{"id":721534,"date":"2025-11-21T16:50:03","date_gmt":"2025-11-21T13:50:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=721534"},"modified":"2025-11-21T16:50:03","modified_gmt":"2025-11-21T13:50:03","slug":"love-muscle-inside-the-beating-heart-of-leeds-queer-nightlife-scene","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=721534","title":{"rendered":"Love Muscle: Inside the beating heart of Leeds\u2019 queer nightlife scene"},"content":{"rendered":"<article class=\"main-article standard \">\n<div class=\"article-main-content article-wrapper has-media-but-its-an-image\" data-status=\"loaded\" data-primary-article=\"true\" data-url=\"\/music\/article\/69079\/1\/in-photos-the-beating-love-muscle-of-leeds-queer-nightlife-scene\" data-article-id=\"69079\">\n<header class=\"article-header has-landscape-image no-media\">\n<div class=\"wrapper dg-max-width\">\n<div class=\"inner\">\n<figure class=\"main-img no-figcaption\" data-img-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\" data-img-aspect-ratio=\"1.51\" data-template=\"Standard Article\"><span class=\"has-css-custom-props image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"80470007\" class=\"img\" height=\"1988\" src=\"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/1430720-1.jpg\" width=\"3000\" title=\"1430720-1\"><\/span><\/span><\/figure>\n<aside class=\"meta\">\n<div class=\"inner\"><span class=\"month\">November<\/span>\u00a0<br \/>\n<span class=\"day\" data-day=\"21\">21,<\/span>\u00a0<br \/>\n<span class=\"year\">2025<\/span><\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<div class=\"titles\">\n<div class=\"tags\">\n<div class=\"sections\"><a class=\"category vertical - music\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/music\">Music<\/a><a class=\"series\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/scene-and-spotted\">Scene And Spotted<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h1 class=\"title\"><span>Love Muscle: Inside the beating heart of Leeds\u2019 queer <span class=\"nowrap\">nightlife scene<\/span><\/span><\/h1>\n<div class=\"standfirst\">\n<h2>As the club night turns ten, Dazed is granted the first glimpse inside the camera-free community <span class=\"nowrap\">dance party<\/span><\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<p><span class=\"month\">November<\/span>\u00a0<br \/>\n<span class=\"day\" data-day=\"21\">21,<\/span>\u00a0<br \/>\n<span class=\"year\">2025<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tags\">\n<div class=\"sections\"><a class=\"category vertical - music\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/music\">Music<\/a><a class=\"series\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/scene-and-spotted\">Scene And Spotted<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"providers\">\n<div class=\"contributors\"><span class=\"contributor\" data-contributor-role=\"Text\"><span class=\"contributor-role\">Text<\/span><a class=\"contributor-name\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/user\/solomonpacemccarrick\">Solomon Pace-McCarrick<\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"article-body-container\">\n<aside class=\"primary\">\n<div class=\"sticky bottom\">\n<div class=\"read-more\"><span class=\"read-more-header\">Read More<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"read-more-items\">\n<div class=\"read-more-item vertical-life-culture\">\n<div class=\"read-more-item-link\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/life-culture\/article\/69097\/1\/love-is-not-embarrassing-boyfriend-vogue-social-media-posting-instagram\" class=\"article-list-item-image\"><span class=\"image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Ten-Things-I-Hate-About-You (1) copy\" class=\"img\" src=\"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/1430939-4.jpg\" title=\"1430939-4\"><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"read-more-item-content\"><a class=\"category\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/life-culture\">Life &amp; Culture<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/life-culture\/article\/69097\/1\/love-is-not-embarrassing-boyfriend-vogue-social-media-posting-instagram\"><span class=\"title\">Love is not embarrassing <\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"read-more-item vertical-beauty\">\n<div class=\"read-more-item-link\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/beauty\/article\/69118\/1\/meet-the-people-taking-psychedelics-to-enhance-their-workouts\" class=\"article-list-item-image\"><span class=\"image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Charli xcx, &quot;360&quot; (2024)\" class=\"img\" src=\"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/1431220-3.jpg\" title=\"1431220-3\"><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"read-more-item-content\"><a class=\"category\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/beauty\">Beauty<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/beauty\/article\/69118\/1\/meet-the-people-taking-psychedelics-to-enhance-their-workouts\"><span class=\"title\">Can psychedelics enhance your workout?