Telephone Pub rebrands as CIRCUS

As the world recovers from Covid-19 LGBTQ venues and the Entertainment industry has suffered greatly. Unfortunately, one of the recent victims is the famous Telephone Pub in Silom Soi 4 Bangkok Thailand.

Well known and loved by many over more then 34 years it was unable to reopen after the recent Covid related lockdowns in Thailand. Many of us have very fond memories of Telephone Pub. Some of us meet our friends and partners at this amazing venue. Telephone Pub became possibly one of the most famous in the LGBTQ community and friends.

The team at Pride Management and Pride Bar and Restaurant have now taken over the venue in order to keep the location LGBTQ owned and operated. Unfortunately, as part of that arrangement the name was not able to be continued.

The team at Pride Management who own Pride Bar and Restaurant are already well known for a LGBTQ Resort in Phuket. Most recently Pride Bar and Restaurant in Silom Soi 4 has been very successful and has been a strong support of the local community during the Covid pandemic that has seen many businesses closed.

It was important to reopen as soon as possible to provide the local community with jobs and income so they too can recover from this difficult time. Khun Tai the manager from Telephone Pub will continue as an employee of the venue and we are very grateful for all his support. Past staff of Telephone Pub have now been invited back to work for Pride Management.

While some are devastated by the loss of the name others feel that the time to refresh modernize and attract the next generation of customers has now come.

Pride Management is pleased to announce that the new name has been chosen as “CIRCUS” and will show a fun modern exciting upgrade to this iconic location. The idea to come join the Circus and get away from the troubles from the last few years of this Covid 19 Pandemic and get the show back on the road.

As many of us know change is inevitable. The local community has banded together to do all we can to revitalize and reopen Silom Soi 4 to be ready to welcome back tourists and locals in the coming weeks. With travel now becoming possible again the local community has seen many come back to support the local community and reconnect with friends that we have not seen for too long.

We look forward to welcoming you to “CIRCUS “soon and the grand opening is due sometime in December 2021.




https://pridethailand.com/news/telephonepub

I certainly wish the rebranded bar luck however, I think the value of the brand “Telephone Bar” can’t be underestimated as likely anyone looking at the gay boards has either been to or has heard of “Telephone Bar”.

There's one way to make the "Circus" brand work:
(Can't find the video on You Tube)

Telephone Pub was a long time favourite of mine and, when I lived in Thailand, I probably ate and drank there more often than at any other restaurant in Thailand. I'm delighted to read that it has been saved by Pride Management and Pride Bar and Restaurant and wish the new bar and restaurant great success. If it's as good as Telephone Pub, then I hope to become a regular diner whenever I’m able to return to Thailand.

Incidentally, the new rebranded name took me back quite a few years and brought to mind the following lyrics, Oh what a circus! Oh what a show! They were written by Tim Rice and the music in the following video is by Andrew Lloyd Webber and sung by David Essex:

https://youtu.be/yfosPHIp8Kc

https://youtu.be/8L6KGuTr9TI

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Manforallseasons

I certainly wish the rebranded bar luck however, I think the value of the brand “Telephone Bar” can’t be underestimated as likely anyone looking at the gay boards has either been to or has heard of “Telephone Bar”.

---

My best guess is that it's an allusion to Piccadilly Circus which in its heyday was full of rent boys

Nobody I know will be saying "I'm going to the Circus tonight" we'll all continue to say "See you at Telephone"

Attachment 11802

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by goji

There's one way to make the "Circus" brand work:
(Can't find the video on You Tube)

---

such performances are quite popular in gay clubs in Russia

Attachment 11803

Attachment 11804

Three new photos and a short announcement from the new bar’s facebook page:

Quote:

---

Circus Theater Restaurant coming December 2021 to Silom Soi 4 Bangkok Thailand..

---

Attachment 11849

Attachment 11850

Attachment 11852

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Jellybean

Three new photos and a short announcement from the new bar’s facebook page:

---

A "theatre restaurant"? We can enjoy a meal while a naked boy waves his lunch in our face?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Manforallseasons

I certainly wish the rebranded bar luck however, I think the value of the brand “Telephone Bar” can’t be underestimated as likely anyone looking at the gay boards has either been to or has heard of “Telephone Bar”.

---

I agree. The new owners can obviously name the venue as they think fit. But changing a brand that has not just become firmly established but totally entrenched in the international gay community can be a dangerous route to take. Telephone has been around since 1987. It's an institution. Many friends who have visited Bangkok had said Telephone was the first bar they wished to visit. Indeed for most it was the only name they knew! I can't recall the number of visits I have made since 1987. For the first few years, the telephone gimmick really worked and was popular. Then the name began to stick.

Telephone and Balcony were the two best brands in the soi. With Telephone gone, my fear will be that Balcony will become the place to go (only because I always thought Telephone was better as a bar/restaurant). We will all have our own ideas about Circus as a name. But brand names generally reflect the product. Telephone ws an apt description right from the start. I'm not sure what image Circus conveys. As one poster has pointed out, Piccadilly Circus and rent boys is one. Performances in large tents with rings, sawdust, animals and trapeze artists is another.

