It all started as a student at
Leeds Metropolitan University in 2004. I was working at a nightclub in Leeds
City Centre when I was asked to fill in as a bartender at The Purple Door in
York Place, Leeds.
Since then I have worked on and
off in the industry in various roles: bartender, promo staff, manager and
promotions manager. I have even been known to do a stint on the pole!
The industry has changed a lot
over the ten years and has never faced more challenges than it does today.
On that first shift in 2004,
The Purple Door was one of only three clubs in Leeds along with Blue Leopard
and DV8. The girls working in the clubs at this time were nothing less than
stunning. Not a shift went by where a girl didn't bring in a newspaper or
magazine they had been modeled for and photographed in. Promotions for the
clubs was very discreet and all of the clubs were successful, evenly sharing a
good sized market. Entry to the club was £10 and it was the same price for a three-minute
private fully nude dance. Rules were very strict and no touching meant no
touching: any customer that dared lay a finger on a girl was very quickly
ejected from the club.
Over the next few years a lot
of new clubs sprung up over Leeds including Red Leopard, directly opposite
Leeds Town Hall and Wildcats, a little further up the Headrow.
With more clubs, more girls
were required. I have always got along very well with dancers and respect them
for the job they do. Earning a good living with instant remuneration working
flexible hours, keeping fit and working in a fun and social environment.
Many dancers were students, a
great way to pay a very expensive three or four years in a City with two
universities and many more colleges.
With the extra clubs, many of them
bigger than the original three and requiring up to forty girls on a busy
Saturday night I don't doubt the quality of girls declined somewhat.
During the early Purple Door days the quality of the girls merited parting with £10 as most customers saw them as way out of their league. Suddenly around 2007 all clubs collectively increased the price of a dance to £20.
The aggressive marketing of Silks, located in Sovereign Street, underneath the railway lines, brought about a big change in the Leeds lap dancing world.
To attract customers to the club, Silks had purchased two hummers and these chauffeur driven vehicles were used to drive around the streets of Leeds giving customers a free ride to the club.
Before you knew it, in fear of being left behind, every club had followed suit and revelers could not walk through Leeds without being approached by PR staff in hummers, mini buses, cars, limousines offering free rides to the clubs now battling for each others business.
Each club had around five or six flyering staff on the streets with suggestive flyers and drinks deals replacing the previously subtle marketing approach.
It was around this time I was Promotions Manager at Deep Blue and The Purple Door (operated by the same owners). We, of course, had to follow suit at fear of being left behind at a huge expense to the company.
It was around this time that the now aggressive and noticeable promotions of the club were attracting the attention of the police, local councilors and licensing departments.
The next huge change in the industry was the licensing of clubs. On 6 April 2010 the Policing and Crime Act 2009 came into effect and amended Schedule 3 of the 1982 Act. Sexual Entertainment Venues (SEVs) were added as a category of sex establishments to enable local authorities to regulate those premises which provide lap dancing, table dancing, peep shows, pole dancing, strip shows and live sex shows and other similar entertainment.
Previous to this licences had been granted freely and cheaply and Leeds City Council appeared to have no problems with granting them.
Clubs are required to reapply for a licence each year, with a constant battle against campaigners and objections at a high cost to the clubs in terms of legal bills.
In 2012 licenses were granted to seven clubs in Leeds on the provision that all transport left the streets of Leeds. No more hummers, limousines etc were allowed. Even though this was detrimental to the clubs it was a decision I actually agreed with. Promotions had become too visible and Leeds was getting a reputation as the lap dancing capital of the England.
In 2013 Leeds city council took the decision to cut the number of SEV’s granted from seven to just four with licences for Deep Blue, Wildcats and Red Leopard refused due to their proximity to buildings with ‘sensitive uses’.
Both Wildcats and Deep Blue have appealed these decisions and are currently open with their license under appeal with a judicial review due to be heard on Wednesday 5th March 2014.
Red Leopard has not appealed the decision but continues to trade illegally, tarnishing the reputation of the law-abiding lap dancing clubs.
Wildcats in particular have gone to great lengths in their appeal removing all signage from outside of the club, reducing trading hours with the club not opening until 11pm, increasing the minimum age for entry to 21 and reducing promotional activity.
This blog will day by day look at the reasons given by Leeds city council and objections made to the licence being granted as part of a campaign named D.A.N.C.E: Don’t Accept Nonsense Councillor Explanations. Over 200 are expected to lose their jobs should these clubs be forced to close down. It is not just the dancers, there are managers, doormen, bar staff, promotions staff, administration staff and the list goes on.
