Connections Nightclub will be the recipient of the Hall of Fame Award at this Sunday’s Proud Awards.
Tim Brown, one of the owners of the long running venue has welcomed the honour, and spoke to OUTinPerth about just what makes the venue that celebrates it’s 50th birthday this year a true gem in the nightlife scene.
While the majority of the winners on the big night will be revealed with the opening of the envelopes, the major award is always announced in advance.
Previous winners of Hall of Fame honour include community advocate Sandra Norman, local identity Nana Neil, HIV activist Mark Reid, DJ Seb Sharp, drag star Barbie Q and performance artist Strykermeyer, while Brown himself was added in 2021.
While Connections Nightclub opened its doors in 1975, owner Tim Brown wasn’t among its opening night revelers, he was still in primary school back then. Brown has been with the venue for 35 years of its long history, first joining the team in the early 1990s.
“It is absolutely remarkable to think that a venue that opened in 1975, particularly a gay venue, in a small city at the end of the earth, could hang in there for that long.” Tim Brown said.
Brown is deliberate when he uses the descriptor “hang in” to describe particular points in the club’s long history.
“Everyone always assumes that the club is busy, and it’s always been busy and it’s always been full. But like any business it has its ups and downs, and you have good nights, but there have been some dud nights along the way.” Brown shared.
Tim Brown describes the Connections story as a careful balance between the venue’s long legacy and what it means to be queer today describing it as an “interesting interplay” between the two factors.
In the lead up to Connections 50th birthday celebrations in December there have recently been some interesting gatherings that have allowed the club’s management team to reflect on its long history including a celebration with GRAI: GLBTI Rights in Ageing who marked their 20th anniversary, and a party that brought together staff who’ve worked at the club across the decades.
Both events gave Tim Brown a moment to reflect on the changes that taken places through the decades, and he notes that there’s a big difference between a generation who fought for rights and recognition and a younger cohort who live a life largely free of that level of discrimination based on sexuality or gender.
“We fought for was a world in which it doesn’t matter, and it’s not to say that it doesn’t matter, but for so many young people, their sexuality and their gender is not their defining feature. It is not what they have to hang their hat on, their life doesn’t turn on their sexuality or their gender. It’s part of all that they are.” Brown observes.
“The staff party was something else, because there were several hundred people turned up, and they were from every decade that Connections has been open. It was just remarkable.” Brown said, describing the atmosphere as like an “overblown school reunion.”
In 2012 the venue underwent major renovations adding a second bar, and expanding its outside terrace and reinventing the main room. The major building project was a huge undertaking.
“I don’t think Connections would still be there if we hadn’t done that.” Brown said, explaining that the increased space allowed the club to dramatically broaden it’s product offering, allowing a greater variety of music, events and experiences, opening the way for the team to effectively cater to its intergenerational clientele.
“It solidified something that’s really cool about Connections, which often doesn’t happen in in gay venues. You kind of reach a ‘use by date’, for going out clubbing”, Brown observed, noting that it’s a natural progression to no longer be spending three nights of your week in a big room listening to thumping dance music.
“What that terrace allowed us to do was hang on to people as customers, or still appeal to customers when you really can’t do a big room of banging dance music.”
He also credits Perth’s close-knit LGBTIQA+ community as central to the club’s longevity. While other cities might have developed individual spaces for different cohorts, in Perth everyone has shared spaces.
“Gay, lesbian, young, old were thrown in together. It has a much broader demographic within our community.” Brown said.
Asked about his favourite moments in the club’s history Tim Brown says they are too many great nights to list, but pushed to pick a few – he recalls legendary DJ Frankie Knuckles playing at the club, and the massive party that was thrown for Connections 30th birthday back in 2005.
“For the 30th birthday we had a giant tent and took over the carpark behind us. and it was pouring rain and I kept having to reset the generator every half an hour, while also DJing!”
As they get closer to the 50th birthday celebration the team have been writing a list of all the big names who’ve passed through the door and headed up the stairs, the list keeps expanding a people remembers different moments, come across another old flyer or poster, or old photos are shared online.
On the 13th of December Connections will mark their 50th year and the party that’s been planned for the golden anniversary will surely be one of the biggest ever.
While the physical spaces in the club have changed over the years, for Tim Brown the memories are all about the people and the music that was playing.
Brown shares that he likes to play a game with people, asking them their five favourite dance tunes, and he promises he’ll be able to work out how old you are, because we all had that time in our lives when Connections was our home and we were out clubbing night after night.
“People very often say, these are the best years of best years of their lives.” Brown said, describing them as when people were young and carefree.
“Everyone always says it’s not as good as it used to be, but it absolutely is, for anyone experiencing that time right now, it always was and always will be. It truly is lightning in a bottle, not just once, but repeatedly.
“We’re actually incredibly lucky at Connections, because we get to make the best years of people’s lives whilst possibly having the best of ours.”
The Proud Awards are at Connections on Sunday 26th October, tickets are on sale now.
