From newbie drag queens to wild voguing performances, a new archival exhibition boasts images from four decades of riotous nightlife

‘The crowd will always bring their own colour’ … Bootylicious at Area, Vauxhall, London, 2006. Photograph: Jason Manning

Thu 22 Jan 2026 02.00 EST

Bootylicious at Area, Vauxhall, London, 2006

Spanning from the late 1970s to 2021, exhibition Reunion 79-21 traces the emergence and evolution of Black queer club culture against a backdrop of racial exclusion, homophobia, the HIV/Aids crisis, gentrification and the persistent erasure of Black queer histories from cultural narratives. *Reunion 79-21: Revisiting Black Queer London Clubland is showing at Great Pulteney Street gallery, London, until 25 January*Photograph: Jason Manning

Grind at The Candy Bar, Soho, London, 2006

Photographer Jason Manning: ‘Being outside of a situation or scene can be a useful position to be in and can facilitate the documentation process. At the same time, participating, even momentarily, can be a rewarding process both in terms of capturing material and feeling closer to the subject matter’Photograph: Jason Manning

Bootylicious at Area, Vauxhall, London, 2006

Manning: ‘There are always a multiplicity of characters populating night spots. Often people off to the side who are perhaps more reticent about being the centre of attention can also add to the narrative’Photograph: Jason Manning

Bootylicious at Area, Vauxhall, London, 2006

Manning: ‘The crowd will always bring their own colour to the event in more or less subtle ways. Permissive spaces seem to propagate fresh and innovative fashion statements, blurring the boundaries between irony, acceptability and taste’Photograph: Jason Manning

Grind at The Candy Bar, Soho, London, 2006

Manning: ‘Nightclubs have always trodden a line between exclusivity and inclusivity for numerous reasons. Exclusivity can make a night or a venue more appealing and entry more sought after but sometimes it’s about creating an acceptable space for people with certain proclivities without the pressure of potential scrutinies from people outside of the scene’Photograph: Jason Manning

Fruit Machine at Heaven, London, 2006

Manning: ‘My most successful nightlife images are often ones that depict intimacy. Sometimes my presence as a photographer is hardly noticed as a result. Photography can be intrusive but I like to think my intrusions are a celebration and positive appreciation of the environment and the people in it’Photograph: Jason Manning

Tony Rahaman at The Lift at Stallions, London, 1983

Dave Swindells: ‘Photographers often start out by snapping their family and friends, and I did the same. I was fortunate that my brother Steve was a club promoter, so my first nightlife photos were taken at The Lift, a pioneering gay night where the music was mostly Black American imports and the crowd were predominantly queer and very diverse. We’d call it polysexual now as it wasn’t exclusively gay. Tony Rahaman was Steve’s boyfriend and I grabbed a shot of him hanging on the telephone that was there to call taxis’Photograph: Dave Swindells

Winn Austin at Kinky Gerlinky Voguing Ball at Café de Paris, London 1990

Swindells: ‘I’ve got so many shots of Winn Austin, the magisterial co-host of Kinky Gerlinky, sashaying along the catwalk while introducing the riotous competitors and guest stars at spectacular Kinky Gerlinky parties (from Rio Carnival fiestas to Night of the Leopards where everyone wore animal prints) but I love this closeup of him taken next to one of the 18th century-inspired light fittings at the Café de Paris’Photograph: Dave Swindells

Juicy Lucy and Roy Inc at The Lift at Legends, London, 1984

Swindells: ‘This was taken backstage at The Lift Halloween party at Legends in Mayfair, where Roy Brown AKA Roy Inc had been persuaded by his mates to dress in drag for the first time. He was all set to perform a lip-sync PA to Stephanie Mills’ fabulous new disco stomper the Medicine Song, with Juicy Lucy as one of the backing ‘singers’. I was working behind the bar in another club, Fouberts, that night so sadly I missed their performance. Oh, you want to know about the pills? They’re probably paracetamol’Photograph: Dave Swindells

David Somerville and Sophie Tilson at The Lift at The Embassy, London, 1985

Swindells: ‘David was a friend who was doing a masters degree at Chelsea College of Arts and became a regular at The Lift, often bringing friends along at as it was invariably a friendly club where girls in particular could relax. One-nighter clubs like The Lift were peripatetic, but The Embassy was one of the more prestigious locations, a renowned queer-friendly venue with a great sound system’Photograph: Dave Swindells

Victoria Wilson-James, Tony and Jill at The Downbeat, London, 1986

Swindells: ‘The Downbeat was a gem, held in a piano bar dive in Soho’s Frith Street, where Eric Robinson played and sang at the piano, Steve Swindells was the host and heaps of guest singers joined the party, from Leee John to Jimmy Somerville. The backing singer trio here were Victoria Wilson-James (later of Soul II Soul), and the lovely Tony and Jill, but everyone sang along to the Motown, Stax and contemporary soul classics, including the drag queens who worked on the bar’Photograph: Dave Swindells

Roy Inc on the catwalk at the Kinky Gerlinky Voguing Ball, Cafe de Paris, London, 1990

Swindells: ‘Kinky Gerlinky started in 1989 as an impromptu monthly party for queer, trans and straight party people hosted by fashion impresarios Michael and Gerlinde Costiff. In May 1990, just after Madonna’s Vogue had topped the charts, KG hosted a Voguing Ball at the Café de Paris where Roy Inc, by then a supremely fit model, musician and vogue performer with the House of Child, was never going to hold back’ Reunion 79-21: Revisiting Black Queer London Clubland is curated by Shaun WallacePhotograph: Dave Swindells