From the archives:
ooOOoo
Edinburgh
In virtually every local newspaper the story is the same: "Local protest at LapDance Club" or variation of the same. Edinburgh is no exception: "Fresh calls for curb on lapdancing bars" read the Edinburgh Evening News headlines. As usual the local spokesperson was wheeled out this time from the "Scottish Women against Pornography" campaign (presumably with the acronym "SWAP"), Catherine Harper said "Lothian Road is now a complete no-go area for women and children at night-time...places like this have made Edinburgh the sleaze capital of Scotland." David Rintoul of the Tollcross Community Council was equally scathing "Most people don't want to be around Lothian Road at certain times of the day now."
The problem was a second show-bar, Big Daddy O's, putting on lap dancing shows on Lothian Road and handing out flyers advertising "home of the hottest girls". The premises were still licensed as a pub only and not for lap-dancers. In reality, Lothian Road is a major thoroughfare with lots of shops/restaurants/pubs and the chances of straying into a lap-dancing pub is virtually nil especially as the doormen are on hand to relieve you of your £5 or so. The Evening News suggested that there were seven lap dancing/strip venues in the area but despite the fact that the area was described as "sleazy", the seventh bar eluded me and I have some doubt if it in fact exists. I visited most places in mid-week so business appeared slow. Mike A gave very good accounts of the places in his last report so here's an update :-
The Western Bar (West Port) - The only truly strip-pub left. £4 entry charge. Mid-week; no atmosphere - a fellow drinker advised he'd been here for an hour and not witnessed a dance on the stage. I've had a private dance here in the past and been unimpressed so didn't bother when approached. One to avoid unless you like western memorabilia.
Big Daddy O's (Lothian Road, just two doors away from Bottoms-Up) - painted a sickening shade of pink. £5 admission normally but letting people in for £3 in a desperate ploy to encourage custom. The private dance area was as badly put together with pink draped sofas and curtains hastily loaned from somewhere. I noted that "Diamond Doll" tokens (a previous ill-fated Edinburgh venture) were being used for the dancers who were nothing to get excited about. I suspect entrepreneurs trying to cash in on unsuspecting Festival visitors. PDs were £10. Don't bother.
Hooters (Lauriston Street) - a small lap dancing club. Admission is £5; dances are £10 and good value grind in the groin standard. They take place in a curtained off area with sofas; other customers may be having dances in the same room. It was here that I was asked whether I wanted a private dance room for half an hour for £125 which included a bottle of champagne. I gracefully declined but heard elsewhere that dancers could be arranged for hotel visits for similar or more expensive fees.
Burke and Hare (High Riggs) - it's been a little while since I've been in here but it's changed out of all recognition from the rather tacky place venue I remember. Admission was the standard £5. The B & H has been totally revamped in navy blue with a raised central podium with pole. In addition this was the only place I actually saw any effort to get the girls to strip and there were regular dances on the podium including some audience participation with the ubiquitous shaving cream. If that was the good point it has to be balanced with curtained off lap dance booths with just an ordinary chair and the fact that £20 was required for a close contact dance that was £10 everywhere else. If you want to see girls strip the place to go - but not for the personal dances!
Liquorice Club (Home Street) - usual £5.00 entrance fee - upstairs in premises previously as the Fantasy Bar. Very modern "coffee-bar" look to it with polished wood floors and surrounds. Dances in a lounge area for £10 of the usual "in the lap" variety - two girl dances can be had with payment of £20 to each girl if you like that sort of thing.
Bottoms-Up (93 Lothian Road) - usual £5 entry fee; dances £10. Dances take place in either private booths or a large rear room with leather sofas. Stage on the left as you go in. Had some very good personal dances with a girl from Birmingham which highlighted the cosmopolitan nature of the dancers - there were plenty of girls from abroad around the clubs.
Conclusions:- Beer was uniformly the same price £3.00 a bottle of Becks. There also appeared to be a standard entry fee of £5 with a £10 personal dance fee. If you want to actually see girls stripping, Burke and Hare is the place to go. You will be approached for personal dances everywhere and Hooters, Liquorice and Bottoms-Up are recommended. Your choice will depend on who's available but Bottoms-Up had the best personal dance area in my opinion. Whilst the dances are very close, the "no touching" rule applies.