Yet another is Monty Python's Fying Circus which for a gay bar is perhaps unfortunate. Too many dead parrots around!!

One of the most popular little long running gay bars in Singapore is called Backstage. The walls are highlighted with posters from lots of musicals and plays. With musicals being particularly popular with gay guys, the association works extremely well - as well as having a title that could be regarded as a bit of a gay pun.

I just keep wondering how Circus can become identified by the gay community internationally. For it will be international tourists as well as locals wo are the likely patrons. I suppose the reason the name Telephone can not be used is that the previous owner has some form of copyright on it and wants an arm and a leg to sell it. That to me is a major disappointment. I will keep further comment to myself.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Armando

I agree. The new owners can obviously name the venue as they think fit. But changing a brand that has not just become firmly established but totally entrenched in the international gay community can be a dangerous route to take.

---

Agree.

I assume there's a reason why they had to do this.

I was delighted to hear that Panorama (previously Copa Banana) in Boyztown would retain its name when purchased by Copa. Another flagship establishment, which was much more than a name. Memories of sitting under its rainbow-colored sign will remain etched in peoples memories for eternity. Can you just imagine someone coming along and changing it's name to "Carnival" or something...Big Mistake!

Another gay business that refused to change its name was Two Guys Guesthouse (TG's) in the Sunee area Two Guys was just a small bed and breakfast with a handful of rooms which catered exclusively to gay visitors. First owned by the infamous Mad Man Monty of Australia, who named the place Two Guys to represent Him and his Thai boyfriend at the time. A decade later he sold the place to a chap named Stewart who told the regulars that he would never change the name...and then another decade later to John from Scotland who continued carrying the Two Guys torch.

I guess the motto is, if it's not broken - don't fix it.

If U read through the original post it is noted that as part of the sale of Telephone Bar the seller kept the right to use the name Telephone which makes one think perhaps he will use that name for a new bar.

Telephone Pub Co. Ltd had no lease on the building. The lease was held by another holding company. As such the legal process for winding up Telephone Pub co. ltd. could take years. No point waiting for that outcome. Holding company simply provided a new sub lease to Pride. Pride in exchange for paying the debits of the Holding company took major shareholder status in the holding company.

As such legally the name "Telephone Pub" is not available. The only way to save the venue and reopen this location was with a rebrand.

could have just called it phone bar...same same but different

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by latintopxxx

could have just called it phone bar...same same but different

---

Get with the times - it's for the gays so at the very least it would have to be "i"phone bar ! :-) Or if aiming it at younger thai boys I guess it would have ben been (I need a) NEW phone Bar ! :-) Actually perhaps there's a new business angle, older faring brought along to the bar by their young Thai friends so they can get them their new phones to save a trip to Tuk Com ! lol

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Nirish guy

Get with the times - it's for the gays so at the very least it would have to be "i"phone bar ! :-) Or if aiming it at younger thai boys I guess it would have ben been (I need a) NEW phone Bar ! :-) Actually perhaps there's a new business angle, older faring brought along to the bar by their young Thai friends so they can get them their new phones to save a trip to Tuk Com ! lol

---

New Phone Bar…..Yes!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Manforallseasons

New Phone Bar…..Yes!

---

"Easy money"
"Walking ATM meeting point"

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Nirish guy

Get with the times - it's for the gays so at the very least it would have to be "i"phone bar ! :-)...

---

There was indeed a short-lived gay disco named iPhone Pub.

The current issue of the Midnite Hour(link) covers the appearance of Circus on Soi 4 and the disappearance of the Telephone. While the disappearance of the Telephone is historically unfortunate, if the pictures are anything to judge by, Cameron is to be congratulated for a job well done with the new venue. Circus is covered somewhere near the top, as well as lower down, in their round-up of Soi 4 for November.

Attachment 11946
Pic via the Midnite Hour

In their round-up of Patpong 2, we see the disappearance of the street-level Midnight bar beer that was owned by Hotmale and its rebranding as Hot Male Beer Bar. In this case the reappearance of an old name isn't particularly exciting. I thought that Midnight was a great name for a bar beer and the lighting was definitely atmospheric. The reincarnated Hot Male Beer Bar, on the other hand, looks like the bland old Hot Male Beer Garden at the back of Soi Twilight: Too much pale wood and too little neon.

This month's round-up also shows how quickly the Bangkok nightlife areas are now bouncing back across the city. Better times ahead, one hopes. Also to be found in this month's issue is a useful summary of the procedure for getting back into Thailand at the moment. That is to be found in the pink box near the top.

Sadly a collection of the ugliest katoeys on the planet

What is all this Hulabaloo ....The Telephone Bar changes name..that is all....everything will be the same....

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Blueskytoday

What is all this Hulabaloo ....The Telephone Bar changes name..that is all....everything will be the same....

