Pride Month: Matthew Evans and Comptons, London

A true pillar of the community

Before we tell you about Matthew’s impressive efforts running Comptons, we’ll first tell you a bit about the venue itself.

So what is Comptons? Comptons of Soho is a longstanding and celebrated gay pub on Old Compton Street, which is regarded as “London’s gay street”. Established in 1986, Comptons became a favourite of the gay community throughout the 80s and 90s. It quickly became a pillar of the LGBTQIA community and one of London’s most celebrated LGBTQ+ venues. Proof of its station is apparent in November 2006, when the pub celebrated its 20th anniversary. QX Magazine would affectionately go onto call it “The Grand Dame of Queer Street”. Located a mere four-minute walk from Piccadilly Circus and five minutes from Leicester Square, it’s easy to get to and worth visiting.

Such a fantastic venue requires an amazing individual to keep it running. That’s where Matthew comes in. He’d worked in Comptons before taking on the role of senior management and understands the heart and soul of the place. He previously stated in an interview with Boyz.co.uk that “it is such a great pub, and such a special place with so many memories for me; it is amazing to be back as the general manager!” In addition, Matthew had five years of experience as the general manager at the Duke of Wellington before coming to Comptons, making him well suited for the job.

Comptons of Soho proudly states that “Comptons remains the steadfast heart of gay Soho and will be standing proud for many years to come” on its website. We wholeheartedly believe them as, under Matthew’s guidance, Comptons regularly hosts lots of events for the local community.

What are Comptons weekly events?

Matthew has fine-tuned his understanding of Comptons’ community. In that same interview with Boyz.co.uk, he once said, “We are very thankful that so many people visit us so regularly. The great thing is how varied the customers can be, and everyone will get a warm welcome here.” And to cater to this varied customer base, Matthew keeps the following weekly events running for the community.

On Mondays, Comptons of Soho has “Monday cheap drinks”, and who doesn’t love cheap drinks? Especially when they are washing the Monday blues away… By cheap, we mean all day £2.95 prices on selected drinks (doubles are £5.90) and the bonus of a DJ from 9pm.

On Thursdays, Comptons host “Soul Hoes”, which is described as “The only LGBTQ+ Soul’ Funk’ Disco evening in Soho”, which DJ Alex Eugenio regularly leads. It’s a great night out and previously had a tribute DJ set to Simply Red, an iconic soul British band, that ran from 8pm to 11:30pm. The evening was spent playing the best of the band’s B-sides and remixes of their works. If this sounds like something you would like, we’d recommend paying a visit for more similar great events.

Thursday nights are big evenings for Comptons because it’s also the weekly “we love quiz” night! This smartphone quiz will pit you against different teams from across the UK. You can download the quiz app from either the App or Google Play Store, and you could win the prize pot of up to £1,500.

Matthew and his team at Comptons has also gone to great lengths to make Saturday nights enjoyable for the local community. Starting before Pride month even begins and continuing until way after, you can see a DJ set by DJ Heidilicious from 9pm until midnight. A great night for anyone who loves pop mashups and remixes!

With Comptons being one of the most famous, historic and reputable gay pubs out there, it’s great to see Matthew has taken its history as an LGBTQ+ community hub for entertainment into the future by organising so many amazing events. Matthew has kept true to one of the first statements he made in his current role, that it is imperative that Comptons is a friendly place where people can be themselves.

As part of Dish Cult’s Pride month celebrations, we are proud to be supporting Stonewall – the largest LGBTQ+ charitable organisation in Europe. Stonewall work in each nation of the UK and stand for lesbian, gay, bi, trans, queer, questioning and ace people everywhere.

Stonewall’s campaigning work drives positive change in public attitudes and public policy, helping transform the day-to-day experience of all LGBTQ+ people. The work continues until the world we imagine is the world we live in.

If you can imagine a world where there is freedom, equity and limitless potential for every LGBTQ+ person – stand with us. Donate to Stonewall now.

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