The Glory was a haven for outlandish self-expression and the early stomping ground for many of the UK’s most infamous drag queens. It made me ready for life
In a packed pub, revellers chat, sip lager and look at their phones. Suddenly a side door crashes open, and in walks drag sensation John Sizzle, dressed as a hair-raisingly accurate Diana, Princess of Wales. She saunters demurely to a halo, fashioned from tinsel and coat hangers and stuck to the wall, stands under it, and starts lip-syncing to Beyoncé’s Halo. The crowd erupts.
Just a regular Tuesday night at the Glory, the Haggerston pub that had a decade of debauchery from 2014 to 2024. I worked at a nightlife magazine at the time and was there for most of it. I loved the fact that it offered an alternative to the ripple-muscled mainstream of London gay clubbing. Nothing wrong with rippled muscles of course, but sometimes you just want something a bit more inventive – like the saucy Spanish-inspired night “Gayzpacho” (underwear-wrestling in a passata-filled paddling pool, anyone?).
I was there when they randomly decided to paper the pub’s entire exterior in gold foil. I was there for groundbreaking drag contest Lipsync1000, where many of the UK’s most infamous queens began, including Drag Race UK star Bimini Bon Boulash. I was there when they served microwaved pasta in that bizarre period during Covid when licensed venues could only open if they served food. They charged £1 per meal and called it “Diana’s Delish Dish”. I wasn’t there for the New Year’s Eve party when Chelsea Clinton showed up – I’ve kicked myself ever since.
