a cliché... but where have all the good bars gone

[longtime]

I know I must have been away from the “TOON” for a good while now, but what on earth has happened to the Newcastle gay scene that I remember and cherish? Even this bloody website is boring and un-interesting, nay out of touch. (www.pureleisure.co.uk, website so much better!)

Everywhere appears to be so run-down, neglected and so incredibly dirty...

Newcastle was such a happening place, plenty of new bars, heaps of energy, oodles of innovation and with masses of happy people. Yet this weekend has proven to be such a depressing and disappointing experience to me. Spending all night on foot from bar to bar to bar to bar, merely following the “herd” looking for a quality “gay establishment”, not too much to ask for? On the gay scene?

All I found was loud identical music, corresponding tensions, matching miserable bar staff, highly inflated prices and just the same, same, same. C'mon Newcastle, you used to be so full of life and spirit, why has it all changed? What is going on? The only creatures tonight with any life in them at all were the swarms of loud, obnoxious and straight women on “hen nights”. (Oh and in the eagle too!!! - is there no sanctuary, or management control?)

The toilets... well I guess I don’t need to go there? (Now Aggy & Kim would have a field day, I am sure?) Has Newcastle just become an another additional, faceless, commercial money making machine, in another city, which simply exploits gay men, and women for being, dare I say it? Gay!

“Please” Someone, do tell me that I am incredibly wrong!! All those carefree days when these bars had a certain appeal, an atmosphere and ‘a’ character, with the attractive bar staff that could crack a smile, even those odd and delightful individuals (who could engage one in a friendly conversation or two), have not been lost forever? (Where has that hunky bar-owner vanished to? I believe he was called JOHN, he owned THE EAGLE-HEAVENS ABOVE-MINS BAR, I last saw him in THE END shaking his “thing” with that cheeky smile - and by "thing" I mean those delicious Cocktails!

Oooh too many new faces, in all too many of the old places....

Just tell me that I am so wrong; explain to me what is going on, just tell me that I just picked the wrong weekend to come to Newcastle, before I fritter away another perfectly good and rather “expensive weekend” up here in the north. Anyone? Please?

Daz, London (email me if you can show me a better time). Lol!

[badpup]

longtime - (I won't go on as I will be accused of being a bitter bitchy queen, as i have my own personal issues with the 'scene')

The simple answer is, unfortunately, you're not wrong!

Regarding this "bloody website" - again I have personal issues there - I will only direct you to the thread "What is with the NGS website?". There you will find the answer as to why this potentially powerful advertising media is not being expolited to it's full potential.

As for John, although I can't speak for him personally, it would seem that, as for many of us who have been there, years of having ideas (many of them PROVEN WINNERS) that go unsupported have taken their toll.

Unfortunately as long as people (whether they be gay men/women out for a social drink, screaming mincers chewing their faces off, or scary hen parties "trying to convert a gay man") are still drinking in the 'gay' bars, paying the high bar/admission prices, then as far as the owners are concerned, there is a steady flow of cash coming in. The source of that cash is irrelavent to them. The current system brings in the money, and changing anything is a risk they're not willing to take. Unfortunately we are the ones who suffer. We don't like it but the majority are still out every week and so the circle starts again!

[dazza190574]

The problem with updating a website dedicated to the gay scene in Newcastle is that nothing bloody happens in Newcastle so what can be updated?

And with regards to the pubs, I am with you all the way on that. The drinks are over priced for starters. I was out on Friday night in a straight pub and only got charged £2.15 for a pint, go to a gay pub and it's nearly £3. And what is strange is that when I was younger and earning a sh*t load less than I do now I could afford to go out four times a week, now it's twice a month at the most.

I don't know if it is just me getting older but the pubs hold nothing for me now. I used to love going out, but now it's a constant battle to get to the bar before the straight people do. Or even the bad mannered queens who push in. Perhaps life would have been better if we went back 10 years when it wasn't as OK to be gay and even worse for a straight person (man) to be seen in a gay pub.