Mega,
17th August 2003
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Last month I spent a couple of evenings 'researching' the strip venues of Edinburgh. As previous reports describe, all are in the Lothian Road/Tollcross area of the city, south-west of the castle. I've given postcodes so you can look locations up on Streetmap UK or Multimap. The most up-market venue is Bottoms Up, which looks like many table dance clubs. The Western Bar and the Burke & Hare have a pub atmosphere (the nearest equivalent to Shoreditch for Londoners). Hooters is sort of in between the two categories.
Name: Bottoms Up
Address: 93 Lothian Road, Edinburgh, EH3 9AW
Telephone: 0131-229 1599
Opening hours: 19:00-03:00
Admission charge: Free early in evening, ? later
Website: none
General: Lap dance bar - night club atmosphere.
Layout: Two main rooms, one with stage on left and bar on right, the other furnished with sofas. A number of smaller rooms for individual PDs.
Dances: Stage (not being used when I was there).
PDs: lap dances £10/£20, keep your hands by your sides.
Name: Burke & Hare
Address: 2 High Riggs, Edinburgh, EH3 9BX
Telephone: 0131-622 7005
Opening hours: ? pub hours.
Admission charge: £5
Website: http://www.burkeandhare.co.uk/ (but this not currently working). Photos of an ex-dancer at http://www.streaking.co.uk/jacquisalmon ... ndhare.htm
General: Strip pub. Outside painted orange.
Layout: Single room with bar counter on left and small (pool table sized) 4ft-high stage with pole, in middle of room. Two rather tacky booths for PDs and the back.
Dances: Good stage shows.
PDs: lap dances £10, 'no touching' but can be very close.
Name: Fantasy Bar
Address: 16 Home Street, Edinburgh, EH3 9LY
Telephone: 0131-221 9030
Opening hours: Sun-Fri 16:00-01:00; Sat 12:00-01:00
Admission charge: £10 including 1st private dance (free before 2000 Sun-Thu)
Website: none
General: Lap dancing bar, run-down night club appearance.
Layout: Main room (with bar and seating area) painted black, but getting very tatty. Separate largish room for PDs, similar decor plus mirrors.
Dances:
PDs: lap dances £5/£10, keep your hands by your sides but quite close. All PDs in the one room.
Name: Hooters
Address: 2 Lauriston Street, Edinburgh, EH3 9DJ
Telephone: ?
Opening hours: ?
Admission charge: Free early in evening, ? later
Website: none
General: "Show bar" - converted pub. Purple exterior, dark inside.
Layout: Stage and bar counter on right, curtained off side rooms for PDs.
Dances: Stage shows.
PDs: lap dances £10/£20, keep your hands by your sides but close and personal. May be several PDs in same room.
Name: Western Bar
Address: 157 West Port, Edinburgh, EH3 9DP
Telephone: 0131-229 7983
Opening hours: Mon-Wed 13:00-00:00, Thu-Sat 13:00-01:00, Sun 14:00-19:00
Admission charge: Mon-Thu free before 21:00, £3.00 after; Fri-Sat £4.00 all day
Website: http://www.geocities.com/westernbaruk/index.html
General: Strip pub. Wood-panneled room decorated with wild west theme. Exterior painted pink.
Layout: Smallish room with bar counter down right-hand side, small 4ft-high stage at end. Two small cubicles for PDs at the back.
Dances: Stage shows.
PDs £5: described as lap dances, but no contact at all.
Mike A,
15th September 2002
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Situated across the road from each other, the Western Bar, Burke and Hare and Hooters have been described as the "pubic triangle" of West Port, Edinburgh. I presume that this is some reference to people disappearing inside (the pubs rather than the pubes that is). Just down the road is Bottoms Up (Lothian Street) and close by is the Fantasy Bar (Tollgate). Together a scene to rival Shoreditch.
