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The Sheffield gay scene part 2

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For Sale sign on OMG. (Building by auction)

 

Oh dear !!! Hope its not going to vanish like Icons et-al. Lovely friendly staff and good events like the recently commenced Sunday Cabaret with Professional Drag Acts:clap:

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Sheffield used to have a great scene the cold truth is no one can afford to go out like they used to . I really feel for the younger generation only have the Internet for company crap if you ask me .

Edited by crookedspire

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Oh dear !!! Hope its not going to vanish like Icons et-al. Lovely friendly staff and good events like the recently commenced Sunday Cabaret with Professional Drag Acts:clap:

 

The barman tells me that OMG just rent the premises. The landlord is selling up, but the business is not affected.

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Sheffield used to have a great scene the cold truth is no one can afford to go out like they used to . I really feel for the younger generation only have the Internet for company crap if you ask me .

 

Yeah, all too true, but its not just Sheffield which has been affected in this way. Brighton too, it used to have twice as many LGBT venues as it did 10 years ago and Brighton Pride charges about £25 entry unlike 4 years back when it was free. At least Sheffield Pride is doing the right thing as this year and last where it is FREE, whereas a few years before it charged a fairly high entry price for a small mediocre fenced-off festival in Devonshire Green.

 

Good to hear anyway that the sale of the OMG building is not going to affect the club; its similar to the many sales of houses/apartments with 'sitting tenants'. Once again I have faith that in time a few more LGBT owned/run venues will appear that will diversify the scene and lead to a clustering of venues in a 'village' environment. Re. the 64 thousand dollar question 'What is killing the scene?' I have before asked round people in the industry about the possibility of holding a conference so any positive posts from people interested in this would be welcome. Some say 'its Grindr' but a crap mobile dating app cannot influence much more than a small percentage of people not to go out on the scene. Similarly the 'The straight venues are far more tolerant these days' chestnut cannot account for more than 5-10 per cent of business. Gay venues are legendary for offering something unique, something spectacular, and an atmosphere that you CANNOT EVER find in 'yer local Wetherspoons' or the Devonshire Cat, The Bath, the Hallam Hubs Bar, or anywhere else that caters for 'Mainstream' market.

The fact is that a well-run gay venue (Like OMG appears to have been since it opened), offering uniquely gay-friendly entertainment such as Drag, themes around musicals, fancy dress nights, and music from DJs who know the Gay market, CAN and WILL succeed and flourish and by my reckoning there IS space for more players, but only if any LGBT venues truly KNOW the local market and in addition offer the VERY BEST of the entertainment that Gay people are experts in, to a wider audience (students, single women, straight couples, hen parties, etc.) :love:

 

---------- Post added 23-06-2016 at 01:03 ----------

 

Just a late addendum: there's a real treat in store on BBC Radio 4 TODAY Thursday at 11.30 with a programme featuring the legendary black gay icon and singer SYLVESTER, famous for being in the San Francisco drag group The Cockettes and for the disco classic 'Mighty Real', before he tragically passed away from Aids in the 1980's.

I would really recommend this to all of you who are under 25 as an excellent piece of gay history. If you miss it you can of course listen to it later on Radio 4 I-Player.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07gh4pl

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The barman tells me that OMG just rent the premises. The landlord is selling up, but the business is not affected.

 

Unless the landlord wants to knock it down, develop it in to flats etc. It also lists current rent, which is very low for the area and size. They may be able to get a larger restaurant/bar operator to pay more. The sale is Freehold and makes no reference to being forced to keep current tenants.

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I do hope what Jamesogt hints at is certainly not the case, as OMG is now a genuinely popular venue even if it can be very empty some days midweek, and we can ill afford to lose such as slick new gay venue such as this, in a prime location and offering more variety than Dempseys does, even if the drag cabaret seems to mostly hail from London and be remote from the local audiences. At least they're trying. But Sheffield's scene cannot properly thrive on two venues alone. It needs a diversity of LGBT run venues: cocktail bars, pubs popular for groups such as lesbians, 'bears', even a place that might hold a regular fetish night. All this and more existed less than 10 years ago; for example Xes, Cossack, Affinity, Planet, etc. Yes, we do still have the Bronx Sauna or whatever it is called out in Attercliffe, but the steep prices that saunas charge are beyond the pocket of so many of us who prefer a welcoming gay venue with free entry for at least part of the night and a modest entry charge later on to ensure a venue that works for us and knows our market. Look at how many venues there are in Manchester: If Sheffield had proportionately the same number of gay venues per population it would have around five or six, including bars/pubs, clubs, a showbar and maybe even a restaurant.