The community spirit vanished from Newcastle a long time ago (around about the time when the Powerhouse on Waterloo Street was taken over and the prices rose dramatically) when it felt the pubs were being run for us and not for a huge profit.

And I get irritated by the house music they play nowadays. If I wanted to go to a charver pub I would go down the Bigg Market or Gateshead. And don't even get me started on the second floor in the Powerhouse. If I wanted to be with smack heads then I would go to ****** (insert place name here!!)

I agree with the toilets situation, you usually have to wear waders when you go for a wee. But then is that people weeing all over or just general bad maintenance? But what doesn't help is when you go to a cubicle and you find some dick head has shoved a bottle or pint glass down the toilet.

[fbh]

hi guys
i have to admit that i do own the domain, however fat boy leisure have paid for the hosting and therefore they are responsible for the updating of the website, but like you point out if there is nothing organised then there is nothing to update.

as for the rest am really not in a position to comment due to an ongoing matter.

john harrison
(thank you, 'longtime' for those words, its nice to know that my efforts over the past 18yrs have not gone totally unappreciated)

[tightass]

Well hello badpup and fbh. Nice to hear from you both and glad you haven't gone to seed!

Longtime, so good of you to make the effort to register and post your comment. Sadly I don't think you just hit a bad weekend, whilst I was not out myself, what you have described has become the norm.

Perhaps we in the north east did not realise what a good scene we had and did not give praise where it was due. I for one was guilty of that. Little 'moans' by a few may also have been seen by management as criticisms.

What do we do now? Stay away and let it be taken over by straights or stay, spending hard earned cash but not really enjoying ourselves.

Straights started coming on the scene as they did not like the bigg market/quayside atmosphere. Now the gay scene seems to have become an extension to these areas maybe they will go back to the bigg market/quayside. What will happen to the bars then when the straight clientele disappear and the gays that have been alienated stay away?

I know that I have made a few negative comments on this FBL site, but I still only go to FBL venues and, as in the past with quizzes in the eagle; suited n booted (sorry trackies n trainers not my style), I will support any new initiative as I continue to support the men only nights, and long may they continue!

Come on FBL, get your act together. You created the flagship Longtime is on about. With a little effort you can make it welcoming again.

Al

[wildeman]

WHAT A BLOODY CHEEK!!!!

Who does this LONGTIME think he is- coming up here with his "London Ways" Telling us how to run our scene!

Well, you know what?- we don't mind paying over the odds for our drinks! And if sometimes the beer is flat and a bit warm - so what?

What he sees as "Run Down" is in fact "historic " Rather than having a make-over every ten minutes, some of our bars could get "listed" by English Heritage! I mean, what's the point of all those bar make-overs? -Closed for weeks then they re-open and everything's different- you can't find anything, the bar's in a new place, the toilets are different, the colour's different, its just not the same. Some of OUR bars are timeless... There are stains in some places that can take you right back to a great night - YEARS back - THAT's what gives a place character - not like the poncey arty-farty make-overs by some camp designer who's probably sleeping with the manager you get in London bars. No - we're UNIQUE in Newcastle and we're reet proud - and anyway the straight bars are all ponced up like that, why should we copy them?

What do you want smiling barstaff for? How will them smiling at you get the drinks sorted sooner ay? They've got a job to do, they're not there to pose! Then you go on about the music - don't you realise, its not there for YOU: its the only thing that makes a very hard job bearable. Do you realise how hard it can be to serve a near empty bar, night after night during the week? You'd need something to keep you going wouldn't you? - that's what the music's for.

And then you have a go at the lasses out on hen nights. That's so typical of you unfriendly Londoners . They're just having a laugh!! Its an HONOUR for us that they chose to have their last night out with their mates before one of them gets hitched on the gay scene. It builds bridges between them and us so they know they don't have to worry about gay people. Yeah, so once in a while a straight lad might get the wrong idea and have a pop at a gay lad for talking to his lass, but you got to expect that don't you -we don't go on about it like you southerners . We don't need a GAY GHETTO here! I expect you'd want a GAY shop, a GAY restaurant or GAY Christmas Cards or GAY greetings cards or stuff like that, well we don't! -We've got the biggest shopping centre in Europe down the road!! ("der")!