Since I last saw the Burke and Hare there have been some changes. Gone is the pool table and in its place a small raised podium with a central pole. To be honest, I have the horrible inkling that someone has merely boarded up the pool table to turn it into this dais - gone too are the £5 personal dances; now £10 for a lap dance. These take place in what can only be described as sheep pens. Contructed of hardboard a la worst excesses of Ye Olde Axe the two "pens" appear to have been made by a DIY enthusiast on a bad day. The dances are of fair quality certainly not though the raunchy affairs I've described recently in Birmingham - the "no touching" notice very prominently displayed. As usual no tapes - the girls select the music from a juke box. The entrance fee here remains at £3.00.
Mega,
7th April 2002
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The Western Bar. As described elsewhere this is a small venue, but the stage is positioned high enough off the ground to afford a good view. I found the regulars pretty "rough and ready" but at the same time welcoming. Bar staff were fine too. The girls do a full strip on stage as well as private dances in private booths. The girls I saw were worthy of many London pub venues, scoring between 6-8 in my eyes. The dances, at a cost of £10, were somewhere between a table and lap dance. I had two and it varied considerably from one girl to the next. So pick the right girl and you will have an excellent dance, which seems to last for two songs. I would definitely return to this venue.
Burke & Hare. Across the road is this much larger venue. Again the stage is very high off the floor. Strangely there were less punters in here, despite the increased room to move. I'd rate the girls as between 5-7. After enjoying two PDs in the Western Bar I did not feel like another here. However on another night I might have felt like it. I might return in the future.
Mutley,
27th March 2002
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Liam S,
3rd December 2001
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Burke + Hare/Fantasy Bar/Western Bar
The Western Bar
The Format. This is quite a small bar, though I can't compare it to the other places in the area as I haven't been in them. As you go in, there's a bar on your right, with bar stools along the bar and along the wall on the left and at the back. Other than that, there's no seating, (except of course the dancing cubicles). There are two cubicles at the end of the room, with the toilets to the right of them. At the end of the bar is a small stage, about the same hieght as the bar, with strategically placed mirrors that means you get a good view of the stage shows from almost anywhere in the bar. There are topless shows on the stage until about 9PM, when you have to pay £3 (£2 if you mention the TrashCity or the Western Bar web site) to see the full monty. The stage shows last about three songs ('song' being a general unit of time used in transactions with the girls!).
Prices. Prices are excellent. Drinks are around £2.50 a pint, entry is free until 9PM, after which it's £3 (£2 if you mention the web site). Lap dances are advertised at £5, though I've only ever gone for £10 dances(two songs). Most of the girls make a £10 dance linger a bit more and make it more interesting, but it has to be said that a few seem to simply repeat the same stuff over and over again, which makes you kind of wish you'd spent only a fiver! Still, all down to experience! You can get a two girl show for £20, which only lasts for one song. Having experienced one of these, I think you're better off spending your money on individual dances.
The Girls I have been to the Western Bar a few times now and have seen a good variety of girls. From experience, during the week there are usually two different girls on each night. I can't vouch for Friday and Saturday, which should have up to ten girls on. That said, last Thursday there were about five on. If you're in there and Victoria is working, you must get a dance from her. It was her first night on Thursday and I just couldn't get enough of the girl! She's an absolutely gorgeous, slim girl with perfect little tits, and a really sexy look exotically enhanced by her glasses, which seem to make her eyes even more alluring as she looks up at you from between your legs! She really puts everything into her performances and gives the impression she likes her work! Some of the girls will do a two girl show. I got one from Victoria and Angela, a good 'n' chunky girl with great tits - purerly for the purpose of this review you understand! These are fun, but there is very little room in them cubicles, so I think the money might be better spent on the girls one at a time.
Another girl I must mention is Lindsey. A slim brunette with red streaks in her hair, she certainly gives a great performance and makes sure you leave the cubicle with more than a smile, if you get my drift! Unfortunately I missed the opportunity to get a dance from Louise, who was just finishing her shift with her final stage show when I got there. She looks fantastic and going by her stage show, I think she definitely needs a dance to be fully appreciated! Maybe next time...
Finally, I must say a big hello to the barmaid whose name I have embarrassingly forgotten. (I had so many names to remember...) The barstaff do a great job and I was never kept waiting for a drink even when it was busy.