 

Maybe the two current LGBT venues and any forthcoming future venues which may open in Sheffield should get themselves listed as ACV's (Assets Of community Value) because they are catering for a unique and often vulnerable section of the community as well as engaging in events such as fundraisers for LGBT causes and also the Gay Pride.

Anyone else agree about ACV listing being a possible solution to reviving the scene?

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But Sheffield's scene cannot properly thrive on two venues alone. It needs a diversity of LGBT run venues: cocktail bars, pubs popular for groups such as lesbians, 'bears', even a place that might hold a regular fetish night.

 

If Sheffield can't sustain the two full-time gay bars that we've got at the moment, where are the customers going to come from for any more?

 

All this and more existed less than 10 years ago; for example Xes, Cossack, Affinity, Planet, etc.

 

The Cossack has been demolished for over ten years now, and it was closed for longer than that. Affinity was good for a while, but it ultimately failed and closed. Xes and Planet were out at Attercliffe and they were very successful in their day, but who would want to go out to Attercliffe these days?

 

Yes, we do still have the Bronx Sauna or whatever it is called out in Attercliffe, but the steep prices that saunas charge are beyond the pocket of so many of us...

 

You can't class a sauna in the same category as a gay bar/club.

 

Look at how many venues there are in Manchester: If Sheffield had proportionately the same number of gay venues per population it would have around five or six, including bars/pubs, clubs, a showbar and maybe even a restaurant.

 

Manchester's gay scene wasn't created overnight, it built up gradually. If Sheffield is ever going to have a larger, more vibrant scene, it will also have to build up gradually. New venues won't open unless the existing ones are seen to be successful.

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I do hope what Jamesogt hints at is certainly not the case, as OMG is now a genuinely popular venue even if it can be very empty some days midweek, and we can ill afford to lose such as slick new gay venue such as this, in a prime location and offering more variety than Dempseys does, even if the drag cabaret seems to mostly hail from London and be remote from the local audiences. At least they're trying. But Sheffield's scene cannot properly thrive on two venues alone. It needs a diversity of LGBT run venues: cocktail bars, pubs popular for groups such as lesbians, 'bears', even a place that might hold a regular fetish night. All this and more existed less than 10 years ago; for example Xes, Cossack, Affinity, Planet, etc. Yes, we do still have the Bronx Sauna or whatever it is called out in Attercliffe, but the steep prices that saunas charge are beyond the pocket of so many of us who prefer a welcoming gay venue with free entry for at least part of the night and a modest entry charge later on to ensure a venue that works for us and knows our market. Look at how many venues there are in Manchester: If Sheffield had proportionately the same number of gay venues per population it would have around five or six, including bars/pubs, clubs, a showbar and maybe even a restaurant.

 

Maybe the two current LGBT venues and any forthcoming future venues which may open in Sheffield should get themselves listed as ACV's (Assets Of community Value) because they are catering for a unique and often vulnerable section of the community as well as engaging in events such as fundraisers for LGBT causes and also the Gay Pride.

Anyone else agree about ACV listing being a possible solution to reviving the scene?

Your living in the past no one wants drag queens anymore , why should gay people be only restricted to gay pubs who over charge on drinks and give nothing in return? . The Cossack in the end was a dead duck Attercliffe had its day by the late 1990s time to move mate.

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Drag Performers can be entertaining - there are some regular performers now at OMG on a Sunday that are excellent - able to be intentionally funny, sing in tune and attract an audience :thumbsup:

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Is their a market for drag queen acts in Sheffield like it or not it boils down to money?

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So I have an important question. I'm asked by my dog ... which is better for karaoke ... omg or Dempseys? On the plus side of OMG they always let you sing if you put a song up and they give you a free shot for singing on the plus side of Dempseys they have a wide song choice and they have karaoke on downstairs pretty much every weekday on the downside of Dempseys they don't give you anything for singing and you may not always get your song called out it depends on the DJ and on the downside of OMG the song choices is limited and the only do karaoke on a Thursday so what are other people's experiences good or bad ?

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So I have an important question. I'm asked by my dog ... which is better for karaoke ... omg or Dempseys? On the plus side of OMG they always let you sing if you put a song up and they give you a free shot for singing on the plus side of Dempseys they have a wide song choice and they have karaoke on downstairs pretty much every weekday on the downside of Dempseys they don't give you anything for singing and you may not always get your song called out it depends on the DJ and on the downside of OMG the song choices is limited and the only do karaoke on a Thursday so what are other people's experiences good or bad ?

 

I recommend drinking in the other bar to the one you are "singing" in :D maybe get your dog to sing next time..... how about Puppy Love????

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