Memories from the Dance Floor

Welcome to the final episode of Season 2 of Memories from the Dance Floor, where we've left the bright lights of London and headed straight up the M4 to Wales. Over the series, we have celebrated LGBTQ+ venues, shone a light on their history and met the revellers taking us through the velvet curtain and into the queer chaos and joy within.

In this final episode, I'm taking us up to the present day. We'll see how the value of our venues has changed, ask how the land of song - Wales that is - has influenced our music, weigh up the importance of regional drag and see what it means to be Welsh and proud in 2024.

It’s a biggie - let's go!

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Croeso i bennod olaf Cyfres 2 o Memories From The Dance Floor, lle rydyn ni wedi gadael goleuadau llachar Llundain ac wedi teithio’n syth i fyny'r M4 i Gymru. Yn ystod y gyfres, rydyn ni wedi dathlu lleoliadau LHDTC+, taflu goleuni ar eu hanes a chwrdd â'r rhai a wnaeth ein tynnu o’r ciw ac i mewn i anhrefn a llawenydd y gymuned cwiar y tu ôl i’w drysau

Yn y bennod olaf hon, rydyn ni’n glanio yn y presennol. Cawn gip ar sut mae gwerth ein lleoliadau wedi newid, gofyn sut mae gwlad y gân - Cymru, hynny yw - wedi dylanwadu ar ein cerddoriaeth, pwyso a mesur pwysigrwydd drag rhanbarthol a gweld beth mae'n ei olygu i fod yn Gymry ac yn falch yn 2024.

Mae'n un fawr - amdani!

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In the last episode we talked all things super clubs, exploring the legendary Tunnel Club in Cardiff, and finished with the broadcaster and drummer Owain Wyn Evans, but don't think that's all he had to say.

In this episode, we discuss how Pride Cymru established itself and its ongoing challenges to represent our community and from Rahim El Abashi, a refugee who shares his story of how he came to settle in South Wales.

It's going to be a good one, but first back to Owain.

Originally from the town of Ammanford in West Wales, Owain explains the lasting effects of a lack of representation to a young LGBTQ+ person growing up in rural Wales and so much more! Who remembers Adam and Eve? IYKYK

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Yn y bennod ddiwethaf siaradon ni am y super clubs, gan drin a thrafod clwb chwedlonol y Tunnel yng Nghaerdydd, a gorffen gyda'r darlledwr a'r drymiwr Owain Wyn Evans, ond nid dyna'r cyfan a oedd ganddo i'w ddweud.

Yn y bennod hon, rydyn ni’n trafod sut y sefydlodd Pride Cymru ei hun a'i heriau parhaus i gynrychioli ein cymuned, ac yn clywed gan Rahim El Abashi, ffoadur sy'n rhannu ei stori am sut y daeth i ffeindio’i gartref yn Ne Cymru.

Mae'n mynd i fod yn un da, ond yn ôl i Owain yn gyntaf.

Yn wreiddiol o dref Rhydaman yng Ngorllewin Cymru, mae Owain yn esbonio effeithiau parhaol diffyg cynrychiolaeth i berson ifanc LHDTC+ sy'n tyfu i fyny yng nghefn gwlad Cymru a chymaint mwy! Pwy sy'n cofio Adam and Eve? IYKYK

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In the first of our four-part series, we heard what it was literally like growing up as the only gay in the village. We also heard how the lesbian and gay community supported mining families in South Wales and how queer discos and dances were springing up in towns and cities across the country.

Back in Cardiff though, something seismic was about to happen in the life of one young twink, finding his feet on the scene.

Want to find out more? I’ve popped a link in my stories, but you can tune in wherever you listen to your podcasts.

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Yn y gyntaf o'n cyfres pedair rhan, clywson ni sut brofiad oedd tyfu i fyny fel yr unig berson hoyw yn y pentref. Clywson ni hefyd sut roedd y gymuned lesbiaid a hoyw wedi cefnogi teuluoedd pyllau glo De Cymru, a sut roedd discos a dawnsfeydd cwiar yn cael eu sefydlu mewn trefi a dinasoedd ledled y wlad.

Yn ôl yng Nghaerdydd serch hynny, roedd rhywbeth enfawr ar fin digwydd ym mywyd un twinc ifanc, gan ddod o hyd i'w draed ar y llwyfan.

Am gael gwybod rhagor? Dwi wedi rhoi dolen yn fy straeon, ond gallwch chi wrando lle bynnag rydych chi'n cael eich podlediadau.

