The Sheffield gay scene part 2

[aaron1867 10]

Indeed it is a strange business plan. are they afraid there is a danger they might make money if open in December?

 

On a separate note does anyone know if Lady Gaga graced Dempseys with an appearance when she played on the 20th ?

 

A host of little birdies told me that the word on the wire was that she would and you could feel the palpable hum of excitement in the air in there that night - it did seem to be even busier than usual ? :-)

 

I very much doubt Lady Gaga did or I would have heard about it via Facebook.

 

Fuel closing still seems very strange. I suspect the closing of Fuel will potentially see the closing of Twist. But I suspect Twist is maybe making money.

 

Seems a little shame for the customers that go there, but of course they seem very selfish and don't think of that. I have two friends who love the music upstairs in Fuel and that is why they haven't been to Dempsey's since Fuel opened. But I suspect they might have to go back to Dempsey's as I am not too sure they are keen on Twist.

 

I can't see them closing the place for renovation either, weirdly.

[clickzizz 10]

Hya

Not sure if this is the right place to ask but is there a decent gay pub where a single, mature (i.e. over 50) bloke can get a beer? What is Dempsey's like? I ask as I have only lived in Sheffield a very short time and not really into the "younger scene".

[andyms1 10]

Hya

Not sure if this is the right place to ask but is there a decent gay pub where a single, mature (i.e. over 50) bloke can get a beer? What is Dempsey's like? I ask as I have only lived in Sheffield a very short time and not really into the "younger scene".

 

Icons is busier earlier in the evening and should be ideal. Dempseys too but maybe later on

[SpiderPete 10]

Hya

Not sure if this is the right place to ask but is there a decent gay pub where a single, mature (i.e. over 50) bloke can get a beer? What is Dempsey's like? I ask as I have only lived in Sheffield a very short time and not really into the "younger scene".

 

Depends what beer you drink, you will find, for your age group Icons much better. They are the only gay bar serving ale as well, last I saw it was Hobgoblin and they also have Caffreys.

 

Dempsey's usually attracts the younger generation, although Roger123W would know more than me as he is always in the place. I went on a Saturday with Roger123W and it was dead, and we got there at midnight.

[fire123 10]

Hi, is there any nice gay friendly bars in sheffield apart from dempseys as neither of us as scene queens ! many thanks regards

[aaron1867 10]

Hi, is there any nice gay friendly bars in sheffield apart from dempseys as neither of us as scene queens ! many thanks regards

 

If you want friendly and a little more quiet, I think Icons is your only option to be fair. It's a nice enough place & there is place to sit down for a chat and a quiet drink too.

 

I've heard that Twist is now only open on Saturday's from now on? I might be wrong on this, but I have been told this.

 

It's a shame that earlier in the year we was expecting to be potentially having a thriving gay scene in Sheffield, but now T&F looks to be closing and Climax, well it's not Climax like it was before the whole "refurb".

[jamesogt 11]

I've heard that Twist is now only open on Saturday's from now on? I might be wrong on this, but I have been told this.

.

 

There seem to be a lot of rumours floating around, which are only fuelled (nice pun) by them closing upstairs. They have not posted via their Fuel Facebook account since Nov 10th. It looks like they will open for certain Saturdays in December upstairs.

 

If they are closing Twist too mid week then they have really thrown the towel in. I have heard other discussion that it may well be the whole group struggling not just Sheffield.

 

Personally I feel people should support the venues that support the scene as such. Dempseys manages to open 7 days a week from Breakfast! I had lunch there yesterday, and they were full, almost sold out in an hr and a half! There is business out there, you just need to try harder. Even Icons, although not my favorite tries, has plenty of offers and at least it sticks to its opening schedule. Why spend your hard earned money with a company that has no loyalty to you or Sheffield?

 

Haven't been to Twist/Fuel since the opening weekend. I doubt I will go again.

 

When it opened I was quite open about them needing to create new business. By bringing people from Rotherham, Chesterfield and Doncaster etc to make the scene work with more venues. They haven't done anything but split the crowd in to 2, and it would appear there is not enough money for them to survive much longer doing that.

 

Be interesting to see if they are open come February.

[aaron1867 10]

There seem to be a lot of rumours floating around, which are only fuelled (nice pun) by them closing upstairs. They have not posted via their Fuel Facebook account since Nov 10th. It looks like they will open for certain Saturdays in December upstairs.

