New mix steams up Ice House Street

Falling revenues have forced the management of the Yin Yang Club in Ice House Street to move away from its exclusively gay image in a bid to attract a freer-spending crowd.

Staff at 'YY' are to set aside Thursdays and Sundays as gay nights, but during the rest of the week are looking to attract a mixed audience for the bar and disco, as well as karaoke fans.

The news has not gone down well with the gay magazine Contacts, which noted in its latest issue that Sunday is the least popular night to go out since everyone has to go to work the next day.

However, a senior staff member at the club denied its gay clientele were getting a raw deal. 'Sunday is the only day that Propaganda [another gay club] is not open, so it works out well.' He added: 'We would have liked to have stayed the same, but there are other venues for gay people that have opened and we have not had the support from the community that we used to have. We have to pay the rent here, and I am afraid to say this has been forced on us by economic reality.'