Summer might be slipping away, but London certainly isn’t slowing down. The September edition of Gay London Life has landed – and your other gay app has taken over our cover!
This month we meet BRODAR, the gay owned dating app doing things rather differently. No adverts interrupting the good bits, no paying just to keep scrolling and no endless maze of subscription tiers. Made in Europe with the UK firmly in its sights, BRODAR wants to prove there’s still room on your phone for something new. One extra icon won’t hurt, will it?
Elsewhere, DILF is making Fridays its own, launching its first ever weekly London residency at RAES this October. After 11 years, nine UK cities and two years of monthly London parties, we find out what’s planned as the queer clubbing favourite goes weekly in the capital.
We also head south of the river to meet The Nellie, Elephant & Castle’s gorgeous new queer local. Think good drinks, curious company and the sort of unhurried evening where “just one” has a habit of becoming several.
On stage, things are getting seriously steamy. Jerker brings sex, longing and queer connection to Waterloo East Theatre, while the internationally acclaimed Tom at the Farm makes its London debut at the Barbican with a seductive, dark and unsettling story of grief, masculinity and hidden desire.
There’s dance music royalty too, as Mary Kiani gets Reimagined at the Royal Vauxhall Tavern, performing live and revisiting more than three decades of dancefloor memories. Big vocals, 90s nostalgia and an afternoon start – frankly, our knees approve.
Then we turn up the temperature with Recon London, returning to FIRE for one of autumn’s biggest fetish parties, complete with dancefloors, play spaces, maze, VIP lounge and plenty more to explore.
And that’s before you reach our bumper Going Out section. We’ve packed in RUSH at Scala, Handsome, ATHENA, 80:20, Bear Bash, Queer Comedy Club, Betty & Joan’s, The Yard, Roma Trans Party, Cocktails & Cabaret, The Old Ship, Bears Night, I Love Cock and plenty more reasons not to stay home this September.
Plus, After Dark is back with the naughtier side of London life, including Vault 139’s Birthday Boys and some suitably steamy places to escape when you fancy a little more than a quiet pint.
Add our regular columnists, community news, theatre, nightlife, scene pictures, listings and everything else happening across LGBTQ+ London, and Issue 58 is packed from front to back.
The September edition of Gay London Life is OUT NOW – free in print across London and available to read online.
Grab a copy, get out there and make the most of September. London’s not ready for autumn just yet.
