If you ask a non-Durham student what going out in Durham is like, they’ll most likely mention the “terrible” nightlife. This isn’t strictly true. The Durham Tab has previously covered the Durham nightlife in several articles, including a couple written by yours truly. But the city does pale in comparison with its northeastern neighbour Newcastle in themed nights out. Durham’s LGBTQ+ nightlife is particularly worth talking about. Unlike larger cities’ dedicated gay clubs, Durham sees two of its bar-nightclub hybrids operate gay nights once a week: UNHINGED at Fabs on Thursdays and Rainbow Rooms at Ozzy’s on Mondays. But are they any good? What can be done to make Durham more representative? And what do the clubs themselves have to say about this?
To answer these questions, we put out a survey asking students about the quality of Durham’s LGBTQ+ nightlife. The survey proved popular, with sixty-nine responses (nice). 94.2 per cent of these were LGBTQ+ but, aside from a slight second-year bias, audiences varied across year group. We’ll get into the finer details later on, but an impressive takeaway for now is that 92.8 per cent of responses thought Durham needs more LGBTQ+ nightlife. Most (37.7 per cent) think it’s adequate, but more think it’s poor (27.5 per cent) than good (26.1 per cent), proving there are issues with what we’ve got. But it can be a challenge to run these nights, a fact students often overlook. So we contacted the team behind UNHINGED, Durham’s most popular gay night, to find out what goes on behind the scenes running these nights.
Responses to our survey
One of the most-mentioned issues with Durham’s nightlife is the music. Several responses mentioned the playlist at UNHINGED events, matching the complaints littering the Grindur Facebook page early last term. Many responses praised the song suggestion box on the event’s Instagram account, but even more wanted to “Change the Fabs DJ for the love of god”. The prominence of “straight white girl music” was particularly noted, as was the absence of music by transgender musicians. One anonymous response indicated a need to “let the queer folk be unapologetically queer” and avoid music “palatable to straights”. However, a response from fourth-year student Josephine White suggested “People on social media need to stop being so picky about it. The night is good. Not every song has to be a certain level of gay”.
Responses also indicated a desire for more events in total. Getting tickets for these events is a personal struggle every Friday morning. If you don’t have email notifications for UNHINGED this is even harder. Queues outside Fabs on a Thursday night can also often last late into the night. Proposed solutions to this issue varied. Some suggested “there needs to be a larger venue”. A responder under the moniker “Professional Babs goer” suggested “More Unhinged-like events in other clubs such as Babs/Jimmies”. Others proposed an “actual gay club”, as opposed to singular nights at regular venues. The advertising of events was also questioned. Several students indicated they had never been to or even heard of UNHINGED or Rainbow Rooms.
A particularly interesting issue raised in the survey was social expectations surrounding gay nights. Several responses mentioned straight people attending these queer nights with intentions of hooking up with people. This does link to the palatability of gay nights’ music to straight listeners. One “third-year lesbian” protested against the “homophobic men’s sports teams”. One first-year also criticised a “posh boy’s ego” in attempting to turn her straight. Less serious responses included a desire for “more shagging in club toilets” and a request to “remove all straight people”. One can only dream.
Students’ choice of nightclub was also interesting, with 84.1 per cent preferring UNHINGED Thursdays. This could be due to increased social media exposure compared to Rainbow Rooms, as well as Thursday nights having fewer other events. Responses such as those by Kitty Simpson, a second-year, praised “Fabby wabbys 2.50 doubles and a good night with all my friends”. Purely for fun we also asked students to name the straightest Durham club. Responses were close between Jimmy’s (46.4 per cent) and Babs (37.7 per cent), and interestingly nowhere else came close. So I guess the straightest two clubs are clear, even if nothing else is.
An interview with UNHINGED
Following up on these interesting results, we contacted UNHINGED to give information about the importance of LGBTQ+ club nights in Durham. They also told us a lot about the process of running these events, resolving some of the questions raised in the survey.
William Marshall, the co-founder and director of UNHINGED events, described how “After several reports of students being assaulted or having their drinks spiked in the more popular, heteronormative clubs […] many students (whether queer or straight) wanted a space where they felt safe enough to actually enjoy and express themselves, and that’s what we consider the core of LGBTQ+ spaces.” He emphasised the existence of a “space where you don’t have to self-edit”. Opportunities to meet romantic partners are also priorities in UNHINGED events.
William addressed suggestions that UNHINGED should relocate to a bigger venue, describing the need for somewhere “accessible, affordable for students, and willing to host alternative nights”. Fab’s as a venue “feels like a house party where everyone knows each other” and “encourages people to actually talk and connect, not just get lost in a crowd”. The need for ticketed entry is also because, as an organiser, “our only revenue comes from ticket sales”.
The biggest challenge is apparently “trying to represent the entire spectrum of the LGBTQ+ community”. This monumental task does justify the changes in music at these events recently. William also expressed how they “want UNHINGED to be a place where you can hear the song you love, but also discover the sounds that are currently shaping queer culture globally”. UNHINGED’s response to criticisms of the music included “refreshing our DJ roster each week” and “having not only our DJ but our entire team carefully looking through the weekly suggestions to find the best of them”. It certainly sounds unenviable to try to find a playlist satisfying such a musically diverse crowd.
He also spoke about the recent Sapphic Symposium (CU Next Tuesday) event in response to how “while general queer nights are inclusive, they can sometimes be dominated by gay male culture.” Depending on demand, other special events might happen in the future. These could include events targeted towards other LGBTQ+ areas or musical niches.
“If there is a niche that needs a spotlight, we want to help turn it on!”
For more of the latest news, guides, gossip, and memes, follow The Durham Tab on Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook.
