I interviewed David from Huddersfield Gay Group this week, a gay man in his sixties who has spent almost all of his life in Huddersfield. He spoke a lot about the popularity of the Huddersfield scene amongst gay and bi men, describing it as ‘the gay Mecca of the North’ in the 70s and early 80s.
I was amazed to find just how many clubs and bars were frequented by gay men in Huddersfield. David talked about how the Gemini nightclub was ‘massive’ and people came from all over the north on a Saturday night. According to David, the Gemini had a five-star rating in the Spartacus gay guide (but according to the local police chief it was a ‘cesspit of filth’!). David told me that if you wanted to make a night of it you’d go to the Amsterdam Bar for drag acts and sing alongs, the Greyhound pub, and the Grey Horse pub (the hotspot for picking people up). On Sunday nights there was also the back bar in the Queens Hotel and the cocktail bar in the Commercial Pub.
David had so much knowledge about Huddersfield and I was excited to hear all about the national pride in 1981, but, unfortunately, David was living in Lincolnshire at that time and so had very little to say about it. He did, however, tell me all about the Pink Picnic, a pride event that took place on top of Castle Hill in 1986, which became an annual event, right up until 2014.