<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"read-more-item vertical-life-culture\">\n<div class=\"read-more-item-link\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/life-culture\/article\/60376\/1\/what-is-worm-gpt-the-new-ai-behind-the-recent-wave-of-cyberattacks\" class=\"article-list-item-image\"><span class=\"image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"wormgpt\" class=\"img\" src=\"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/1349622.jpg\" title=\"1349622\"><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"read-more-item-content\"><a class=\"category\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/life-culture\">Life &amp; Culture<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/life-culture\/article\/60376\/1\/what-is-worm-gpt-the-new-ai-behind-the-recent-wave-of-cyberattacks\"><span class=\"title\">What is Worm GPT? The new AI behind the recent wave of cyberattacks<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<div class=\"article-body wrapper\">\n<div class=\"dazed-gallery has-26-images \">\n<div class=\"inner\">\n<header>\n<div class=\"info\"><span class=\"heading\">Love Muscle, <span class=\"nowrap\">Tenth Anniversary<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"gallery\">\n<div class=\"gallery-thumbs\">\n<div class=\"gallery-thumb\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/music\/gallery\/36314\/0\/love-muscle-tenth-anniversary\"><span class=\"has-css-custom-props image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"80470007\" class=\"img\" height=\"1988\" src=\"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/1430697.jpg\" width=\"2982\" title=\"1430697\"><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"gallery-thumb\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/music\/gallery\/36314\/1\/love-muscle-tenth-anniversary\"><span class=\"has-css-custom-props image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"80470002\" class=\"img\" height=\"1324\" src=\"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/1430694.jpg\" width=\"1986\" title=\"1430694\"><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"gallery-thumb\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/music\/gallery\/36314\/2\/love-muscle-tenth-anniversary\"><span class=\"has-css-custom-props image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"80470004\" class=\"img\" height=\"1324\" src=\"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/1430695.jpg\" width=\"1986\" title=\"1430695\"><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"gallery-thumb\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/music\/gallery\/36314\/3\/love-muscle-tenth-anniversary\"><span class=\"has-css-custom-props image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"80470006\" class=\"img\" height=\"1324\" src=\"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/1430696.jpg\" width=\"1986\" title=\"1430696\"><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"gallery-thumb\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/music\/gallery\/36314\/4\/love-muscle-tenth-anniversary\"><span class=\"has-css-custom-props image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"80470009\" class=\"img\" height=\"1324\" src=\"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/1430698.jpg\" width=\"1986\" title=\"1430698\"><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"gallery-thumb\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/music\/gallery\/36314\/5\/love-muscle-tenth-anniversary\"><span class=\"has-css-custom-props image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"80470012\" class=\"img\" height=\"1324\" src=\"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/1430699.jpg\" width=\"1986\" title=\"1430699\"><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"gallery-footer\">Gallery \/ 26 images<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<p><span>Everyone who\u2019s been to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/lovemuscleleeds\/?hl=en\">Love Muscle<\/a> says the same thing: there\u2019s magic on that dancefloor. The monthly community dance party really is Leeds\u2019 love muscle, the beating heart of its now-thriving queer nightlife scene, and it\u2019s all down to the expansive social role that founder Michael sees the club night performing. \u201cWhat does it mean to be successful?\u201d he asks Dazed over video call. \u201cThe world has this idea that to be successful you\u2019ve got to be globally recognised, but success could also look like the impact you have on the people around you.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>This simple philosophy manifests in each of Love Muscle\u2019s unconventional \u2013 and, sometimes, seemingly counterproductive \u2013 approaches to party planning. \u201cWe have the world\u2019s most convoluted ticketing policy,\u201d declares Michael, explaining how 50 per cent of the spaces are set aside for trans, qtipoc and queer disabled attendees at a discounted rate, and the other 50 per cent being physical tickets that need to be collected from Leeds\u2019 Wharf Chambers venue ahead of the event \u2013 a decision he believes has preserved its communal spirit over the last ten years. Elsewhere, the event maintains a strict no-photos policy in order to prevent attendees from being accidentally \u2018outed\u2019 online, and has replaced traditional security staff with paid \u201csafe space marshals\u201c who are on-hand to both de-escalate confrontations on the dancefloor and in the days following.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cTraditional security\u2019s main job description is protection for the venue and the extension of drug laws for the police \u2013 none of these things are about the safety of the people within the space,\u201d says Michael. \u201cIf somebody\u2019s unwell or someone\u2019s harmed them, we\u2019ll come together as a team and figure out the best course of action, centring the person harmed. Afterwards, if required, we\u2019ll form an accountability circle and [the aggressor] has to demonstrate they\u2019ve done x, y and z before they\u2019re allowed back in the space. These are potentially people who are not very happy and have a lot going on in their lives. If we bring them in more, there\u2019s a greater chance things could turn out differently. Obviously, this depends on the severity of the harm caused and in some cases it may be that the aggressor is no longer allowed in the space, but that should be a last resort.