Dave F,
30th July 2001
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The Western Bar has actually been open for nearly 28 years, which is quite a accomplishment. This place should have quite a good history, if the owner get out their pen and paper, then that could be material for the web site and possible interesting reading. Diamond Dolls has also closed down because of problems with licensing - basically they didn't have one. But there is a new club called 'Bottoms Up' and it is on the main shopping street.
Back to the Western: I absolutely love this place. Every time I go I always find the highest concentration of good dancers anywhere and am always welcomed. I still enjoy the London pubs and have my favourites - Ulrika, Maxx, Renee, Jodie and Ruth (she is ex-Western bar) - but there is always that element of pot luck whenever you go into a London Strip pub. Some dancers live to give you a excellent show (see above), and to others, it's only a job, looking at the clock, waiting for the shift to end. The definition of a good and bad dancer in my opinion, is defined by the effort and energy that goes into the dance routine, physical appearance and personality are all important but mean nothing without style. The Western bar has style on draught, and is delivers by the barrel.
As previously mentioned, Zoe has returned to the Western Bar and I was fortunate enough to visit on one of the days she was working. She is a great dancer on the stage and, I can now confirm, as a booth dancer too. She has been experimenting a little with glamour photography - I don't think you will see her in the tabloids yet, they were more of a experiment with a amateur photographer, but some of the B+W photos were very good, and a little cheeky as well. She wearing a denim jacket with just the outline of the nipple showing and the guy standing behind her cupping her breasts - sort of Janet Jackson style, if you have seen the album sleeve?
But I feel I must devote a special mention to a very special dancer 'Rebekka': she was a wonderful dancer that drew me back for a second visit the following afternoon, I was taken back a little when I first saw her the night before - she wore tall buckle up black leather boots, leather studded G string, Black vinyl bra, studded dog collar, studded wrist guards, pierced tongue, pierced lower lip, deep black mascara, jet black hair and fangs (I am not joking, actual vampire fangs). I am talking your actual Elvira, Morticia Addams, Bride of Dracula, Sisters of Mercy style Goth (she is actually an amateur Dom), if you have seen Ambers 'Morrigan Hell' web site, you know what to expect.
Seductively sinister, or sinisterly seductive? I'm not sure which: enough to scare some people off, but she was a terrific dancer, you could tell in her eyes (even on the darkest of nights, a star will still shine), she loses herself in the dance routine, every moment precise and deliberate, always thinking how every movement looks to the audience. That sort of stage presence commands respect, and respect she did command. She was as charming to speak to as any woman I know. She had just bought a new dress from the Erogenous Zone down the road; it was a satin red strapless open side number held together with chains (the Liz Hurley safety pin style dress), I had to ask for a final dance before returning home; asked if I could be the first to have a booth dance with her new dress, and she agreed. During my last dance I asked her why she was not wearing her fangs, and her reply was "they only come out at night"! A true 'Princess of Darkness'...
Liam Sonnel
25th June 2001
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Western Bar, Edinburgh
Situated in the City Centre, five minutes walk from Edinburgh Castle, and directly opposite the 'Burke and Hare' Strip Pub.
Opening Hours
Mon-Wed 13:00h-00:00h, Thu-Sat 13:00h-01:00h, Sun 14:00h-19:00h.
Admission Charge
Mon-Thu: free before 21:00, £3.00 after,
Fri-Sat: £4.00 all day,
Special offer only for TaB'sters:
Mention that you heard of the 'Western Bar' from Trash City and get half-price admission.
Shows available
Private Lap Dances, Full Strip, Stage Shows, Double Acts, Outside Stag Parties catered for.
Drinks £2.40 each (£3.00 across the road).
Girls available
10 girls in total working at the bar,
3 girls always after 21:00h,
Full complement on fri/sat, up to 10 girls available,
Caroline has appeared on 'page 3' in some tabloids.
Review:
Quite a small pub by some standards, on a par with the late 'Crown and Shuttle' in terms of floor area, it is painted pink on the outside and with not too subtle signs saying 'Western Bar and 'Lap Dancing'. On the inside, it is decked out in Wild West style decor, wanted posters of Buffalo Bill, Annie Oakley etc, an old-style American Flag and a medium sized mirror backed saloon bar. Near the back of the pub is a dancing podium and further back is a private dancing booth.
