Gay village birmingham clubs

Too often, gay bars don’t survive the threats of gentrification and criminalisation. Yet some last long enough to become important institutions in their own right.

This is true of the Nightingale, one of many queer landmarks in Birmingham.

In 1967, 2 men named Laurie Williams and Derek Pemberton paid £600 for ownership of the Nightingale, a rundown Indian restaurant on Birmingham’s Camp Hill. 

It was a landmark year for British male lover history, thanks to the passage of a bill decriminalising homosexuality in personal. It was also a bittersweet victory, one which came with a higher age of consent for gay men, limited jurisdiction (the bill applied only in England and Wales) and harsher punishments for gay people caught on the streets.

At the moment, there were very several places for LGBTQ+ communities to express or examine their sexuality in general safely. Same-sex affection shown in straight pubs often led to violence and harassment.

There were a handful of gay club nights, but they came with the risk of entity raided by police or exploited and overcharged by landlords. 

Williams and Pemberton arrange out on a mission to build a viable alternative in the establish of the Nightingale.