The history of G-A-Y (with Jeremy Joseph)

When most people think of G-A-Y, the iconic club night that has hosted performances from such superstars as Kylie Minogue, Spice Girls, Madonna, and my personal favourites Daphne & Celeste, they think of The Astoria, the central London music venue that hosted the night from when it started in the 90s up until the late 00s. The Astoria was the victim of Crossrail, a railway construction project that started in 2009 and completely changed London's queer scene, resulting in the demolition of the Astoria, as well as other queer venues Ghetto and First Out Cafe. I caught up with Jeremy Joseph, the owner of the G-A-Y nightclub chain, to find out about the early days of the club, working with the mafia, who was responsible for the worst performance in the history of G-A-Y, and why the Astoria was such a special place. Do you have any memories of The Astoria or your own queer scene that you want to share? Well, if you have please get in touch - I want to create the biggest online record of people's memories and stories - go to www.lostspacespodcast.com and find the section 'Share a Lost Space' and tell me what you got up to! Bonus points for embarrassing photos! You can also find me on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter as @lostspacespod For more on Jeremy follow him on twitter - @jeremyjoseph