---

Yes happy to report the Circus is full most nights and the feedback has been very good. Khun Tai still working for the Day Time Management team and many original staff back with jobs and full salary again.

I gather some Soi 4 bar owners are proposing a “lipstick on a pig exercise”, offering rapid tests that unvaxxed customers can pay for prior to entering the Soi. As it takes, I understand, up to half an hour for the result that’s 30 minutes for someone to spread COVID before they get their results - or is there to be a “waiting pen”? Since a vaccination is only of benefit to the person who’s been vaccinated by reducing their risk of severe illness, but of lesser benefit to any of their companions, I suspect this is really just a PR exercise by the bar owners than something of substantial benefit to the punters.

The safest place to eat and drink - if you must go - is the outdoor seating at any of the bars. Don’t venture inside except for the lavatory.

A friend tells me that in his opinion it’s less “gay” than “gay-friendly” (code for “old queens should avoid”)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by StevieWonders

A friend tells me that in his opinion it’s less “gay” than “gay-friendly” (code for “old queens should avoid”)

---

Circus is busy every night with 80% Gay and Lesbian customers. I don't know how it could be any more Gay Friendly. Some people seem stuck in the past and simply don't like change.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by CameronPride

Circus is busy every night with 80% Gay and Lesbian customers. I don't know how it could be any more Gay Friendly. Some people seem stuck in the past and simply don't like change.

---

And there you have it - lesbians! Women of any stripe have no place in a gay bar. Gay bars are for men who love cock

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by StevieWonders

Women of any stripe have no place in a gay bar.

---

which is why everyone always hated, rejected and avoided all the men dressed as women that have provided most of the entertainment in Telephone and the soi for the last 20 odd years?

exactly how many "man" or "woman" stripes are required for drag queens or effeminate "boys" or leather studs or pre- or post op trans-genders to enter Soi 4?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by StevieWonders

Gay bars are for men who love cock

---

is the only criteria "love cock" to keep the lesbians out? do we reject a pre-op with tits and a dick attracted to straight men because they like the "wrong" type of cock?

and is it us or the owner of the bar who decides a bar is exclusively "gay" and "women" should be blocked at the entrance, or is open to a wider audience? yes you or I can vote with our feet if we don't like a bar's crowd but who died and made you king to decide which bars are "gay" and who is allowed in?

When I lived in Bangkok my evenings usually began at Telephone simply to waste time till one of my favorite GoGo bars would open however, it only served as a a place to kill time. With all the GoGo bars in Covid limbo it’s sad that a whole topic is devoted to a street bar that happens to be favored by men.

I had read that some of the go go bars are showing discreet signs of life. Is anyone on the ground to update us further please?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Mancs

I had read that some of the go go bars are showing discreet signs of life. Is anyone on the ground to update us further please?

---

Hotmale in Patpong is open for 3 hours a night 8-11. I can’t comment on their patronage as I’ve no need to go there. I believe they have a FakeBook page that will give you some details

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by bkkguy

which is why everyone always hated, rejected and avoided all the men dressed as women that have provided most of the entertainment in Telephone and the soi for the last 20 odd years?

exactly how many "man" or "woman" stripes are required for drag queens or effeminate "boys" or leather studs or pre- or post op trans-genders to enter Soi 4?



is the only criteria "love cock" to keep the lesbians out? do we reject a pre-op with tits and a dick attracted to straight men because they like the "wrong" type of cock?

and is it us or the owner of the bar who decides a bar is exclusively "gay" and "women" should be blocked at the entrance, or is open to a wider audience? yes you or I can vote with our feet if we don't like a bar's crowd but who died and made you king to decide which bars are "gay" and who is allowed in?

---

A wonderful rant bkkguy. How are the IT studies going on how to break into a government database and insert false but genuine-looking COVID vaccination records?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Mancs

I had read that some of the go go bars are showing discreet signs of life. Is anyone on the ground to update us further please?

---

Dreamboys, Jupiter, Hotmail and Fresh Boys are all open..

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by CameronPride

Dreamboys, Jupiter, Hotmail and Fresh Boys are all open..

---

Any fag hags in those bars or is it safe to go there for an authentic gay experience?

Posts unrelated to the topic have been moved to the Everything Else forum and given the new title, What the Dickens?

To contribute to the new topic, please click on the following link:
https://sawatdeenetwork.com/v4/showt...at-the-Dickens

According to FakeBook (so I’m told) both Pride (which goeth before a fall) and that other place now require proof of vaccination to enter. The alternative is stumping up for an ATK on the spot. As far as I know the result of these “rapid” tests can take up to 30 minutes. No mention of a waiting area or holding pen is made. As vaccination merely lessens the severity of the illness and potentially the risk of catching the virus this seems to be a “lipstick on a pig” exercise. As well as that, many of those “fully vaccinated” will have had the Chinese junk which has been shown to have an efficacy of three weeks (Thai government recommendation for booster shots)