Candy Bar. The Joiners Arms. Trade. From 2006 to 2017, London’s queer spaces dropped from 121 to 51. Now, as the pandemic has put more clubs at greater risk of closing, this number is on the brink of dropping even lower.
Take Me to the Club is both a love letter to iconic places we’ve lost and an effort to raise money to help keep remaining venues open. With our sights set on £15k, we’ve crafted a website that celebrates queer clubbing, full of memories and imagery depicting moments shared in these spaces, given to us by the people that loved them.
The project profiles 21 venues and features custom illustrations inspired by London’s queer nightlife. As part of our fundraising goals, we’ve also made a limited edition Take Me to the Club t-shirt full of illustrations and available for purchase on Everpress. All of the money we raise will go towards grants for remaining venues.
The launch arrives just in time for Pride Month, but a few weeks out from the reopening of clubs across the country. It’s our hope that money raised will help queer spaces throughout London open their doors again on July 19th.
Take Me to the Club was created by Phantom in collaboration with Safer Sounds Partnership. It was inspired by a year spent desperately missing the spontaneity of a night out and the freedom these venues offer.
Zuki Sedgley, Associate Creative Director of Phantom, said:
"Queer venues are a vital part of any town, any city. Over lockdown, they were taken away from us. And, as members of the LGBT+ community, we felt that impact deeply.
But lockdown wasn’t the first time that London’s queer spaces vanished. Since 2006, half of all of London’s LGBT+ venues have closed. Take Me to Club is love letter to all the queer venues we’ve lost, the spaces where we found our communities and ourselves.
More than that, Take Me to the Club is a call to support those to remain. We’ve partnered with Safer Sounds to raise money for London’s LGBT venues to pay for things like rent, or for a performer’s fee. Help us keep London gay, and queer people safe."
Phillipe Chiarella, Programme Manager of Safer Business Network, said:
“2019 was the first year in a decade that London saw an increase in the total number of LGBTQ+ venues, something the community should be extremely proud of, but that progress has been threatened by the COVID-19 pandemic with many venues struggling to pay their bills.
As part of our commitment to supporting LGBTQ+ venues and promoters, we are proud to have collaborated with Phantom on this project which will not only support venues but crucially promoters who have been left behind by Government support.
This is a unique opportunity for the community to support venues by helping us raise money to help our LGBTQ+ scene survive.”
To see the site, donate or submit a memory of your own, visit www.takemetotheclub.com.
For more information please email lgbtqvenues@saferbusiness.org.uk.