Cruz 101: Celebrating 32 Years of LGBTQ+ Clubbing History

Cruz 101, Manchester's legendary LGBTQ+ nightclub, is celebrating its 32nd birthday this weekend with a series of events that honour its rich history while looking forward to an exciting future. We spoke with Promotions Manager Nik Denton about the club's long-term success, plans for the birthday celebration, and what's coming up next.

Hi Nik, great to meet you. You have a big weekend ahead, so thank you for taking the time to speak to us. It must be an exciting time for you, 32 years is certainly something to shout about.

Definitely, it’s a massive achievement for the club and the team at Cruz. When I took over as promotions manager back in 2022 it was just a couple of months until the 30th birthday and I remember feeling that it was a huge responsibility and that I had to do it justice, and I still feel the same now about the birthday this year. I’m not an expert and don’t know for sure, but I do not think there are many clubs left in the UK that have been around as long as Cruz has. So yes, it is something to shout about and I feel very proud to be a part of it.

The nightlife and hospitality industry has been reported to have suffered quite a lot of closures over the past few years since covid, but from the outside it looks as if Cruz is still going strong in what you could say is a difficult time for the industry. What is the key to its success for such a long time and against an ever changing landscape?

Ultimately I think it’s the team behind it. Everyone that works at Cruz is extremely passionate about the venue and even today after being part of the management team for over two years, I sometimes have to pinch myself about the amount of work the whole team continues to put in. It’s a constant project with the sound, lighting, venue upkeep always being invested in. The club is always changing and being updated, even though as a customer you wouldn’t necessarily see it.But the end result is that our customers always have a great night out with the very best nightclub backdrop.

It’s my job to make sure we have the best DJs and entertainment and of course this also plays a part in the success of Cruz. I have a great core team of DJs and entertainers and they are also very passionate about the club. I think this comes across to our customers. When you are in Cruz it feels like a community club, and that is exactly what it is.

With the industry changing and there being closures, of course we have to look at what is going on around us and make sure we change and keep the club relevant. But what is key is that we are a club for the LGBTQ+ community and friends,and we have to make sure that we’re always a safe space for everyone that comes to Cruz.

Looking ahead to the Birthday this week, what do you have planned for the celebrations?

It’s a pretty epic lineup this weekend and we’re celebrating not only the past 32 years, but also looking forward to the future. In some of the content that has gone out we have teased “A flashpoint in LGBTQ+ clubbing history”.. And that is because we are excited about the future. Summer 2024 (Almost straight after the birthday) we have a new season and a new look weekly lineup. The birthday seemed like a good time to think not only about the past, but what we have now and where we are going. So the theme is “Past, present, future”

We have some returning faces to help us celebrate and some new up-and-coming future stars performing. We also have singer/songwriter Harlee joining us as our live PA on Saturday night and she will be performing her back catalog of brilliant club anthems. She has performed at Cruz before, but has since become a platinum-selling artist earlier this year.So we have her back and I am very excited to see her perform.

The weekend celebrations are split into three parts. The main event is on Saturday night and then we have a one-off ‘Birthday'' drag show on Sunday at 9 pm. Cruz icon Anna Phylatic is returning to perform at the show alongside our amazing host Barb, Cruz stalwart queen Vin Dicktiv and guests Jordyn Banks, Rodger and Georgie Porgie. And keeping in line with looking at the future, we will be teasing a new project at the show. But you will have to come along to see what that is. The show will be followed by part three, which is our Birthday After Party. Bank Holiday Sundays at Cruz are always very special and are a big calendar night out for clubbers. So we have extended the celebrations to Sunday night to make it a weekend to remember.

We have two floors of music on both nights with a huge lineup of Cruz 101 DJs and a couple of special guests. All tastes are covered with pop and commercial on the main floor and house music lovers catered for downstairs in Sub 101. We’re open until 8 am on both nights. The full lineup is available on the Cruz 101 App and on our ticket-selling platform Fatsoma.

You’ve already teased the future, can you give us any more information on what we can expect to come at Cruz?

What I can say is that I am working on some very exciting projects at the moment, including our Pride 2024 weekend. We will be teasing that over our birthday weekend in the club. Our Summer Drag Camp competition is returning for Season Three in just a few weeks' time (Apply at dragcamp@cruz101.com). The competition is an excellent platform for drag artists and I can’t wait to see who follows in the footsteps of queens Xa’Scarlett, Angel Pinks and Coco Cannelll to steal the crown this year. We have some very special guest performers booked over the coming months, but people will have to keep an eye on our socials for announcements.

The diary is also packed with some fantastic outside promotions in the coming months. We have some huge American drag stars coming to Cruz, including Sasha Colby and Sapphira. Baga Chipz, Divina Depcamp and Blu Hydrangea are with us on 13th July for a very special one-off Frock Destroyers show and as always, we have community celebrations heading to Cruz throughout the summer and beyond. Including Manchester Rubber Men, Manchester Leathermen Weekend, Animalz club night and a planned social event for UKGAYLADS.

In June we are teaming up with The George House Trust for a Pride month campaign to help with awareness and fundraising for the charity. We are launching this on Saturday 01st of June with a Queen Supreme special. Our gorgeous host Barb will be joined by two of our regular trans drag queens, Vil & Tianah Tucker.

Thanks Nik. Any final words before we let you get on with the Cruz birthday preparations?

I guess just to remind everyone that there is a free Cruz 101 App that gives you a discount on entry and 10% off all drinks. All you have to do is show the App on arrival at Cruz and the discounts are all yours. There’s always offers being added to the coupons page on the App, so it’s definitely worth a download. All the event information and drink offer information is available there as well, so you always know what is happening.

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Published: 22-May-2024: (7492)