The Astoria was opened in 1927 as a cinema - photo: antmoose@flickr.comThe phrase end of an era is overused, but in the case of London’s most famous gay club it feels appropriate.
G-A-Y will top off 15 years at the Astoria with a suitably extravagant final night this Saturday.
The Astoria was opened in 1927 as a cinema and was converted into a theatre in 1976.
Despite protests from famous musicians and petitions signed by tens of thousands of people, the building will be pulled down as part of the construction of the new Crossrail project.
The G-A-Y night has played host to performances from Kylie Minogue, Madonna, Christina Aguilera, the Spice Girls, Girls Aloud, Suga Babes and with X-Factor winner Shayne Ward.
There are rumours that Ms Minogue will perform at tomorrow night’s final G-A-Y.
Promoter Jeremy Joseph said in May that had made the decision to leave the Astoria after fifteen years “after a lot of thought and consideration.
“So what is the future for G-A-Y? Well priority goes to G-A-Y Bar and Late, and you will be seeing changes there including G-A-Y Late doubling in size,” he said.
The G-A-Y franchise includes two other bars, G-A-Y Late located just off Charing Cross Road and G-A-Y Bar on Old Compton Street in Soho.
The MAMA group, owners of the Barfly music venue chain and the management company of top British bands such as the Kaiser Chiefs, recently bought a 75% shares in Manto Soho Limited (MSL), the company which operates G-A-Y Bar and G-A-Y Late.
