Gay London Life | Dec '25 Edition - Magazine - Page 4
Your First Gay Bar
— All Grown Up
December looks set to be an unforgettable month at Ku Bar, with the well-loved venue celebrating
its 30th birthday and New Year’s Eve looking pretty tasty, too
Cast your mind back to December 1995. Pierce Brosnan’s first outing as Bond
of Ku’s infamous Blowjob Shots. Resident queen Vicki Vivacious will be
was the film to see at the cinema. Michael Jackson’s Earth Song was at the top
keeping the masses entertained, along with Sandra London, who was one
of the charts. Heavy snowfall brought large parts of the UK to a standstill.
of the resident performers back on Charing Cross Road. And to top it all
And on Friday 8th December of that year, a venue called Ku Bar opened its
doors on Charing Cross Road for the first time ever. It didn’t take long for it to
become a favourite of the capital’s LGBTQ+ community, particularly younger
members who were making their first foray into queer nightlife.
Three decades on, Ku Bar is still going strong. As you probably know, it’s no
off, DJs Prince JayJay and Dan Devlin will be on the decks blasting out Ku
klassics from over the years.
After this birthday blowout, you’d perhaps excuse Ku Bar for taking a wellearned breather, but it’ll be back to business as usual pretty much straight away.
In fact, the New Year’s Eve plans looks set to rival the birthday in terms of all-out
longer found on Charing Cross Road — in 2007, Ku Bar relocated to its current
ambition. All of the Ku venues across Soho will be united under the theme of
home in Leicester Square and has continued to expand over the years, including
‘Red Affair’, with highlights including pre-midnight performances from Miss
the addition of Little Ku on nearby Frith Street and London’s longest-running
Luna in the main Ku Bar, live screenings of the fireworks in Little Ku, and DJ sets
lesbian bar in the shape of SHE Soho.
from Davide and Ross Anderson keeping you on your feet until 5am.
It’s been quite the journey and we’d be willing to wager the bulk of our
Regardless of how long you’ve been coming to Ku Bar, be sure to get
readers have passed through the Ku doors at one stage or another, perhaps
involved in the celebrations and raise a glass to this pillar of gay
to catch drag acts in the upstairs Lounge or dance the night away in the
nightlife — here’s to thirty more years.
downstairs Klub.
So how do you celebrate thirty years in the gay bar biz? By throwing
Ku Bar’s 30th birthday, Saturday 6th December,
a colossal party, that’s how. On Saturday 6th December, there’ll be free-
7pm onwards, 7 Lisle Street, WC2H 7BA
flowing champagne, goodie bags, a complimentary raffle, and the return
Nearest Station: Leicester Square
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