All the girls take in turns to do bar duty and dance duty, and each night they have a good selecton of girls, whether you are in to blondes or brunettes, slim or voluptuous. Of the usual three girls available at least one will be to your taste. A private dance (£5 a song) is a must: I have been to Manchester's tabledance clubs, and many London strip pubs, but a private 'booth dance' is mind blowing. It's 'in your face' and 'up close and personal', I nearly creamed myself!
During my travels I had visited the 'Burke and Hare' across the road (solely for comparative research, trust me!) and in my humble opinion Western Bar is the better of the two. Although 'Burke and Hare' currently has a better reputation and its own web-site, the 'Western Bar' is newer, and it is catching up quickly with the competition. Keep your eyes open and look out for the the Western Bar's own web site which will be ready in a couple of months (you'll probably hear it first on Trash City).
It's a piece of cake to find and the best place to park is the basement car park looking up to Edinburgh Castle, turn two corners and you are there. Check this place out when you are in the Edinburgh area and send your reviews in.
Enjoy.
Liam Sonnel
4th Sept 2000
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After Discovering the web-site to the 'Burke and Hare' strip pub and discovering the opportunity to visit the Edinburgh area on business, it was a perfect opportunity to do some valuable Trash-city research up north. So I downloaded the map from the site, drove up to Edinburgh, checked into a hotel, acquired a map of Edinburgh, and marked the 'Burke and Hare' on it, quickly showered and began my reconnaissance.
When I arrived in the area one of the things that stuck me first was the number of fitness and tanning studios, and massage studios, some may be genuine, some might be what we call 'executive massage studios' (nudge, nudge, wink, wink, say no more!), especially one shop that was called the 'Erogenous Zone' (I don't think much imagination to needed to figure out what this shop sells). The 'Burke and Hare' is just up the road on the right.
Upon entering the 'Burke and Hare' I approached the bar and before I even got to ask for a drink, they demanded three pounds for the entrance fee. At that time I had not eaten, and asked before I handed over my cash what food they had available - unfortunately nothing more than packets of crisps. So, before I handed over my cash I said I would go out get something decent to eat and return, upon leaving I noticed across the road was another pub called the 'Western Bar' advertising strip shows (you cannot miss it, it is painted pink front), I thought "A-ha! This one is not on the web site, this one is virgin ground - I could be in line for an exclusive here for Trash City", so I disappeared for a bite to eat and returned to the 'Western Bar'.
Inside it was all kitted out like a western theme pub, with black and white wanted posters of Billy the Kid, Jesse James, etc. a old style American flag, and a medium size mirror backed saloon bar. At the end of the bar furthest away from the entrance was a chest height podium and further away for the door is a sliding door that I discovered later to be a 'private dancing booth', I bought a drink which was reasonable priced, and was approached by a girl who offered a private lap dance for the price of five pounds, as I had hardly had chance to touch my drink, I kindly declined her offer this time and said later.
At about 20.30h the very nice girl behind the bar called "The stage shows will begin shortly and the fee is three pounds", I chirped up "per show?" and the reply was "no, for the whole night", which I thought was excellent: pay three pounds up front and that's it, instead of being pestered for a pound of two every fifteen minutes. This time, I eagerly parted with my money, and waited in anticipation for the shows, although the stage shows are a little less frequent than I hoped (they rely mostly on the lap dancing to make money and only do stage shows when requests for personal shows dries up a little. There are usually three girls to choose from, all quite nice, but there is always a stunner or two thrown in for good measure. The shows were still going on well after all the English bars have called last orders, kicked everyone out and locked the doors.
I did get chance to visit the 'Burke and Hare' the following day and check it out. Although a very good pub, flashing disco lights during the stage shows meant it was difficult for me to focus on the dancer. Check out the pub's own web site of more details, but also check out the 'Western Bar' as well: it's worth at least one visit before you go into the 'Burke and Hare'.
