Basil Newby: Blackpool's pioneering drag bar owner to retire
"I want to see the Redwood Forests in California, the Northern Lights and many more things before I'm too old," he said."Close family members have health problems and I need to spend more quality time with them so it really is right for me."
He said it was also a "joint decision" with Ian, his partner of more than 40 years."Although I still love Funny Girls, it needs new blood to take it forward for another 30 years," he said.He said "nothing will change for the next few months" and "it could be three months or even three years before the right person comes along that I feel is the one I trust to take it on".Mr Newby opened the Flamingo on Talbot Road as Blackpool's first gay club in 1979. It was demolished in 2007 but Funny Girls, in the former Odeon building on Dickson Road, is still going strong and marked its 30th anniversary last year.
He said he was partly inspired to open it to make a protest against Section 28 - a law passed in 1988 by Margaret Thatcher's government, which banned councils and schools from "promoting homosexuality"."At that time I was going for licensing and getting knocked back," Mr Newby said."Eventually I went to the courts and got one, and I got this idea for Funny Girls in my head."I wanted it to be for everyone, no matter what colour, creed or sexuality."He said he is "still passionate about Funny Girls and I'll only sell it to the right people, I just love the place".He added: "I've dedicated my life to the gay community and loved every minute of it,' he added. "But I know it's just the right time to call it a day."
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