Very discreet, you went upstairs and knocked a door with a small flap that opened and if they knew you then in. “The first club, the Showbiz, was opened next door to the Glastonbury Arms and was owned by Lenny Lancaster from Senghenydd. The Showbiz: 1970s club in Custom House Street “In terms of non drinking haunts the Prince of Wales soft porn cinema was where some guys, including bisexual/ married guys went for sex. All the songs sounded the same but no one cared". "Rose the pianist would play any song you requested as long as you bought her a drink. The Philharmonic Bar (1960s) St Mary Street After closing time we would often go back to each other’s houses and dance to Doris Day and Alma Cogan records whilst dragged up.” Management preferred the gay guys to go in the Castle Bar. “In the 1960s, the cocktail bar was very popular. I think I was the only woman to be issued with one.” “Without doubt Sirs was a great place as you get access safely without queuing.”Ī female member said: “I still have my key for Sirs. Others remember its lit-up dancefloor or that women were only allowed half pint measures. In a heartfelt piece, a young Cardiff woman reveals why it took her six years to say 'I'm queer'Ī men's membership bar off St Mary Street.There were marches, the horrific dawning of the dangers of Aids and there was discrimination. There were discos and dances at leisure centres that were always booked under ambiguous names like 'women's dance'. Memories of Sirs and other aspects of gay life in Cardiff in the 70s and 80s, before the cultural changes that have made life for LGBTQ people today very different, have been shared as part of a project being run by Pride Cymru to get people to record their memories. Sirs' key policy meant no-one had to stand in the street queuing for entry so customers could feel safe in a very different climate to today. On evenings at work, one woman who worked on the ground floor watched ice buckets disappear never knowing where they were going. It had an owner known to all, and a dancefloor that lit up - described as being like something from Saturday Night Fever. It was a men's only venue which was so discreet a woman who worked downstairs went months without realising it was there. Sirs was on the first floor of 60 St Mary Street in Cardiff city centre - where well-known restaurant Le Monde is now. Cardiff once had a bar where only male members were allowed, and to get in you needed a key.