colin Clews has fond memories of The Fallen Angel, a bar in Islington. Whilst desperately waiting for a visa to go to Australia, Colin volunteered at the newly formed Terrence Higgins Trust, and supported fundraising efforts of Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners, and has a slew of stories from this time to share!
Find out more about Colin at https://www.gayinthe80s.com/
Feb 19, 2020 • 58min
Her Upstairs, Camden, London (with Dr J)
Her Upstairs was a kitschy drag and cabaret bar in Camden, London, which opened shortly after another nearby bar, the iconic Black Cap, closed in 2015, and filled a much needed gap for local queers. Though the bar was only open for two years, there was an uproar in the community when it abruptly closed in 2018.
I caught up with the self-proclaimed #queernuisance Dr J to talk about what the venue meant for them during a very tumultuous period of their life.
Expect lots of chat about drag, language, and how popping candy can be used to spice up your sex life!
Feb 12, 2020 • 55min
Princess Julia’s history of Queer London Clubbing - Part 2 (1980s - now-ish)
More rambling (her words, not mine!) goodness from the one and only Princess Julia.
In this episode, which covers the mid-80s until now, we talk about her first steps in to the world of DJ-ing, the gothic movement, and Princess Julia ponders whether she was the world's first bio-queen! Taking in clubs such as The Embassy, Crash, Ghetto, and Kinky Gerlinky, there's sure to be a club you remember!