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<figure class=\"inline-img expandable dev-view-hide\" data-img=\"0aacf1e3-5ac6-43d9-91f4-b394012e6bc5\" data-src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/1988\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1430\/0\/1430721.JPG\" data-img-aspect-ratio-type=\"portrait\" data-img-aspect-ratio=\"0.66\"><span class=\"has-css-custom-props image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"portrait\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"80470024\" class=\"img\" height=\"3000\" src=\"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/1430721.jpg\" width=\"1988\" title=\"1430721\"><\/span><\/span><figcaption class=\"img-caption\"><span class=\"credit\">Photography by <span class=\"nowrap\">Declan Watson<\/span><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<p><span>These are values that are particularly close to founder Michael\u2019s heart, who founded the event in 2015 after experiencing the unbridled queer freedom of Glastonbury\u2019s NYC Downlow\u2019s early days, and felt that Leeds was in need of something similar. \u201cI came to uni without knowing what real friends were,\u201d Michael recalls. \u201cI was going to a lot of house and techno events, but I was always the only queer person in there. [Through Love Muscle] I\u2019ve found this amazing group of people who really look after each other. This scene saved my life.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p><span>It\u2019s about being able to redistribute cash amongst the queer community and lift people up<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span>The first few months were slow for Love Muscle, but a turning point came six months in when Michael and co-founder Lucy Locket booked NYC Downlow mastermind Gideon to perform at the event. \u201cThere was a queue out of the building, all the way around the corner and up the road,\u201d recalls Michael. \u201cIt was getting to the point where the queer people who had been coming to the club for the past few months could no longer get in, so we had to go back to the drawing board and think about how we can preserve that space for that group of people. That\u2019s where we came up with the ticketing policy.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The next few years were full of high points for the tight-knit party circle, but it wasn\u2019t until Covid struck that Michael realised how much of a lifeline the community had become \u2013 both for himself and others. \u201cI was unwell, I didn\u2019t realise how much that space meant to me,\u201d says Michael. \u201cWhen we started back up, I went down to drop tickets off at the bar and there were literally 70 people sat there waiting for me. People had taken the afternoon off work to collect their tickets. We sat there and sold all 200 tickets in half an hour. It was amazing.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<figure class=\"inline-img expandable dev-view-hide\" data-img=\"d88a386d-db84-448f-9d8a-b394012e9d3f\" data-src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/1988\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1430\/0\/1430722.JPG\" data-img-aspect-ratio-type=\"portrait\" data-img-aspect-ratio=\"0.66\"><span class=\"has-css-custom-props image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"portrait\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"80470019\" class=\"img\" height=\"3000\" src=\"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/1430722.jpg\" width=\"1988\" title=\"1430722\"><\/span><\/span><figcaption class=\"img-caption\"><span class=\"credit\">Photography by <span class=\"nowrap\">Declan Watson<\/span><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<p><span>Still, for Michael, the ultimate testament to Love Muscle\u2019s success exists in the queer DJs and club nights it has helped to nurture and inspire. \u201cMy proudest moment is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/rat._.party\/\">Rat Party<\/a> existing,\u201d says Michael with a smile. \u201cThey were kids who became regulars at our night that were inspired to do their own thing, bringing groups of queer people to free parties that you wouldn\u2019t normally see. There\u2019s also an amazing underground drag scene and a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/fetisch.club\/\">fetish night<\/a> that\u2019s just started. The queer scene in Leeds is thriving; we just unfortunately don\u2019t have the venues to grow and expand.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Enter Michael\u2019s latest plan: a venue of their own. After ten years at Wharf Chambers, Michael sees the next evolution for Love Muscle as providing a permanent home for both itself and the wider queer community it has fostered. \u201cHaving access to the bar will allow us to do so much more,\u201d he explains, hoping to be finally able to quit his day job and focus on community organising full-time. \u201cIt\u2019s about being able to redistribute cash amongst the queer community and lift people up.\u201d As always, Michael sees success in social, and not monetary, terms.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><em>Catch exclusive photos of Love Muscle\u2019s tenth anniversary<\/em><em>party, captured by photographer Declan Watson, in the gallery above.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<footer class=\"article-footer\">\n<div class=\"wrapper\">\n<div class=\"article-series\">\n<h4 class=\"heading\">More on these topics<\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-series\"><a class=\"series\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/music\">Music<\/a><a 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