I’VE NEVER been a great frequenter of bars or nightclubs, gay or otherwise. I don’t know what it is about nightclubs but I can’t think of a visit to one I have truly enjoyed. Don’t get me wrong, I like to strut my funky stufi(oh yeah) with the best of them, but spending an evening with hundreds of other people without being able to talk to them because of the noise is not exactly my idea of fun.
I don’t have (and never had) the body to take my shirt o~ in public, and that now seems almost obligatory in some gay dance establishments, so spending a few hours ogling others while keeping firmly fully clothed is something I’d rather not do – there are websites for that kind of entertainment. And then you get charged an entrance fee before getting treated like a piece of meat by the security. You’re then fleeced by the pretty boy bar sta~ who charge you the price of a bottle of vodka for a shot. OK, I may exaggerate slightly but you get the point I’m making.
So, when I read that over the last ten years half of UK nightclubs – gay and straight – have shut their doors, I can’t say I’m that surprised. But it’s not just down to footfall declining; it’s the fact that business rates have crippled them. Exorbitant rents have in many cases doubled as greedy landlords try to extort every last penny out of businesses that are on their knees. More and more duties and costs are imposed on nightclubs and bars by local authorities who seek to absolve themselves of any kind of responsibility for anything in local areas.