Memories by James
Birmingham had potential
James moved to Birmingham in 1989 at the age of twenty-two, primarily because of the scene which he had experienced previously. He had previously lived in Manchester and thought “Birmingham had more potential.”...
Refused entry to the Slug & Lettuce
A night out in Birmingham for James would normally involve ‘running the gauntlet’, as the Gale was opposite a selection of straight venues and he and his friends often had to dodge bottles thrown at them from the Slug and Lettuce opposite. “I know tw...
Living in Edgbaston
He first lived in a house share with two straight women in Edgbaston, and prostitutes used to work on their drive. This used to make things interesting on their return home from a night out. As he and his friends were not too well off, they used to g...
Volunteering for Switchboard
James first involvement in the gay scene was with the Lesbian and Gay Switchboard, which he worked on as a volunteer. “I used to volunteer Monday and Thursday nights, which were memorable.”...
West Midlands Stop the Clause
From his work with Gay Switchboard he became involved in West Midlands Stop the Clause campaign. “People might remember me distributing leaflets and being very insistent that they read them at the time, as it there was a real a real possibility and a...
Nearly arrested in Manchester, Feb 1988
“I’m particularly proud of nearly being arrested in Manchester, I was with the Birmingham Stop the Clause contingency and chanting ‘Two, four, six, eight, is that copper really straight?’ There were a few near arrest points on the march, including st...
Meeting at the Fountain
When The Fountain opened, Will attended political meetings there, around 1991. The meetings for Birmingham Stop the Clause were held in the backroom ‘the snug’. “It was interesting that not only gay men but lesbians were involved too.”...
Organising the first Pink Picnic
The Birmingham Stop the Clause group organised the first Pink Picnic, in Cannon Hill Park around 1991. “There was a circle of gay men and women, all with packed sandwiches and everyone got on.” ...
Only two bars to choose from
“When I first came out there were only two bars and the Nightingale, the bars were the Windmill and the Jester. I’d heard of the Jug too but never ventured down there.At that time, all the bars were downstairs, there were no windows, it was pretty gr...
A Bizarre Fountain
The Nightingale had a reputation, both by word of mouth and also from the gay press, of being the most popular venues for gay men. James details his first impressions of the Gale. “There was a fountain, like an Adonis in the reception which was bizar...
The Jester, characters and segregation
James recalls The Jester and many of the characters that went there, the owner David Plant and Carlos, who by all accounts led a theatrical and acrobatic life. Segregation James recalls friends telling him that they recalled a time when women would s...
Early 90s dress
“The dress code revolved around denim very much at that point, and the trendy people in their designed labels would stand against the back wall looking beautiful.”...
The Inge Street Taxi Rank
A typical night out for James would have involved a drink in The Jester, then onto The Windmill (now Partners) and finally onto The Gale. There was nowhere else to go afterwards so they would run the gauntlet getting a taxi to escort them safely out ...
The Fountain had windows
It was quite different when it opened in 1991 “I went to the opening, and frequented it regularly afterwards. It had windows with sunlight coming through, which none of the others had”....
Route was brash
The opening of Route 66 was significant as it was a big, brash gay bar and brought a lot of people in. It played dance music rather than that which had been played in the traditional Jester or Windmill....
Subway changed the scene
When Subway opened it completely changed the gay scene and it quickly became “the club of choice”. (c1995)...
Birmingham is unrecognisable
“The city has changed and is unrecognisable to what it was before.” There used to be more subways, transport was different and the city had a lot of big ambitions. Some of those, he believes have been achieved, others have not. There was not as much ...
Rabid Mail
Local media has never been supportive or helpful. “The Evening Mail was as rabid then as it is now.” The attitude of the local media did nothing to help the cause of the gay community. (c1992)...
Going cottaging
In his younger years, James used to go cottaging in several different venues around Birmingham, including those at Five Ways, Pallasades, Bristol Street, Hurst Street flyover. “In terms of the make up of people there were a lot of people you did not ...
Intimidating Slipper
“Way back before I moved to Birmingham, when I was 18, (around 1985)I went to the Silver Slipper behind New Street Station. I was completely petrified; it was so busy and so intimidating to a young gay man. ‘What are all these guys doing?’”....
BOSS outreach
James talks about safer sex promotion in cottages, "There would also often be workers from BOSS, which was the pre-cursor to Healthy Gay Life; a service that would offer condoms, advice and a kind of support network." (1990s)...
Racial makeup has changed
The scene has changed a lot since James first came to Birmingham. “The scene was all white men with a few women. There were a handful of black men but no Asian men at all.” It began to change around the mid 1990s....