Blackpool is known for its extravagance, flamboyance and celebration of individuality – but there was a time when the city and the world looked very different.
In 1979, an unknown artist decided to change this landscape and created the scene and corner of Blackpool that thousands of people know and love today. Basil Newby MBE began his career as a bluecoat in Pontins in the early 1970s before establishing himself in the business world.
As the 1970s drew to a close, he took over The Flamingo, a nightclub in Blackpool. Then, in his 20s, Basil reopened as the city’s first gay nightclub. It was the beginning of an incredible journey.
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Today, you’ll still see Basil’s name as the founder and owner of Funny Girls, a cabaret bar with burlesque drag shows and an eclectic restaurant. It celebrates 30 years in 2024.
Blackpool-born Basil, now 72, told Lancslive: “When I bought the old Flamingo in 1979 I went to a solicitor to get a license and he said, are you going to be openly gay for this? I said yes! I am who I am!
“He said well, you will be the first openly gay person to hold a license in the UK and you will be classed as an unfit and unfit person to hold a licence. He said don’t let the police or anyone else know. that you are gay
“I did it, but it was fanaticism and hard work at the beginning, but it gave me the inspiration to keep going.
Basil says the backlash he experienced early in his career ignited the fire. One that inspired him to create a place where anyone and everyone can feel comfortable. And the Funny Girls on Dickson Road was born.
“Even in the beginning, all the negativity around the whole thing,” Basil recalls. “People said ‘in the middle of town, people will kick out and there will be fights’.
“We’re celebrating 30 years of Funny Girls here now and in 30 years there’s never been an argument. We’ve done two Royal Variety shows.”
“It’s become so well known that I think it’s the fifth tourist attraction in Blackpool – we’ve come a long way since 1979 when I was classed as an unfit and unfit licensee!”
But even in the 1990s, Basil says he still battled the tide of negativity. He describes the decade as probably the “worst” his businesses have had to endure.
“Then they did clause 28 because if I went to the council or the municipality to get a license and said it had something to do with a gay bar, they couldn’t give it to me because it was promoting homosexuality.” 28 prevented you from doing so.
“I opened a place called Basil on the Strand here in Blackpool and they turned me down. The people on the bench said, ‘I didn’t turn you down because of the bar, I turned you down because of your sexuality because we can’t support the 28th.
“I then took it to Preston Crown Court and it was the judge who was there who was so sympathetic and said it should never have come to Crown Court and he granted me a licence.
Funny Girls, which opened in 1994, has been described as the UK’s premiere ‘Drag Show Extravaganza’, captivating audiences with costumes, choreography and comedy routines for 30 years. Basil wants to create a place where everyone feels good, and says it’s important to have those places now – a big difference from when he was growing up.
He said: “I came out to my parents when I think I was around 17, I knew I was gay but I told them at 17. They accepted it and were great with me but because we were from the city he said my dad when you go out don’t go out
“So I used to go to Manchester and Liverpool and at that time I’d go to a club in Manchester and you’d have to knock on the door and the shutter would open and you’d say, ‘I’m a friend from Dorothy’s and then they’d let you in. The DJ said that they would play a special song and you weren’t allowed to touch each other on the dance floor.
“When they thought the police were there, the DJ would play a song to let you know the secret police were inside, and then you wouldn’t touch your partner. You’d be arrested for groping.”
Wanting to know the secret of Basil’s youthful appearance, especially at the age of 72, he said: “I have never smoked, never drank and never been with women.”