London Food & Culture

MUST DO: Winter Pride, Scala

The annual LGBT+ event is bringing back seminal club Popstarz in the best gig venue in King's Cross

Revellers at last year’s bash. Photo: Mark Storey/ Winter Pride

This fifth year of the annual event is a pretty damn fine excuse for an off-peak-season celebration of London’s unparalled queer culture and diversity.

The one-nighter takes place at the Scala in King’s Cross, raising money for LGBT+ causes. And don’t forget it comes towards the end of another brilliant and ground-breaking LGBT History Month (read our round-up of highlights here).

It’s basically a revamp of seminal 90s gay indie club Popstarz which, back in the day, held Blur as its heart-throbs and Pulp’s classic Common People as sweaty end-of-the-night singalong.

Coinciding with the mighty rise of Britpop, the club, founded at the now demolished Paradise bar in Islington, went on to be madly popular for 20 years. It was also loved by many for being way friendlier than the house-only muscle-boy nights down in Soho and Vauxhall. We know; we were regulars.


LOCAL ADVERTISING

Popstarz closed a few years back now; but for this year’s welcome Winter Pride revival there’ll be four rooms, including indie, pop, r’n’b and a girls-only space, plus cabaret and live performances. So you can float between areas and make friends as you go.

All together now? “She came from Greece, she had a thirst for knowledge…”

Winter Pride tickets from £10 here, Sat 24th Feb, 9pm-5am, 275 Pentonville Rd N1

Leave a Comment

Leave a Comment