So, all-round, a successful reconnaissance into the strip pub scene in Edinburgh.
Liam Sonnel
19th August 2000
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A city of crazed football supporters delighting in an England defeat – Brussels, Charleroi?? No, Edinburgh after watching Rumania v England on Tuesday.
Despite missing the match, the locals soon let me know the score. Best thing to do therefore was to pay the £3 door charge and drown my sorrows in what was described as Scotland’s best strip-bar. Joined by a couple of Geordies, who had been at the Fantasy Bar round the corner, we settled down for a bit of body-snatching (hopefully).
To describe the venue as intimate would be a hopeless underestimate. Essentially there is one small room; the bar to the left, which tapers away to a corner where the ladies/gents are. In the middle is a pool table with a convenient lino covered top – the stage. In another remarkable breakthrough for technology there is no taped music for the dedicated artistes either – they merely select their dancing music from a jukebox on the wall! The lights dim, steam pours out from under the bar and the stripper appears from the Ladies in whatever the next outfit is and onto the table. Three numbers later and she’s gone, after a little bit of (generally tasteful) audience participation with the cream!
Well, not quite actually disappeared. One corner has an orange painted hardboard screen and she invites customers to participate in a lap-dance. Putting a selected piece of music on the jukebox, the girls take £5 for a nude lap-dance. One of the Geordies scoots off, the screen is drawn and the music starts. We can’t have this – so £5 changes hands, and behind the screen I go, finding that the reverse is mirrored whilst a scantily clad young lady gyrates in front of me removing what little is left of her clothing. The music ends all too quickly, a chaste kiss on the lips, and I’m back in the room much to the amusement of my new mates.
The pubs never shut in Edinburgh but at 12.20 the last strip takes place and the barman announces business tomorrow starts at 1.00 p.m. I didn’t think that places like this existed – just goes to show – but it does have a good web-site!
Mega
8th July 2000
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** Edinburgh review
Anger over lapdance loophole
RENEWED demands for a crackdown on Edinburgh’s strip bars were made today after it emerged a revamped pub now offers lapdancing. Campaigners have branded Lothian Road a "complete no-go area" after discovering the nature of Big Daddy O’s Showbar, one of a string of establishments to offer such entertainment.
The operators of the site have taken advantage of a loophole in the licensing system which allows pub owners to put on lapdancing without having to secure special permission from the council. Police chiefs have urged the city council to completely review its system for licensing such premises amid concerns over the lack of control over them and the fact neighbours have no knowledge of the kind of business being planned.
The former Bull and Bush pub is being billed as Edinburgh’s "stag party headquarters" on promotional flyers, which feature a scantily-clad woman and boasts the pub is also the "home of the hottest girls". It is now the seventh licensed premises to offer lapdancing in the Lothian Road/ Tollcross area and is just yards away from the Bottoms Up showbar. Plans are also afoot for what would be an eighth, in a former nightclub in the West End, just yards away from Princes Street.
Community leaders joined forces with anti-porn crusaders today to demand action over the transformation of the area, saying the council had allowed Edinburgh to become "the sleaze capital of Scotland". A spokeswoman for the council confirmed Big Daddy O’s was only licensed to operate as a public house. She said: "Premises such as Big Daddy O’s have a public house licence, which means their main business is selling alcohol. However, they can provide entertainment as an ancillary and, providing the entertainment is not the primary business, the public house licence covers this." She added: "The whole question of lapdancing in licensed premises is currently under review by the licensing board and a report is expected in the autumn. "We’re exploring the possibility of an ‘entertainment liquor’ licence for public houses providing this type of entertainment."
The police are in favour of such a move in the belief it would subject lapdancing establishments to much more control in future. Catherine Harper, of the Scottish Women Against Pornography Campaign, urged the council to "get its act together". She said: "Lothian Road is now a complete no-go area for women and children at night-time thanks to places like this which have made Edinburgh the sleaze capital of Scotland. It’s a lot worse than Glasgow now. The council just appears to be ignoring the issue on this by refusing to do anything. If it’s not careful, pubs all over Edinburgh could be offering this kind of thing. This establishment is right opposite the Filmhouse and just around the corner from the Usher Hall and the Royal Lyceum Theatre. Doesn’t it care what tourists think when they visit these places? Enough is enough."
