Cambridge gay bars
The end of Glitterbomb and the importance of a rubbish club night
Let’s face it, most gay clubs aren’t that good. While It’s a Sin and Pose depicted fluorescent mazes packed with well-dressed models, thumping basslines, and subversive social attitudes, many I have entered have been stale, sticky-floored, and sparsely populated. But it wasn’t until Vinyl announced the end of its weekly queer night, Glitterbomb, that I began to value my moment in these shoddy queer clubs.
If the news of this closure comes as a surprise, I don’t blame you, it has done to everyone I’ve told. But I encourage you to think when the last second was that you went to Glitterbomb, or Vinyl at all for that matter. The introduction of the intelligently named replacement, ‘Get Duck’d’ comes after Vinyl saw a sharp decline in weekly attendance and profits. For the most part, this was brought on by racism allegations against Vinyl staff and the university-wide boycott. The establishment of the POC-focused Queer Get Down, and the (albeit short-lived) addition of Raid put the nail in the coffin for what was for
Remembering 14 queer pubs Cambridge has loved and lost
Over the years Cambridge has been home to a number of LGBTQ+ friendly bars and pubs, which many residents will have fond memories of.
In the 80s and 90s, regular haunts for the LGBTQ+ community included staples like The Anchor and Turk's Head.
But sadly, like many Cambridge venues, they have vanished over time.
Read more: Looking back at the ruin caused by the infamous Amazing Storm of '87
The city still holds several monthly gay nights including Glitterbomb at Vinyl, and the Dot Cotton Club, though it's without a home, still puts on events.
We asked you to share your memories from Cambridge's queer pubs that we have loved and lost.
Inundated with pictures and anecdotes from years gone by we decided to put them into a nostalgic list for you to enjoy.
Janie Buchanan, a long-term member of lesbian group Sisters Act commented: "The pubs were essential because of the town and gown divide.
"All the colleges had their queer societies and reading groups and we had no access to those. The pub
Jack Kenworthy( Queer Travel Expert )
Queer travel expert Jack Kenworthy turns 250+ city adventures into your guide for safe, vibrant, and inclusively fabulous global journeys.
Cambridge may be famous for its university and impressive historical buildings. However, she is also a well-known gay tourist destination for being welcoming and home to many queer attractions.
Not only does she have several gay bars, but she also plays host to several gay events each year, including the Pride Festival and the Pink Festival. With this lively queer community, you can expect your visit to Cambridge to be filled with a blend of history, culture, and inclusivity.
Cambridge isn’t just a queer-friendly university city; it is an old English relic with over two thousand years of history. Located along the River Cam and just a brief train ride from London, this little beauty has a population of 145,700, including many celebrated names that have lived and worked in Cambridge over the centuries.
You can stop by Cambridge to check out the oldest university in the wo
How Cambridge’s queer music scene finally came out
Coming to Cambridge from England’s gay capital (Manchester, obviously), I feared my beloved queer music would be lost among ‘Gold Dust’, ‘Titanium’, and whatever other 2010s track Rumboogie has on replay. My first darkness out proved me wrong. While Lola’s drip-fed me Dua Lipa once in a blue rock, Glitterbomb overflowed with gay classics. It offered a space to soak in Britney and Beyoncé without having to tone down my singalong. Yet in my three years, Cambridge’s queer scene has come a long way, now offering far more than cheesy 00s pop.
At that point, Glitterbomb was Cambridge’s only frequent queer event, but allegations of racist staff meant many students needed a new home for their queer anthems. This was the origin story of The Queer Get Down. Hosted at Mash, QGD was founded “to verb a safer space … for queer people of colour by queer people of colour”. These were the words of QGD’s organisers, who told me how important music is for queer identities. “It’s about feeling content in your own skin. Queer artists have made