Booking Digbeth Civic Hall for GLF, 1973
1973
Graham recalls booking the Civic Hall in Digbeth for the first GLF dance in 1973.
"I went to book the venue for the first dance; it was run by the City Council. There was a building called Bush House on Broad Street (now demolished), that was where Estates (Department) was and you had to go and book it. We had called up to find out what you had to do, you had to pay a deposit. I went to book it on my lunch hour and we were expecting a backlash and had decided to make a big media thing of it. I went into the office, I had two numbers of people standing by to organise a picket and phone up the Birmingham Post, I felt so nervous when I went into the office.
"I remember there was an old man behind the counter, I was only 21 and he seemed so old. I told him I wanted to book the Civic Hall and told him that it was for an advertised dance etc. He took me through the responsibilities and then said 'And what's the dance?' I said 'the Gay Liberation Front dance', he wrote it on the receipt and said 'OK'. He gave me the receipt and I thought, 'he has not said anything!'"
Contributed by: Graham Allen, 58