 

If they are closing Twist too mid week then they have really thrown the towel in. I have heard other discussion that it may well be the whole group struggling not just Sheffield.

 

Personally I feel people should support the venues that support the scene as such. Dempseys manages to open 7 days a week from Breakfast! I had lunch there yesterday, and they were full, almost sold out in an hr and a half! There is business out there, you just need to try harder. Even Icons, although not my favorite tries, has plenty of offers and at least it sticks to its opening schedule. Why spend your hard earned money with a company that has no loyalty to you or Sheffield?

 

Haven't been to Twist/Fuel since the opening weekend. I doubt I will go again.

 

When it opened I was quite open about them needing to create new business. By bringing people from Rotherham, Chesterfield and Doncaster etc to make the scene work with more venues. They haven't done anything but split the crowd in to 2, and it would appear there is not enough money for them to survive much longer doing that.

 

Be interesting to see if they are open come February.

 

I wouldn't say they have no loyalty, but when things aren't doing so well, you can see why they are trying to cut costs by opening less or shutting of one of the bars. However, they should be giving this a little bit more time, rather than a 9 month period that it will be come the end of the year. February though? I can only assume they are going to open just past the New Year & it's quite sad that this has only been a quick attempt to try and make money.

 

However if there is potentially an investor for the venue, then they are walking into a venue that as it stands doesn't need much work. If it does close, I think there could be some potential interest.

[No User Name 10]

Quarterly rents are due on the 24th Dec, they might be gone in a few weeks.

[aaron1867 10]

Quarterly rents are due on the 24th Dec, they might be gone in a few weeks.

 

Maybe - They don't seem to be posting much about NYE or Boxing Day.

 

Maybe not - The rent would surely be multiplied if they stayed open over the "premium" period, surely that would be common sense, but then again, they do seem to struggle!

 

Who knows.

 

I think I said when the place was opening that it could be indeed something different with two bars, but of course with hindsight, it was never going to happen. A pre-bar, then upstairs is the "main" bar, it's not something different and it's always going to be the same crowd.

 

The layout for Fuel upstairs is one that is very weird, it is more rectangle than square and what you find with clubs these days is, well it's rather square, getting a better "fill out" of space. I am not an expert on design and layout of course, but the space seems rather weird.

 

If it was me, the upstairs need a re-design, I would forget about he downstairs, and concentrate on upstairs, add the smoking area to the opposite side of the venue.

 

As for getting the place to work away from the layout - It needs club nights from Manchester, imo. It needs more pop too.

 

I just find the whole situation weird. They will throw money at no mark celebs, but shut certain places off or at this present time, be looking at closing.

[EarthBoy 10]

If it was me, the upstairs need a re-design, I would forget about he downstairs, and concentrate on upstairs,..

 

I'd do the opposite. Twist (downstairs) is spacious, nicely decorated with plenty of seating areas as well as a dancefloor. It could easily double as a bar/club. Fuel (upstairs) is small, dark and dingey. Close Fuel and keep Twist, would be my advice.

[Tyranna 10]

Maybe - They don't seem to be posting much about NYE or Boxing Day.

 

..........

 

I just find the whole situation weird. They will throw money at no mark celebs, but shut certain places off or at this present time, be looking at closing.

 

I'm rather surprised as well that there's not much planned at Twist/Fuel for the busy Christmas period.

 

FYI, Click HERE for the link to the New Year's Eve party at Twist.

Note it is on at Twist, not Fuel, so I won't be surprised if it fills up quickly as Twist on its own is only a small venue; if they really put their minds to it, they could easily have filled Fuel upstairs for NYE, although there would probably be a great many straights along as well, to help make up the numbers lol.

 

Boxing Day also sees something at Twist, although from my own experience, Boxing Day is nothing like NYE for clubbing, so I would imagine that all 3 gay venues in town will have decent but not overwhelming numbers of customers that night. BTW, wherever you go over the holidays, do bear a thought for the hard working bar staff, security, management, DJ's etc. who are prepared to work the long hours to give you and your friends a great night out, and DON'T overdo the drink if you find you can't take any more lol

FYI Christmas Climax is on SATURDAY 20 Dec. so don't be turning up on the Friday night lol.

 

Finally, just a quick mention for the LADYBOYS OF BANGKOK. If you haven't been yet, their great show is worth watching at the Big Top on Devonshire Green until this weekend, and there are some half-price ticket vouchers which you can pick up at the local LGBT venues and various other places.