Celebrate this beloved nightlife staple on its third birthday
BY TIGER ROSE, IMAGES BY @LEACHYY
Are you looking for a hot, established lesbian club night? Well, Crushed has a treat in store for you. On 25 September, Brighton’s hottest lesbian night will celebrate its third birthday. Three years, roughly thirty events, and one unmistakable dent in the city’s queer nightlife map. To mark the occasion, I sat down with the three women behind it: Neave, Em and Liv, to talk about where it all started and what’s changed since.
Having been to a Crushed night myself, I understand exactly why it’s been so successful. There’s always a theme to throw yourself into, and honestly, who wouldn’t want to be in a room full of dykes doing Chappell Roan’s Hot To Go! in perfect unison?!
Crushed started, unsurprisingly, out of frustration. “Going out in Brighton was quite dire for lesbians,” Liv tells me. “Even going anywhere that was queer, there were no lesbians, and if there were, it was far and few between.” Neave, Em, and Liv wanted something different: a space for younger lesbians to actually dance and party.
So they built it themselves. “We’re kind of doing it for our younger selves,” Liv says, “But also for the people that are coming here now, so they have that space.” Three years and roughly thirty events later, that gap has been well and truly filled.
The night they knew they made it was answered without hesitation. All three landed on the same answer: Chappell Roan night – their first event at the Charles Street Tap, during freshers. “The capacity was like three times the amount as before, and we sold out,” Em remembers.
“That was the start of what Crushed is now,” Liv agrees. “That was definitely a moment of like: ‘Oh wow, we’re actually doing this.’”
Themed nights like Magic Dyke have become fan favourites, run back twice by popular demand, and Halloween is also super popular. “Queer people love Halloween,” Neave says. Dress-up is encouraged every single month, not just in October.
Growth hasn’t come without its headaches. “Most of the time, we’ve had to deal with men”, Em says. “They don’t always understand what we’re trying to do, and the importance of it being a lesbian night.”
As a result, they’ve had to learn how to hold their own against someone twice your age. “Men are so patronising to young lesbians,” Liv adds. The upside: three years of problem-solving on the fly has made the trio, in Neave’s words “very good at not panicking.”
What’s kept people coming back, they say, is refusing to let the night go stagnant. “We’re always chatting to people at night, asking what they enjoyed, what didn’t go well,” Neave explains. Between the ever-changing themes and an active online presence, Crushed rarely feels predictable.
The result is a crowd the founders are visibly proud of: Freshers alongside graduates and “a group of 50-year-old butches just chilling in the back” on any given month.
“I love that no matter what, any type of lesbian dyke feels they can come”, Liv says. “I’d hate for it to feel cliquey.” Every door and welfare member of staff is hired on one non-negotiable: friendliness. “The minute you walk in, that puts everyone at ease,” Neave says.
The past year hasn’t been without setbacks. Charles Street Tap, Crushed’s home, has closed down, sending the trio venue-hunting again. Beyond that, the ambitions are big: a Crushed On The Road Tour taking the night beyond Brighton next summer, a long-held dream landing a festival slot, and deeper involvement with Dyke Pride, after helping run this year’s after-party for a crowd they estimate hit 3,000 people.
The long-term dream is bigger still: a permanent, lesbian-run space that’s open every day. “Not just a club, because we recognise not all lesbians are big partiers. A coffee shop, a venue, a bar, our little hub for the lesbians in Brighton,” Neave says.
In a city where legacy queer venues are closing down or crowdfunding to survive, it’s an ambitious goal, but from three people who’ve turned an idea into an established club night, it’s one that feels entirely within reach.
Their ask for the community in the meantime is simple: turn up. “There’s so much on that you literally don’t have to pay for,” Neave says. “Even if you’re not drinking, being in the room and paying to get in encourages other people to go. We need to support each other.”
Happy third birthday, Crushed! You can buy tickets to their birthday party here.
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