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I promised you Season 2...and it’s HERE!

Please like and share as Memories from the Dance Floor Season 2 is now live! A new episode will drop every Wednesday throughout June for Pride, so get it in your diaries. I can’t quite believe it.

We are still exploring LGBTQ+ nightlife, but we've left the mega clubs and punk bars of England behind, and we're headed straight to Wales for Series 2.

London, you've been a blast, but the reality is, you're not the Emerald City at the end of the Yellow Brick Road for everyone. There are communities out there thriving, and dare I say it, having even more fun.

The sense of community and pride here is insane, so I can't wait for you to wrap your ears this. We're meeting those who worked, performed, propped up the bar, and most importantly, slayed the dance floor.

In this episode, I'm taking you back to the 70s and 80s to explore the early venues, the wider scene, and the community who were ready to take centre stage in their fight for equality.

You in?

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Roeddwn i wedi addo byddai Cyfres 2 ar ei ffordd... a dyma HI!

Mae Memories From The Dance Floor, Cyfres 2 bellach yn fyw, felly cer ati i’w hoffi a’i rhannu! Bydd pennod newydd yn cyrraedd bob dydd Mercher trwy gydol mis Mehefin a Mis Balchder, felly rhowch hi yn eich dyddiaduron. Dwi’n methu â chredu’r peth yn iawn.

Rydyn ni'n dal i drin a thrafod bywyd nos LHDTC+, ond rydyn ni wedi gadael clybiau mawr a bariau pync Lloegr, ac yn teithio’n syth i Gymru ar gyfer Cyfres 2.

Roedd Llundain yn anhygoel, ond y gwir amdani yw, nid yr Ennill ar Lwyfan y Gen ar ôl cythrwbl y Rhagbrofion Sir yw hi i bawb. Mae yna gymunedau allan yna yn ffynnu, a, rhag fy nghywilydd yn dweud hyn, yn cael hyd yn oed mwy o hwyl na'r rhai yn Llundain.

Mae’r ymdeimlad o gymuned a balchder yma yn ffablas, felly alla i ddim aros i chi glywed Cyfres 2. Byddwn ni'n cwrdd â'r rhai oedd yn gweithio, perfformio, propio’r bar i fyny, ac yn bwysicaf oll, llofruddio ar y llawr dawns.

Yn y bennod hon, dw i'n mynd â chi'n ôl i'r 70au a'r 80au i edrych ar y lleoliadau cynharaf, y sîn ehangach, a'r gymuned a oedd yn barod i gymryd rhan yn eu brwydr dros gydraddoldeb.

Ydych chi am ymuno?

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Back in London Damian turns his attention to The Black Cap. A Camden landmark for over 250 years and one of London’s biggest and most famous LGBTQ+ spaces for more than 50, which closed abruptly in April 2015, due to the ambitions of the owners to redevelop the building into luxury flats. But what they didn't account for was our community’s resistance.

#WeAreTheBlackCap has been campaigning since to save the Black Cap given its place as one of the few remaining landmarks of historical, cultural, and artistic importance for the LGBTQ+ community, and ensure it is reopened as a safe, vibrant place of queer entertainment once again.

Speaking to Alex Green, the founder of the #WeAreTheBlackCap campaign and the gorgeous drag legend herself, Mrs Moore, Damian unpicks the history of The Black Cap and what was it about this local boozer that left the community wanting more.

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Leaving the bright lights of London, Damian travels to Birmingham to The Nightingale Club. From humble beginnings the Nightingale has grown into one of the UK's most successful queer superclubs - well known in the city and nationally.

Not only has the club far outlived the typical lifespan of a nightclub, but it has transformed itself from a members only club, to a club which can hold 1,500+ people.

With Birmingham one of the first 'super diverse' cities in the UK where citizens from ethnic minorities make up more than half the population Damian caught up with DJ Dolly and current owner Lawrence Barton to find out how the Nightingale has stayed relevant and catered to the family and community they create, nurture and serve, remaining a lifeline for some, a home for all.

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When London's Heaven opened in the winter of 1979, it changed what we knew to be gay clubbing forever. Europe's first super-club, Heaven has played a central role and had a major influence in the development of London's LGBTQ+ scene for the last 44 years.

Damian speaks to founder Jeremy Norman on the inspiration behind Heaven as well as Amy Lame, London's Night Czar, to understand the problem facing our venues today and that Urban Laboratory report.

All this and more as Damian uncovers the stories of epic nights, from the real lives of the community behind closed doors and memories that will last a lifetime.

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