Basil's in the pink

Long before the rainbow flags began to fly with pride above his hometown Basil Newby was out there, loud and proud.

For more than four decades he has been striving to change attitudes.

With a twinkle in his eye he relates his remarkable business journey, sprinkling amusing anecdotes and tales of the stars.

The former holiday camp Bluecoat talks of encounters with celebrities ranging from Joan Collins and the Pet Shop Boys to Sue Pollard, Paul O’Grady and Take That. All have appeared in his venues.

However, behind this showbiz glitter is a harder story of resilience, of challenges in the face of prejudice and of determination not to give in.

In many ways it mirrors that of his hometown. Basil has been a leading
figure in Blackpool’s nightlife for more than 45 years, the man who delivered the pink pound to the resort. At one time he operated so many successful venues the town was known as ‘Basilpool’.

Now the youthful looking 74-year-old has announced his retirement and plans to sell his iconic Funny Girls venue – the internationally acclaimed drag cabaret show bar that is one of the true jewels in Blackpool’s entertainment crown.

It is renowned for its drag and burlesque cabaret bar, and offers spectacular live entertainment, comedy, music and dance performances.

Funny Girls and Basil’s many other ventures over the years, including the iconic Flamingo Club, have been major contributors to the resort’s visitor economy, helped spark regeneration and laid the foundations of
today’s ‘Rainbow Quarter’ and vibrant LGBTQ+ scene.

Things were so very different in 1979 when he opened the Flamingo, the resort’s first openly gay venue. He financed it from the sale of his first business venture, a fancy goods shop, and with help from his father.

He says: “I had to get a licence from the magistrates. My solicitor told me I’d be the first gay person in the UK to hold a licence because if you were gay, you were classed as unfit and improper.

“He told me not to let the police know I was gay because I’d lose the licence. Police used to come into the club, ask me if I was gay and I’d tell them, ‘No, I’m just really good at acting’.

Basil also recalls being turned down by a brewery when he was looking for further investment. He said: “I had an appointment and showed them my business plan. They said it was great and asked what sort of club it was.

“When I told them, two of the people walked out, two others looked out of the window and the one in the middle said, ‘I’m sorry Basil we
just wouldn’t back a club like that’.”

Despite the prejudices he encountered, the Flamingo became a massive success, attracting both gay and straight clientele. Other ventures followed, including the Flying Handbag, but the struggles remained.

After being denied a licence for another club, he says Section 28 – the 1988 law introduced by Margaret Thatcher’s government banning the ‘promotion of homosexuality’ by councils and schools – was a key factor. He fought the decision and won on appeal at the Crown Court.

The late ’80s and ’90s was also the time of the AIDS epidemic. These were heartbreaking and difficult times. He says: “We couldn’t even get
someone out to fix the boiler. It was a bad time “Lads of 19 and 20 were dying and no one would go near them. It was just awful.

“That’s when I got the idea of Funny Girls. I wanted to open somewhere where everybody was equal, no matter what sexuality, creed or colour they were. Somewhere that welcomes everyone. Everybody thought I was mad!”

Funny Girls’ first home was in Queen Street in the town. Opened in 1994, the showbar was another instant hit and quickly outgrew its
premises. Other Newby ventures followed in the area, helping to attract other entertainment businesses and inward investment, sparking
its regeneration.

In 2002, Funny Girls moved into its current home, the historic Grade II-listed Odeon cinema building, with Joan Collins carrying out its grand reopening.

Basil used money from the compulsory purchase of the Flamingo – today a Sainsbury’s supermarket stands on the site, with the dancefloor sitting beneath aisle 22 – and the sale of the old Funny Girls building to help finance the move.

Opened in 1939 with more than 3,000 seats, the Odeon was the largest cinema of its kind at the time but had stood empty for a number of
years. Basil bought it for £500,000 and spent £6m on its award-winning renovation.

He says: “I’d been to the Odeon as a kid. As well as a cinema it was a theatre and I saw Bette Davies and Marlene Dietrich do one-woman shows here. I never dreamed I'd end up owning it."

More difficult times had to be overcome in 2018 when Basil was diagnosed with prostate cancer and Funny Girls went into administration.

He is open about the depression he struggled with around that time. “I couldn’t cope with people talking to me,” he says.

Basil travelled to Munich for his cancer treatment, undergoing proton beam therapy.

And in 2019, in another show of resilience, he came out of retirement and bought the venue back from the brewery that had taken it over.

His best bit of business advice is to “build relationships” with people and, in a seasonal economy like Blackpool’s, to make sure cash flow is there to help get through the “lean months” at the start of the year.

Basil says: “The pink pound has been massive for Blackpool. When I started there were no gay hotels and the Flamingo was the only gay club.

“Then other places opened up and as that happened Queen Street regenerated. The venues I opened were good business for the local taxis and the takeaways. Look now at all the gay hotels there are.”

He was an enthusiastic advocate of the campaign to bring a ‘super casino’ to Blackpool, which ended in failure in 2007.

He says: “I always said Blackpool should be Las Vegas on heat.

“There was so much confidence that it was coming that the town didn’t have a Plan B at the time. But now regeneration has started and you
can see it happening.

“There are some nice hotels and massive plans for the area around Funny Girls. The Illuminations season has been extended which makes for a longer season. Things are moving on.

“Blackpool is on the cusp but I don’t think it will ever be as it was. I was born in Blackpool and brought up in a hotel for theatricals.

"The big names used to stop with us for the summer season.

“We had Shirley Bassey, Tom Jones, Englebert Humperdinck. The comedian Hilda Baker was a guest. She had a pet monkey and we had to ask her to leave because it kept pooing all over the place.

“In those days it was the height of their career to have a summer season in Blackpool.

"Throngs of people could be seen on the prom and there were so many beach deck chairs you couldn’t move. A seagull couldn’t land there. Time has moved on.

“Blackpool is Marmite, you either love it or hate it. I love it and have never wanted to live anywhere else. You’ve got the Blackpool of ‘Kiss Me Quick’ hats and candy floss and places like the village where I live.

“It’s 10 minutes away and you can still see the Tower. I live in a house in 50 acres of grounds with giant redwood trees and it is beautiful. You
have the best of both worlds.”

Basil, who won an MBE in the Queen’s New Year Honours list in 2014 for his services to business and the LGBTQ community, says now is the right time for him to step down. “It needs new blood now to take it on,” he explains.

He adds: “I have family issues, both my sisters have dementia, and my partner has had two heart attacks, so I want to spend some time with them.

“Ian, my partner through it all for over 40 years and a massive part of the whole empire, wants time to enjoy the animals and travel, just like myself.

“I also want some ‘Baz time’. People in my village think I’m a vampire having seen me go out at seven o’clock at night and coming home at seven in the morning for so many years!”

Proud of the way his venues like the Flamingo changed attitudes and broke down barriers, he says Funny Girls is a special place, unique
to Blackpool. And that means finding the right buyer, however long it takes.

He says: “It could take three months or three years. This is about more than money. I want Funny Girls to be my legacy, to be here in 30 years like the Moulin Rouge, and a place where I can still come and have nights out.”