Leeds City Council are anticipated to spend up to £200,000 of tax payers money on fighting for the clubs to be closed down, for what? 200 job losses from closing down a respectable, successful, law-abiding business.
Many of those affected are friends of mine and their livelihoods are at stake. Many have worked in the industry for years and know nothing else.
The clubs are being closed based on moral judgments of a select few councilors and this blog will expose those people who are fighting to ruin the lives of my friends and former colleagues.
I encourage everybody that follows my blog to sign the online petition:
www.gopetition.com/petitions/dance.html
The decision of the licensing committee is not fair and is based on untruths and a moral crusade. This blog aims to highlight those nonsense council reasons and highlight the real truth.
During the early Purple Door days the quality of the girls merited parting with £10 as most customers saw them as way out of their league. Suddenly around 2007 all clubs collectively increased the price of a dance to £20.
The aggressive marketing of Silks, located in Sovereign Street, underneath the railway lines, brought about a big change in the Leeds lap dancing world.
To attract customers to the club, Silks had purchased two hummers and these chauffeur driven vehicles were used to drive around the streets of Leeds giving customers a free ride to the club.
Before you knew it, in fear of being left behind, every club had followed suit and revelers could not walk through Leeds without being approached by PR staff in hummers, mini buses, cars, limousines offering free rides to the clubs now battling for each others business.
Each club had around five or six flyering staff on the streets with suggestive flyers and drinks deals replacing the previously subtle marketing approach.
It was around this time I was Promotions Manager at Deep Blue and The Purple Door (operated by the same owners). We, of course, had to follow suit at fear of being left behind at a huge expense to the company.
It was around this time that the now aggressive and noticeable promotions of the club were attracting the attention of the police, local councilors and licensing departments.
The next huge change in the industry was the licensing of clubs. On 6 April 2010 the Policing and Crime Act 2009 came into effect and amended Schedule 3 of the 1982 Act. Sexual Entertainment Venues (SEVs) were added as a category of sex establishments to enable local authorities to regulate those premises which provide lap dancing, table dancing, peep shows, pole dancing, strip shows and live sex shows and other similar entertainment.
Previous to this licences had been granted freely and cheaply and Leeds City Council appeared to have no problems with granting them.
Clubs are required to reapply for a licence each year, with a constant battle against campaigners and objections at a high cost to the clubs in terms of legal bills.
In 2012 licenses were granted to seven clubs in Leeds on the provision that all transport left the streets of Leeds. No more hummers, limousines etc were allowed. Even though this was detrimental to the clubs it was a decision I actually agreed with. Promotions had become too visible and Leeds was getting a reputation as the lap dancing capital of the England.
In 2013 Leeds city council took the decision to cut the number of SEV’s granted from seven to just four with licences for Deep Blue, Wildcats and Red Leopard refused due to their proximity to buildings with ‘sensitive uses’.
Both Wildcats and Deep Blue have appealed these decisions and are currently open with their license under appeal with a judicial review due to be heard on Wednesday 5th March 2014.
Red Leopard has not appealed the decision but continues to trade illegally, tarnishing the reputation of the law-abiding lap dancing clubs.
Wildcats in particular have gone to great lengths in their appeal removing all signage from outside of the club, reducing trading hours with the club not opening until 11pm, increasing the minimum age for entry to 21 and reducing promotional activity.
This blog will day by day look at the reasons given by Leeds city council and objections made to the licence being granted as part of a campaign named D.A.N.C.E: Don’t Accept Nonsense Councillor Explanations. Over 200 are expected to lose their jobs should these clubs be forced to close down. It is not just the dancers, there are managers, doormen, bar staff, promotions staff, administration staff and the list goes on.
Leeds City Council are anticipated to spend up to £200,000 of tax payers money on fighting for the clubs to be closed down, for what? 200 job losses from closing down a respectable, successful, law-abiding business.
Many of those affected are friends of mine and their livelihoods are at stake. Many have worked in the industry for years and know nothing else.
The clubs are being closed based on moral judgments of a select few councilors and this blog will expose those people who are fighting to ruin the lives of my friends and former colleagues.
I encourage everybody that follows my blog to sign the online petition:
www.gopetition.com/petitions/dance.html
The decision of the licensing committee is not fair and is based on untruths and a moral crusade. This blog aims to highlight those nonsense council reasons and highlight the real truth.
I am not an
employee of any of the club concerned but have a very strong connection with
both Deep Blue and Wildcats and a huge interest in their current plight.
I hope you enjoy following this blog and I look forward to hearing your feedback and support and encouragement for those in danger of unemployment this time next month.
For now, enjoy your day and I look forward to writing again tomorrow.
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