Paul ‘Ebon-knee’ Campbell remembers the RVT sports days
Paul remembers the charity sports days held around the back of the RVT on Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens.
Posts Tagged "london"
Paul Ashurst on London gay pubs that have disappeared
Artist, Paul Ashurst talks about some of the gay pubs he used to visit that have since disappeared.
Stuart Feather & Bette Bourne talk about polari
Stuart and Bette talk about Polari in the 1950’s and 1960’s and how it was forced on people by the circumstances at the time.
Ronald Wright
Here’s Ron talking about his first visit to a gay pub in London in the early 1950’s which was The Standard in Piccadilly Circus
The RVT Re-Opens
Here’s an advert we found from the early 1980’s which announces the re-opening of the Royal Vauxhall Tavern after ‘extensive re-docoration’. I wonder if this was when the bar was moved and the stage area added? Interesting to see mime and drag advertised as 7 days a week, including Sunday morning.
Simon Casson – When the RVT was threatened with demolition
Simon talks about the ‘save our pub’ demos, that took place in the 1990’s when the RVT was threatened with demolition. Here’s a link to an article in from The Pink Paper dated 2nd October 1998.
Police Raids in the 1980’s
Going through the Hall Carpenter Archive in London, there is a lot of articles written in the 1980’s highlighting the number of police raids and entrapment cases going on in gay bars at the time. Here’s a few examples.
The Devil Rides Out – Paul O’Grady
I’ve just been reading Paul O’Grady’s Biography, which is broken down into 3 books. There’s some very interesting recollections of the RVT. The part below is from the second book ‘The Devil Rides Out’ when Paul was performing as part of the drag group ‘The Glamazons’. “At the Royal Vauxhall Tavern, in what felt like a rough part of sarf…
Stuart Feather describes the RVT in the 1960’s
Stuart Feather was a member of the Bloolips with Bette Bourne, as well as well being a member of the Gay Liberation Front in the 1970’s.
Jason & Robert
Jason & Robert discuss gay bars from their younger days and homophobic abuse outside the RVT.
Skinny Drag Queen on Bar Counter, from “Goodbye Gemini” (1970)
This scene was filmed in the RVT in 1970. Skinny drag queen puts on a show in the pub while twins Jacki and Julian make new friends. From the 1970 film “Goodbye Gemini”, directed by Alan Gibson. Starring Judy Geeson, Martin Potter, and Alexis Kanner. Produced by Joseph Shaftel Productions
Stuart Feather talks about a photo of the RVT from 1975
Stuart Feather talks about a photograph he discovered of the RVT in 1975.