Beginnings Heaven was opened in December 1979 Norman used his knowledge and experience of establishing and running a nightclub to create an entirely new kind of gay club on a larger scale. Heaven quickly established itself as the centre of the (then understated) gay London nightlife. Until it opened, most gay clubs were small hidden cellar-bars or pub discos. Heaven brought gay clubbing into the UK mainstream and gave London a club to rival
New York's gay super club at the time,
The Saint. Heaven's first
resident DJ was
Ian Levine, His mix of
Disco and
Hi-NRG became what is known as the
Original Heaven Sound. Under the direction of the club's original manager David Inches and independent promotions manager Kevin Millins, Heaven sought DJs who would become exclusive to the club and were groundbreaking in terms of their music selection and style. Many Heaven DJs would go on to find greater acclaim in both the gay and mainstream music industry. Original Heaven DJs include:
Tony De Vit, Colin Holsgrove, Marc Andrews, Marc Monroe, George Mitchell, Ian D,
Tallulah, Jon Dennis,
Rich B, Wayne G, and Steve Whyte. who played at the Thursday night
Delirium! 1980s/1990s In 1980,
London Weekend Television ran a weekly documentary series titled
Gay Life, in which Heaven nightclub and various other London gay clubs and bars were featured. In 1982, Heaven was acquired from Norman by
Richard Branson's
Virgin Group. Branson was one of the first to identify the burgeoning '
pink pound' and saw the club as an investment opportunity. Branson reported in his autobiography that the £500,000 used to purchase Heaven came by the brewery supplying drinks to the venue. Kevin Millins' club night
Asylum (on Thursdays) started on 14 April 1983, with resident DJs
Colin Faver and
Mark Moore (S'Express). By 1985 this had become
Pyramid (shifted to Wednesdays) and was one of the first clubs in the country to play emerging
House music from Chicago. As one of the first gay clubs in London, and one of the first openly so in the world, Heaven courted controversy, frequently appearing in the tabloid press, especially in
The Sun headlines about
ecstasy use in the nightclub in 1989. In the late 1980s, Heaven would host two what would become legendary nights during the height of
acid house,
Techno, and
Breakbeat hardcore rave culture. The first was
Spectrum promoted by
Paul Oakenfold and the other was Kevin Millins'
Rage, a Thursday night running between October 1988 and 1993 which included DJs
Fabio &
Grooverider,
Colin Faver, and Trevor Fung. Oakenfold brought in
Jimmy Cauty and
Alex Paterson (
The Orb) as ambient DJs for his "The Land of Oz" nights at Heaven, club nights which Dom Phillips in
Mixmag called "seminal". These chillout sessions in "The White Room", also involving
Youth, heralded the birth of
ambient house. Replacing
Rage on Thursday from October 1993 until 1996 was
Megatripolis, with
Mixmaster Morris and regular guests such as
Mr. C and Alex Paterson. In the mid-1990s, Wednesday night was
Fruit Machine, hosted by Miss Kimberly with a strong
Drag theme. Fridays were
Garage playing
Techno and
Hardbag with DJs
Blu Peter and
Mrs Wood. Saturday nights were 'Heaven is Saturday – Saturday is Heaven' which hosted a variety of parties and weekly changing themes.
Soundshaft Soundshaft was a small club attached to Heaven, which had a separate entrance on Hungerford Lane, behind Craven Street, although it was also accessible from the main club. Between 1988 and 1990 this hosted the seminal
Troll night, and which launched the career of DJs
Daz Saund and
Luke Slater. It is now called
The Stage Bar. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, the soundshaft was the Venue for Fahrenheit, a Hard House event run by Fevah.
1998 relaunch In 1998, the club was refurbished and relaunched as a more mainstream venue to challenge increasingly popular clubs such as
Trade and
The Fridge. As part of this broadening appeal, a new Monday Indie night called
Room Two started alongside its more trademark night of
Popcorn which started on a Monday (and replaced Fridays
Popstarz).
G-A-Y On 22 September 2008, Heaven was purchased by the
MAMA Group through its jointly owned subsidiary company G-A-Y Ltd.
G-A-Y was a popular and long-running gay night hosted for many years at the
London Astoria, and on Friday 3 October 2008, MAMA Group moved G-A-Y to Heaven. Little over a year later, MAMA Group itself was bought by music retailer
HMV. When HMV went into
administration in 2013, Jeremy Joseph founder of
G-A-Y acquired the outstanding shares in G-A-Y Ltd, and along with it Heaven.
Asset of community value Heaven was granted
asset of community value status in January 2020.
Coronavirus pandemic Nightclubs across England, including Heaven, were closed for much of
the coronavirus pandemic. When it was announced on 14 July 2021 by
Prime Minister Boris Johnson that all remaining coronavirus restrictions would be lifted on 19 July, Heaven launched a digital clock counting down the hours until nightclubs could reopen. Footage of revellers queuing for Heaven and dancing inside the nightclub to celebrate the final lifting of restrictions in England gained worldwide media attention.
Capacity increase and accessibility improvements Alongside the announcement of the permanent closure of sister venue G-A-Y Late by owner Jeremy Joseph in November 2023, it was announced that Heaven was to undergo interior works. Joseph announced that Heaven would be opening on Wednesday nights to host the new 'Mood' events, and it would be operating under an increased capacity of 1,725 with a promise of wheelchair accessibility after approval by
Westminster City Council. Joseph announced his intention to continue and recreate an "updated version" of the G-A-Y Late atmosphere at Heaven, intending to open some rooms in the club on further nights to do so.
2024 closure and licensing hearing On 11 November 2024, a member of Heaven security staff was charged with rape after an incident on Halloween night. The
Metropolitan Police instigated a Summary Review of the Premises Licence under section 53A of the
Licensing Act 2003 on the grounds that the premises was "associated with serious crime", and as an interim step on 15 November,
Westminster City Council's licensing committee suspended Heaven's licence for 28 days. Heaven challenged the interim suspension and, after a second contested hearing, the Council again determined the licence should remain suspended pending the full review. After a
public outcry and representations from members of the public, both for and against Heaven, including a mass open letter signed by 1,100 individuals (including
Ruth Jones) in support of the venue, a full licensing hearing took place on 6 December. The Council considered the interaction between the
Licensing Act 2003 and
Public Sector Equality Duty created by section 149 of the
Equality Act 2010. A series of new licence conditions were then agreed between Heaven, the police, and the council, and the venue was allowed to reopen.
Reopening and new developments On 7 December 2024, Heaven reopened after being closed for almost a calendar month. An entirely new security company was employed, and new licensing conditions were installed. Since the reopening, the club has become a 7 night a week venue, now opening on Sundays and Tuesdays with themed nights and events changing regularly. In May 2025, the member of security staff charged with
rape and attempted rape after an incident that closed the venue in December 2024 was found
not guilty at
Southwark Crown Court after a unanimous jury verdict.
Closure of G-A-Y bar and future After being up for sale since earlier in the year, on 1 October 2025 Jeremy Joseph announced via Instagram that Heaven's sister venue, G-A-Y Bar would be permanently closing due to financial pressures and stating "
Old Compton Street has lost that LGBT identity". G-A-Y Bar closed its doors on 5 October 2025, with Joseph focusing on the future of Heaven, despite a rental increase. ==Today==