Legends Manchester & The Outpost
In the summer of 2001 a Gay night club opened in Manchester in what used to be the Rockies Manchester building on Whitworth Street.
Legends was opened by Julia Grant whose name used to strike the fear of God into some people in the Gay Village.
I can still hear her booming voice "Hello Luvvies"If you were a regular in Manchester's Gay Village you’ve most likely been in one of her venues or been barred by her
Julia Grant died on the 2nd January 2019 at her home in Spain
At first Legends didn't really get that many customers on Friday and Saturday nights but towards the end of 2001 it started taking off.
Legends and the Hotel above were snatched off Julia Grant by a Gangster who took over Julia's venues Lock Stock and Barrel in 2002.
Julia Grant was forced to leave the UK and went to live in Spain & started running a hotel (The Queens)
After some legal challenges the Gangster had to give up The Hotel, Legends and Wells Fargo (The Outpost)
I often wondered what happened to the Gangster and his cronies, I think he got put in the slammer after his crimes caught up with him.
Legends Manchester really came into its own when Jorge and Julian took over the lease and traded as Last Dance Limited.
Donna Summer - Last Dance was always the last record of the night
There seemed to be an Unwritten rule where anything went (within reason & taste) there was only a set dress code on Fetish Nights.
Some of the Fetish clubs were real EYE openers I've seen things that would make your Grans hair Curl!
One guy took it to the extreme by just wearing Chainmail to hide his man parts every Saturday without fail.
Legends Manchester was the in place to be on a Saturday Night back in 2004.
Legends had 4 bars The Tunnel, The Mineshaft, Dorothy's Bar and The Main dance bar.
The music played in the Tunnel was always 80s HINRG played by a DJ called Jason.
The Mineshaft was always House and Trance and was always packed to the rafters.
The Club could be busy on Saturdays and more so if it was Manchester Pride or the Great British Bear Bash.
Legends had a MYSTERIOUS fire in the December of 2004 which damaged part of the club they were closed while they sorted the electrics
Legends also played host to some pretty big club nights like Homoelectric which is a Manchester Institution.
Marc Almond and Siobhan Fahey (Banarama) appeared at Homoelectric
The building had an interesting history it hosted some big names in the world of Soul back in the 1960s at The Twisted Wheel.
The building became Rockies Manchester around 1987 which was a great Gay nightclub.
The Tunnel was once a Club called Chains which famously got raided by the Police in the 1990s.
The Outpost was next door to Legends and was originally called Follies in the late 80s which was a Lesbian Bar
Julia Grant opened what was Follies as Wells Fargo a Cowboy Themed Gay Bar.
How and why Julia Grant picked a Cowboy theme for a Gay Bar I will never know.
That name stuck until at least 2002 when the company Wells Fargo (USA) threatened legal action over the name.
So the name changed to The Outpost (My pet name for the place was Out Patients)
The Outpost was a really friendly bar with cheap drinks (Happy Hour Til 7pm) and sometimes even CHEAPER MEN!
There were some great characters who drank in the Outpost if you wanted a laugh the best place to go to was the Beer Garden/Smoking Area.
The music that got played in the OP was also an eclectic mix with everything from HiNRG, Northern Soul to Oldies.
By 2010 the writing was on the wall for Legends Manchester a German Motel chain purchased the building and the land where the club stood.
There was a campaign to get the buildings listed but despite everyones efforts that attempt sadly failed.
Legends Manchester and The Outpost finally closed on New Years Day 2013 to make way for the new German Motel
The demolition started in March 2013 and it was sad to see a building that had so much history just reduced to rubble
Legends Manchester sticks out in my mind mainly because it was a club without attitude & everyone had a great time.
Please Note: There is a bar in Manchester calling itself The Outpost on Oxford Road which is owned by BREWDOG and BARES NO resemblance to the now DEFUNCT Outpost on Whitworth Street Manchester.
I personally think Brewdog were cheeky naming their venue that.