13 March 2025
This is a unique chance to see The Backstreet, an intimate film exploration of four decades of desire, community, love and loss at the iconic London gay leather club.
‘Sweat, moans, the haze of smoke and the rugged smell of leather. This is The Backstreet – London's secret haven for leathermen. After 37 years in existence, the club stands on the brink of permanent closure. Facing the demolition of their erotic haven, regulars and staff recount their memories – the sweaty darkroom encounters, a master-slave couple’s first kiss, a spiritual encounter during a BDSM session, and the terror and loss of the HIV pandemic. Meanwhile, the owner, the manager and a curator from the Museum of London go through boxes, finding erotic birthday cake designs, leather jockstraps and homophobic tabloid cuttings. As the space awaits demolition, what will The Backstreet’s legacy be?’
Following the screening, Romain Beck, the film’s director, and John Edwards, the founder of The Backstreet, will hold a Q&A.
Romain Beck, The Backstreet, 2024, 29 mins
Certification: Unclassified 18+
This film is screened as part of the public programme for Prem Sahib, Documents of a recent past.
Romain has over a decade’s worth of experience editing documentary projects. Recently, he edited the upcoming feature Mother Vera, which won the Creativity Media First Look Award at Locarno Festival in 2023 and premiered at Vision du Reel 2024.
His work has been recognised at IDFA 2022, Jihlava International Documentary Festival 2018, Hot Docs and South by South West film Festival 2017. The Backstreet is his directorial debut.
Edwards opened The Backstreet in 1985, and worked the door and cloakroom until 2013, but remained the owner until the club’s closure in 2022. A leather and fetish bar, it held regular themed nights with strict dress codes. Club nights included Mastery nights, BLUF [Breeches and leather uniform fanclub], ROL, Meatrack, Unzipped [naked night], Unzipped Light [naked, jock, underwear or fetish], Skin, Sports and Gentlemen. The Backstreet’s distinctive decor included close to a hundred leather boots hung throughout the club and walls adorned with posters from leather bars around the world.
Items from The Backstreet’s archive are now held in the collections of the Bishopsgate Institute and The Museum of London.
This event includes films featuring sexually explicit and erotic content.
Romain Beck, The Backstreet, 2024. Film stills. Images courtesy of the director
