Singapore gay venues: historical, minor

Introduction

The following establishments constitute a chronicle of the relative non-successes amongst the efforts of Singaporean gay entrepreneurs to carve a profitable niche in the limited pink market. Some of these businesses may have closed for reasons other than cash-flow problems, so it may not be fair to label all of them as 'failures'.

The factors that prevented them from taking off may have included poor location, small size, high rent, lack of focus, insufficient advertising, incorrect pricing, undifferentiated service, partnership disputes and many others.

It is hoped that after a decade of recording these establishments, a meta-analysis of the factors which led to their demise may be made and be instructive to future gay entrepreneurs.

Pubs, Bars and Karaoke joints

• Moods

01-01, Craig Place, 20 Craig Road, former tel: 6383-8122.

Craig Place, the building in which Moods disco was located.

The location of Moods disco, now taken over by another establishment.

Saturday night men's party. Even though it was located in the heart of Tanjong Pagar, it was not very popular, probably due to the presence of larger, well-established bars and discos all around. It opened in 2003 and closed down in 2005. The location has been taken over by an establishment called Freeze.

Discos

• dbl 0[1],[2],[3] - a mainstream disco at #01-01/02, 222, Queen Street which held its gay night unusually on Saturdays instead of Sundays[4]. It functioned as such only from 2001 to 2002 because it could not compete with the other dedicated gay discos like Happy and Why Not? for the pink market. It was the venue for Crystal Ball, a charity event co-organised by Fridae and AfA in aid of HIV patients.

Lesbian venues

• Mad Monk's Pub

20 Upper Circular Road, #B1-01/06 The Riverwalk, former tel: 6536 1386.

The Riverwalk, the building along Upper Circular Road in which the Mad Monk's Pub was located.

Another view of the Riverwalk, where the Mad Monk's Pub was located, in the basement level.

Located across the road from Boat Quay, the pub came alive every Friday night with Top 40 and R&B hits, a packed dance floor and al fresco area. It was a good bet for an action-packed girls-only night out. It opened in 2003 and closed in 2005.

Spas and Saunas

• Papillon- A gay sauna in Robertson Quay. Its small size and location away from the gay-frequented districts of Tanjong Pagar and Chinatown were probably instrumental in preventing it from achieving mass popularity. It opened in 2004 and closed in mid-2005.

See also

• Singapore gay venues (contemporary)
• Singapore gay venues (historical)

References

Dr. Russell Heng's article, "Where queens ruled! - a history of gay venues in Singapore" on Yawning Bread. [5]

External links

Photo albums of gay cruising venues in Singapore: [6]