Gay & Lesbian

Shaun Given is the man who gave The Edge its edge back. When he took over as general manager in June 2005, the bar on the corner of Soho Square was very much a shadow of its former self. The decor was tired, and the bar staff could barely summon the enthusiasm to serve anyone. With the backing of owner Andy Jones, Given took on new staff and oversaw a massive refurbishment. First the second floor bar was transformed into the Al Fresco cocktail bar, then work began on the remaining three floors. The total makeover took a year to complete, but by that time the bar was showing profits Jones had only ever dreamed of.
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Given remained at the helm for a further six months, then took some time off to go travelling. Now he’s back and determined to make a similar success of Freedom. Once the favourite haunt of the gay glitterati, Freedom is another of those gay Soho venues that opened in the early ’90s and seemed to get lost on the way to the new millennium. Fifteen years ago it was at the centre of gay cultural life in the capital, frequented by the likes of Marc Almond, Leigh Bowery and visiting New York performers Joey Arias and Lady Bunny. By the late ’90s it was full of Japanese girls with pink ear-muffs. First it was gay, then mixed, then ‘polysexual’, then mostly straight with a scattering of queers to make up the numbers.

Given was approached by the owners before Christmas, with the specific instructions that he do for Freedom what he did for The Edge. ‘Basically, the bar was in desperate need of some TLC,’ he says. ‘It’s a good venue in a prime location, but it needed some tweaking to bring it up to scratch again. The atmosphere wasn’t very welcoming. There were lots of things that needed changing, even little things like getting the lighting right. The first day I walked in the lighting was enough to drive most people straight back out again’.

Two months into the job, and already there’s a marked improvement. The lighting is softer, the staff are friendlier and more efficient, and there are new wine and cocktail lists. The place could still use a bit of a facelift, but there’s no denying that things are looking a whole lot better than they were a few months ago. Now the drive is on to win back the customers.

‘Friday and Saturday nights the place is full of gorgeous gay men,’ says Given. ‘It’s the early part of the week that I’m focusing all my energies on at the moment. The upstairs bar pretty much takes care of itself, but to have that huge club space lying empty downstairs is just ridiculous.’

Ah yes, the famous Freedom basement – once a celebrated queer theatre space, now a mirrorball ballroom with pink vinyl seating and the obligatory poles for dancing. So what’s the plan? ‘I definitely want to concentrate on live performance. There’ll be DJs later on, but for the early part of the evening I want lots of live music, comedy, and possibly even some kitsch things. There’s no reason we can’t do bingo. In fact, the more kitsch the better. People these days expect to be entertained. They want something they can’t get at home, something a bit different.’ Acts lined up for the coming months include drag diva Miss Kimberley, who’ll be hosting a night of showtunes, and Vauxhall’s favourite Timberlina, who’ll be bringing her unique brand of beardy, bawdy comedy.

There’s also entertainment of a more literary bent as Freedom goes ‘Between The Covers’ with authors including Neil Bartlett, Maureen Duffy and Christopher Fowler. The event is part of LGBT History Month, and is co-produced by yours truly, together with Rupert Smith from the House of Homosexual Culture.

‘I’m really pleased that we have such a variety of things lined up, and that we’re finally making proper use of that space’, says Given. ‘The reason I took on this job was to breathe new life into the place and remind people what a great venue Freedom is.’ He’s not doing too badly so far.

Miss Kimberley launches her weekly cabaret night with Divas@Freedom on February 21. Between The Covers is on February 26.