Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
The story of Bolts gay nightclub at Lazers (above Tesco on Green Lanes in Harringay)
Dancing on the packed dance floor at Bolts, c.1982. Photograph: Eric Demetriou (Reetored with AI)
Looking for something quite different the other day, I came across "A Love Letter to Bolts Nightclub" by Stephen Brogan.
In his opening paragraph, Brogan writes, "Bolts was part of a triumvirate of big, commercial gay clubs in the capital, alongside West End giants Bang (which was held at Busby’s on Tottenham Court Road, and opened in 1976) and Heaven (in Charing Cross, which opened in 1979). All three garnered endless media coverage because they forever transformed gay nightlife, which had previously consisted just of dancing to chart music in small bars. By contrast, the new nightclubs were huge, and they had their own dance music and state-of-the-art sound and light systems, all based on New York’s clubs.
You can read the full story at A Love Letter to Bolts Nightclub.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by PoppyRed
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We were talking about this just this evening!
The legendary Divine stepped on Green Lanes!!The Harringay LGBT pub meet up group is still going strong after 4+yrs!
If any Harringay LGBTers would like to come along, please message me for details.
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Permalink Reply by Michael Anderson
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I lived over on Mount Pleasant Road in Tottenham in its heyday and this was a second home. Highlights were Divine, Sylvester and a new act called Wham performing.
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Permalink Reply by Atom Gallery
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We had our degree show party there in 1983 Middx Poly fine Art (formerly Hornsey college of Art) we were based in quicksilver place on Western rd in Wood Green, having moved from Ally Pally and then Crouch End. A bunch of us went there quite often, I remember there being one laser..
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