>:(we don't need people like you: coming up here flashing your cash and chatting up our lads you might start talking about moving back, then where would we be? If loads of yous came there'd be no room: we've only got a couple of guest houses so you'd probably end up in a hotel where you might have to share a corridor with a hen party and you wouldn't like that, would you?

No, I know I speak for many when I say that we have every confidence in the stalwart band of conscientious professionals who work tirelessly ON OUR BEHALF to maintain modern gay businesses in a cut-throat market. They deserve praise not jibes. Who else is coming forward to open new bars? I'm sure any new venture would be welcomed into the fraternity, but the fact is that noone IS coming forward which can only mean that we're all happy with the way things are so if you don't like it... ;D

;D ;D ((I'm off for a lie-down in a dark room)

[hippy]

Wildeman! You been sniffing the metal polish again? Good to see Badpup and Fbh are lurking, and even better to see that they can send us a message from the other side. Keep yer NRG Hi!

[lisalashes7285]

why do people moan and whinge bout newcastle gay scene its class! i have been on gay scene in hull, edinburgh, london and manchester and realise how lucky we are to have the great atmosphere in newcastle, althought manchester a close second you can tell it is more tourists go than locals unlike newcastle...so stop ya whinging and be grateful

[geordieboi]

lisa, no offence intended, but "newcastle is class" ?!
are we talking about newcastle (UK) or newcastle (OZ?!)

i've not been to a great many gay scenes to be honest - newcastle, manchester, blackpool and london sums it up.

newcastle = same old, same old (emphasis on the 'old'), hugely expensive prices that everyone complains about night in night out but goes back the next time and pays it... what incentive have the operators got to reduce costs if the mugs (me included) pay the prices!?

blackpool = horrific. maybe i caught it on a bad night. we arrived at noon and were 'encouraged' on the drink by around 1pm. i don't drink during the day (not a full session anyway!) so that always puts a dampener on the nights when i do. perhaps that was the trouble on my only visit. blackpool did for me what fred west did for the gloucester social services.

london = canny, but incredibly small compared to what i was expecting. out of the bars we (me and badpup) went to, i think the admiral duncan was the best.

manchester = well.. the best of all the ones i've been to so far. been to canal street for 3 visits now and love the place. not overly keen on essential (not downstairs anyway) but enjoyed cruz.

ps. wildeman - "Well, you know what?- we don't mind paying over the odds for our drinks! And if sometimes the beer is flat and a bit warm - so what?" - can we have that in writing ?!!! lol

[wildeman]

"...newcastle gay scene: its class! "

Lisa, love....I don't know how to respond to that... can I assume you a person of limited experience?

BTW Geordieoy I think the message of cheaper beer in better venues IS getting through, I certainly see more familiar faces when I'm off the scene - Camp David's all-week BOGOF is very popular for example, then there's the Forth and mates tell me they had a great time in Gotham City which I intend to try next week.

PS - I'm not up to trawling through these posts, but hasn't Ms Lashes complained bitterly about her experiences at the Powerhouse???

[lisalashes7285]

hello wildeman love, the only thing i complained about powerhouse without you having to trail through the posts was too many charvers, but the whole atmosphere is class and i have been coming on gayscene since 1998 since i was 18! been to every phouse there has been and am sick of whinging old gits who put it down all the time...if you dont like it go somewhere else!

[pink]

If you really want a chava free night out, then check out PINK every saturday at the LOFT. PINK has a new policy! No Chava's, so you can enjoy a hassle free gay night out with fantastic music, and a truly unique atmosphere. For anyone that hasn't been yet, please check it out, as we really are trying to do something different for the Newcastle gay scene. This saturday we have live percussion and surprise giveaways among other things. And look out for the PINK parade every Saturday.
See you there