All aboard the BANG BUS! Queer Tours of London
London, England, United Kingdom
Aim
To deliver a queer history tour of London's legendary night clubs from the 1960s onwards on an accessible double decker bus with performance
Queer tours of London Presents...
BANG BUS! A bus journey back in time to the sites and spirit of London’s most iconic LGBTQIA+ clubs and bars.
This special-themed queer history tour of London will visit the haunts that have kept LGBTQIA+ tribes cruising, dancing and loving from the 1960s to the present day. DJ's, performers and rabble-rousers from each club and era, will show what made each place so special and why you’ll wish you’d been there back in the day. Each tour will be wheelchair accessful and all are welcome!
This is the newest addition to our programme of queer tours and marks the 50th anniversary of the 1967 ‘Sexual Offences Act’ which led to the partial decriminalisation of homosexuality.
This special-themed queer history tour of London will visit the haunts that have kept LGBTQIA+ tribes cruising, dancing and loving from the 1960s to the present day. DJ's, performers and rabble-rousers from each club and era, will show what made each place so special and why you’ll wish you’d been there back in the day. Each tour will be wheelchair accessful and all are welcome!
This is the newest addition to our programme of queer tours and marks the 50th anniversary of the 1967 ‘Sexual Offences Act’ which led to the partial decriminalisation of homosexuality.
The BANG BUS exists to harness our history to provide our empowerment for the present. That is why we are prioritising giving free tickets to some of the most marginalised amongst our queer family. There has been a great deal of interest from LGBTQIA+ migrants, homeless and others who want to come on the bus but have no cash.
Each BANG BUS costs between £1500-2000 to organise including paying our hosts the London living wage, because we want to create a queer-economy, and includes props, costumes, banners and more fun - and that's without core organising costs.
We ask you, our friends, queer family and the general public to please donate anything you can to continue supporting creative empowerment LGBTQIA+ art and activism to transform our world.
We've included lots of info underneath about the route, who we are and other events we've done - get in touch if you'd like to talk about this more.
Many thanks, all on the BANG BUS and 'Queer Tours of London - A Mince Through Time'
Climb aboard the BANG BUS! Send a message from London telling the world we exist to build strength, unity and passion within our LGBTQIA+ community, that we honour our history and won’t let our futures – or our spaces – be written over by anybody.
THE BANG BUS. HOMO HISTORY. HOMO HEDONISM. HOMO HOPE.
6pm – PICK UP POINT – 1960’s @ The Black Cap – pick up @ the Black Cap in Camden – 171 Camden High St, London NW1 7JY
6.30pm – 1970’s @ Gay Liberation Front Disco! Housmans at 5 Caledonian Rd, Kings Cross, London N1 9DY
7.45pm – 1980’s @ The Bell – at the Bell, 257 & 259 Pentonville Road N1 9NL – More info at ‘A Queer History of Kings Cross’
7.15pm – 1990’s @ Trade at Turnmill Street, Clerkenwell, Islington, London EC1M – more here ‘Last Dance: How London’s after-hours clubbing scene finally faded out’
8pm – 2000’s @ The Joiners Arms welcomed by The Friends of the Joiners Arms campaign
9pm – LAST STOP – 2010’s @ The Joiners Arms fundraiser at Dalston Superstore – 117 Kingsland High St, London E8 2PB with the hosts of the Dalston Superstore’s amazing ’50 years of London’s Queer Nightlife’ exhibition!
BANG BUS 2 - Saturday October 27th - West to East London
BANG BUS 3 - Saturday November 25th - WORLD AIDS DAY Special
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*ACCESS*
WHEELCHAIR ACCESSIBLE! Please get in touch if we can make the night any more accessible for you.
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*SAFER SPACES POLICY*
The Bang Bus is a utopia away from homophobia, transphobia, harassment, racism, xenophobia, ableism and all forms of oppression. Anyone who threatens this will be kicked off by our queer security team.
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ABOUT QUEER TOURS OF LONDON -
For this years 50th anniversary of partial decriminalisation of homosexuality ‘QUEER TOURS OF LONDON – A Mince Through Time’ are being set up to bring forth the visibility of our incredible community at large and the journey to how we became who we are today. Against the backdrop of the mass closure of LGBTQI (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex) cultural spaces and support services, ‘QUEER TOURS OF LONDON’ are being developed to support London’s current queer activism, culture and performance in all its glory. Find out more at www.queertoursoflondon.com
“London’s LGBTQ+ heritage is rich, diverse and important: but is often hidden and in danger of being forgotten. Our collaborations with Queer Tours are energetic, hopeful and vital explorations of this history.” Tom Furber and Jan Pimblett – London Metropolitan Archives
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*ARTICLES, INTERVIEWS AND FEATURES*
'Meet the activists running London's first Queer Tour' - https://www.vice.com/en_uk/article/8ge53g/london-queer-tours-lgbt-history-protest
'Where is our Queer Museum' street-art action - https://www.facebook.com/BBCLondon/videos/1311811862193841/, Wapping 'love, life and human rights' Tour - http://player.lush.com/tv/summit-walking-tour-love-life-and-human-rights-queer-tours-london
These LGBT Clubbers Say They Feel Shut Out Of The Scene Because They Are Disabled - https://www.buzzfeed.com/chrisgodfrey/these-lgbt-clubbers-say-they-feel-shut-out-of-the-scene?utm_term=.rv6RmyvYq#.uf2XBPOwx
Brixton Dykes on the Rampage by WinkBall
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hnwh0ErWudY
Huffington Post – George Michael’s Life Celebrated In One Of His Cruising Spots - http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/george-michael-sex-party-held-to-celebrate-cruising_uk_58eba928e4b0ca64d917ea20
This project successfully funded on 12th October 2017