Telephone Pub rebrands as CIRCUS

[CameronPride]

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

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[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”.

[StevieWonders]

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"

[Armando]

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.

[Dodger]

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.

[goji]

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

[Moses]

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

nickbeyeler_performance205.jpg

Romain-Cabon-1.jpg

[Jellybean]

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:

[StevieWonders]

https://youtu.be/8L6KGuTr9TI

[CameronPride]

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