11:30am Saturday 20th September 2008
By Julian Thorpe
A GAY nightclub could open in Bolton town centre before the end of the year.
Investors are hoping to find a suitable venue and be given the go-ahead to open ‘Show Bar’ a club with drag acts, singing, dancing and music.
The four-strong consortium is led by former North West Funfairs boss Henry Hill.
The group has viewed several buildings in the town centre in the search for a suitable site.
Mr Hill, aged 47, said the group includes some well-known businessmen who, at this early stage, preferred not to be named.
He said: “I want it to be a safe night — somewhere the gay community can go and have a drink, because there’s nowhere in Bolton at the moment.
“We’ve done our research. There is a percentage of gay people in Bolton and there is a market for this sort of thing. At the moment, they have to go to Manchester or Blackpool.”
Although plans for the club are in their infancy, Mr Hill has a clear idea of what he wants it to look like and hopes it will be open before Christmas.
In line with his previous job as the boss of Bolton’s annual funfair, he says the club should have showman-like feel.He said: “I’m a showman and this will be the Show Bar. There will be lots of colour, seats made like waltzer carriages, a piano area — it’s bringing a bit of Blackpool to Bolton, a bit of glam.”
The club will have an over-30s age restriction.
Mr Hill said: “It will be something classy, somewhere for the couples, where they can go with their partner and have a nice comfortable night out.
“A few people have said it won’t work. They say people in Bolton just want a pint of bitter and a fight, but I think if the place is right and the price is right, it will work.”
Allan Horsfall, the Bolton-based president of the Campaign for Homosexual Equality, said he wished the plans every success.
He said: “It may work, if the people behind it have the same managerial flair as the people in Blackpool. It may even draw some people from Manchester.”
julian.thorpe@thebolton news.co.uk
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