Julie Bindel Julie Bindel

Nostalgia for seedy nightclubs reeking of sex and poppers

Jeremy Atherton Lin recalls the vitality of the gay bars in London and California even at the height of the Aids crisis

Backstage at the Royal Vauxhall Tavern. Credit: Getty Images 
issue 17 April 2021

Gay bar, how I miss you. Barely any lesbian joints have survived the online dating scene, and Grindr has replaced the cruising bars. Why get dressed up and brave the buses when all you have to do to get a date is access an app?

I was keen to indulge in some nostalgia when I picked up Jeremy Atherton Lin’s Gay Bar: Why We Went Out.

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