David Rintoul, chairman of Tollcross Community Council, added: "Most people just don’t want to be around Lothian Road at certain times of the day now. "There’s no doubt it’s become a no-go area because of the nature of these places, unless you’re actually going to them yourself."
No-one was available for comment today at either Big Daddy O’s Showbar or Wright, Johnstone and Mackenzie, the solicitors for the licence holder Beerhouse Limited. The Evening News revealed earlier this month how a controversial Glasgow strip club operator had started advertising that it would be running the West End’s first lapdancing bar - even though it does not have official approval.
Fantasy Palace, in Shandwick Place, is being promoted in glossy new tourism guides which have been distributed in bars, restaurants and hotels around the city. The company behind the adverts is already running Glasgow’s Legs N Co. The firm underwent a 20-month battle ending in the Court of Session before it was allowed to open.
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RENEWED demands for a crackdown on Edinburgh’s strip bars were made today after it emerged a revamped pub now offers lapdancing. Campaigners have branded Lothian Road a "complete no-go area" after discovering the nature of Big Daddy O’s Showbar, one of a string of establishments to offer such entertainment.
The operators of the site have taken advantage of a loophole in the licensing system which allows pub owners to put on lapdancing without having to secure special permission from the council. Police chiefs have urged the city council to completely review its system for licensing such premises amid concerns over the lack of control over them and the fact neighbours have no knowledge of the kind of business being planned.
The former Bull and Bush pub is being billed as Edinburgh’s "stag party headquarters" on promotional flyers, which feature a scantily-clad woman and boasts the pub is also the "home of the hottest girls". It is now the seventh licensed premises to offer lapdancing in the Lothian Road/ Tollcross area and is just yards away from the Bottoms Up showbar. Plans are also afoot for what would be an eighth, in a former nightclub in the West End, just yards away from Princes Street.
Community leaders joined forces with anti-porn crusaders today to demand action over the transformation of the area, saying the council had allowed Edinburgh to become "the sleaze capital of Scotland". A spokeswoman for the council confirmed Big Daddy O’s was only licensed to operate as a public house. She said: "Premises such as Big Daddy O’s have a public house licence, which means their main business is selling alcohol. However, they can provide entertainment as an ancillary and, providing the entertainment is not the primary business, the public house licence covers this." She added: "The whole question of lapdancing in licensed premises is currently under review by the licensing board and a report is expected in the autumn. "We’re exploring the possibility of an ‘entertainment liquor’ licence for public houses providing this type of entertainment."
The police are in favour of such a move in the belief it would subject lapdancing establishments to much more control in future. Catherine Harper, of the Scottish Women Against Pornography Campaign, urged the council to "get its act together". She said: "Lothian Road is now a complete no-go area for women and children at night-time thanks to places like this which have made Edinburgh the sleaze capital of Scotland. It’s a lot worse than Glasgow now. The council just appears to be ignoring the issue on this by refusing to do anything. If it’s not careful, pubs all over Edinburgh could be offering this kind of thing. This establishment is right opposite the Filmhouse and just around the corner from the Usher Hall and the Royal Lyceum Theatre. Doesn’t it care what tourists think when they visit these places? Enough is enough."
David Rintoul, chairman of Tollcross Community Council, added: "Most people just don’t want to be around Lothian Road at certain times of the day now. "There’s no doubt it’s become a no-go area because of the nature of these places, unless you’re actually going to them yourself."
No-one was available for comment today at either Big Daddy O’s Showbar or Wright, Johnstone and Mackenzie, the solicitors for the licence holder Beerhouse Limited. The Evening News revealed earlier this month how a controversial Glasgow strip club operator had started advertising that it would be running the West End’s first lapdancing bar - even though it does not have official approval.
Fantasy Palace, in Shandwick Place, is being promoted in glossy new tourism guides which have been distributed in bars, restaurants and hotels around the city. The company behind the adverts is already running Glasgow’s Legs N Co. The firm underwent a 20-month battle ending in the Court of Session before it was allowed to open.
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