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'Palladium of Drag' reopens after 11-year campaign

Thomas MagillCamden
News imageBBC exterior shot of the outside of The Black CapBBC
The Black Cap pub was a fixture of London's gay scene

One of London's oldest gay bars has reopened after it was forced to close suddenly 11 years ago.

Known as the "Palladium of Drag", The Black Cap in Camden has been hosting cabaret and drag performers since as far back as the 1950s.

Alex Green was a regular from the 1980s and helped organise a weekly vigil outside the venue after it closed down.

He says it is a precious space with a unique history that deserved to be saved.

"It was 2015, and we'd lost a whole series of gay bars and spaces from our community. This was just the final straw."

He added: "These walls protected us before it was legal to be homosexual in 1967.

"We don't have a lot of these places left."

News imageWatford/Mirrorpix/Getty A black and white photo of drag queen Shane performing downstairs at The Black Cap. She is stood on the stage on the right, wearing a strapless dress, hair up in a chignon, and in the background is the audience. She is holding a wired mike and the spotlight is shining on her.Watford/Mirrorpix/Getty
'Shane' performing at The Black Cap

The Black Cap helped launch the careers of drag stars such as Danny La Rue, Mrs Shufflewick, Regina Fong and even Lily Savage (Paul O'Grady), who regularly performed in the downstairs bar in the 1970s and 1980s.

His widower Andre Portasio has loaned the venue a number of artefacts from the performer's career, which will feature in the newly named Lily's Bar.

Rafa Motycki is the pub's new general manager.

He says: "It's a tribute to her and all the wonderful and influential artists.

"There are so many youngsters going through some rough times, and we just want to say, 'Hey, we got you'."

The upstairs bar will be called Shufflewicks in homage to Mrs Shufflewick, who was a regular on stage in the 1960s and 1970s.

Also making a return will be the iconic Regina Fong Terrace, which its owners have described as a suntrap.

News imageA bald man in a dark coat beams at the camera. He is standing next to a framed piece of writing entitled "The history of The Black Cap"
Alex Green from the #WeAreTheBlackCap campaign group says the respect the owners have shown while reviving the venue is "incredible"

Vixon Herts, 60, performed at The Black Cap during the 1980s and 1990s alongside favourites including Regina Fong and Sandra.

Reminiscing about his time there, he says: "It was everything to me for 30 years.

"I first visited when I was 15 - naughty I know, but I was just hooked... the atmosphere was wonderful and the sense of chosen family was so wonderful."

Other drag artists who have entertained Black Cap punters include Phil Starr, Hinge and Bracket, Dockyard Doris and, more recently, Ru Paul's Drag Race contender Baga Chipz.

News imageVixon Herts Three drag artists singing on stage. On the left is Regina, with a dark red wig on, wearing heavy black eyeliner, mascara and bright red lipstick, a frilled v-neckline top - the v neck is decorated with red ruffles. In the middle is Lucia, with red lipstick, a short curly bobbed hair and a blue strappy top, and Vixen has blonde bouffant hair, a white dress, diamond earrings and necklace and bright red lipstick. This is a head and shoulder shot. Vixon Herts
Regina Fong, Lucia and Vixen Herts on stage at The Black Cap

The pub's new owners LT Management have invested £2m bringing the venue back to its former glory.

Alex Green from the #WeAreTheBlackCap campaign group says: "To see the respect the owners have given us and the community is incredible.

"These guys have really listened to what we want."

The campaign group surveyed thousands of people and Green says the results are reflected in the decor and the features that have been retained and restored.

It is hoped that the venue, which officially reopens on Saturday, will become a haven for live entertainment, drag and cabaret.

Among the acts already confirmed to appear over the next few months are:

  • Me The Drag Queen - a London-based drag performer known for their camp, flamboyant style and impressive lip-sync performances
  • Baga Chipz - lovable, foul-mouthed drag queen and TV personality, who appeared on RuPaul's Drag Race UK
  • Sophia Stardust - a UK drag performer known for high-energy comedy
  • Tiana Biscuit - a south London singer and drag performer, known for her flair in musical theatre
  • Anita Fag - a drag queen and live entertainer from Swansea
News imageDrag queen in a wig sitting on the stage of the Black Cap pub where there is a purple light shining on her, she wears a one-shoulder dress/top with ostrich feathers decorating the diagonal line which gathers at one shoulder. Her hair is up and she has full make up, earrings on and tattoos on her upper shoulders. In the background is the stage and on the right, the wall with various framed photos on it.
Me The Drag Queen is one of the acts lined up to wow pubgoers

The reopening of The Black Cap is bucking a trend that has seen more than half of London's LGBTQ+ venues close between 2006 and 2022, according to the Greater London Authority.

The number of venues has plummeted from 125 to just 50, with many citing rising rents and changing habits among the reasons for closing.

Me The Drag Queen started his career at The Black Cap and will be the official act on opening night.

"I was here the night that it closed, dancing on the bar to Like a Prayer by Madonna before they kicked us out," he says.

"So to be back 11 years later and host the opening night feels very full circle."

Green says he wants to see The Black Cap return to doing what it always did.

"I want it to put on the best drag and be a schoolground and a place where people can come and learn their craft and be respected for it."

News imageLong bar with tables and a stage at the end
Lily's Bar has been named in honour of Paul O'Grady's drag alter ego Lily Savage

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