'It was so important': Community reflects on former Edmonton gay bar in new documentary

A new documentary film will invite viewers to take a look back at an Edmonton nightclub that broke barriers by inviting everyone to the party.

The internationally renowned Edmonton gay bar Flashback opened in 1975 and for 16 years it was open to the LGBTQ2S+ community and their allies.

"[It] had a sign in the door that read, 'Flashback is a club for gay people and their friends,'" said Matthew Hays, the film's writer. "It was a place where if you were homophobic, you weren't welcome.

"But if you were cool, you were. Gay or straight."

At the time, Hays said it was uncommon for gay bars to let heterosexual people in.

"In the 1980s, there was still a lot of vocal and toxic homophobia wherever you went," he added. "Even when I was at the University of Alberta on campus I would hear people saying really homophobic things, really nasty things about AIDS.

"So there was a lot of segregation. Part of that was self protection, so Flashback was different in that it said everyone's welcome as long as you're cool with gay people."

By allowing everyone in, Hays said the club helped change the way Albertans felt about and saw queer people.

"A lot of straight people for the first time met gay people when they were partying at the club and it was a great way for people to learn about the fact that we're all in this together," he said.

'EVERYONE WENT THERE'

The Edmonton Queer History Project (EQHP) reports that founder John Reid saw the need for a more inclusive space after Mother Jean, a straight woman with roots in the drag community, was denied entry to an Edmonton gay bar. 

Flashback was a success and Hays said it became a crucial piece of Edmonton's underground history and played an important part in his life as well.

"It was a place where I could see that queer and straight people could get along," he said. "That we could be accepted for who we were."

It quickly became a place for locals and local celebrities to party, regardless of sexual orientation. According to the Edmonton Queer History Project, it was once voted one of the best nightclubs in North America by Billboard Magazine.

Part of that success, Hays said, was a dedication to atmosphere. Professional DJs, lighting and "the best sound system in the city" created a space with mass appeal.

"It was really like an experience when you walked in the door," Hays said. "It was kind of like Oz in The Wizard of Oz. Everything was in black and white and then you walked into Flashback and it was in colour."

"The Oilers used to go there and have champagne. K.d. lang used to go there. Everyone went there," Hays said. "If a guest ever came to town, I always took them to Flashback and said, 'You gotta see this club.'"

'IT WAS SO IMPORTANT'

But Flashback was more than disco, dancing and drag queens, said former Edmonton city councillor Michael Phair.

"It was so important and so valuable at the time, and such fun," Phair said. "It offered a place that people could authentically be themselves and didn't have to worry about being found out."

Phair is Alberta's first openly gay elected official and founder of AIDS Network of Edmonton. He said while the club was a place for "laughs and foolishness," it was also involved in advocacy and activism.

"We would hand out condoms to people as they were leaving," Phair said. "And we would do educational things there as well and they also raised money for AIDS.

"So they always were very responsive to that community and I think that's another aspect that's important to know."

The film is still in production and isn't expected to air until 2024. When it does, Hays said he hopes it sheds some light on the less-visible queer history of the city and the province.

"I think a lot of people think of Alberta as a real homophobic backwater and I like people to see some of the really fabulous queer things that went on in Edmonton," Hays said. "I'd like the historical record to be set straight, if you will."

Saturday in Edmonton, Flashback's original neon sign will be added to the Neon Sign Museum on 104 Street of 104 Avenue. 

With files from CTV News Edmonton's Jessica Robb and Brandon Lynch