It has a long history in the city centre
The Lisbon on Victoria Street, city centre(Image: Photo by Andrew Teebay)
An iconic Liverpool pub at the heart of Liverpool city centre has “always been known as home” to many. In our city, we’ve always been incredibly lucky to have plenty of incredible pubs to choose from on our doorstep – many which date back decades or even hundreds of years.
And when you think about Liverpool’s oldest watering holes and popular venues, The Lisbon is likely to spring to mind. Located on Victoria Street in the city centre, the landmark building dates back to 1888 and has welcomed thousands of locals and visitors to the city through its doors.
Known as one of Liverpool’s longest running bars, The Lisbon is also regarded as one of Liverpool’s first gay bars. Considered a gay bar since well before the 1970s, it is the cornerstone of the city’s gay quarter.
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The Lisbon is run today by landlady Eileen Lea, who has been at the heart of the pub for over two decades. This Saturday, July 26, The Lisbon will be hosting the “ultimate” Liverpool Pride Party and customers can expect a full day of community, celebration and entertainment from 12pm till 2am.
Ahead of the Liverpool Pride celebrations, we take another brief look back at the history of The Lisbon and the story of one of the venues’ most famous characters. For over 40 years, Shaun McKenna has been well known on the city scene as Lady Seanne.
Shaun McKenna, Lady Seanne, inside The Lisbon years ago(Image: John Larkin)
The iconic queen first came out in 1979 at the age of 14 and has been a figure on Liverpool’s queer scene for decades. From nights at now lost nightclubs such as Sadie’s Bar Royal, Paco’s Bar and Jody’s to witnessing the impact of HIV and AIDS, Shaun has seen a lot of change in the city through the years.
He previously told the ECHO: “When I was young and first came out onto the gay scene, you met gay people who were like yourself. It was like the old saying birds of a feather flock together, you find one another, which helped save my life to be honest.”
Sahir has stepped in to help facilitate and coordinate the community-led Pride. However, with only a few weeks’ notice, the charity has created a GoFundMe to help with the costs. The target is £60,000 to deliver the celebrations, with any surplus of the funds raised being used to protect the life-changing work Sahir does all year round. You can donate here.
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“I got to know the local gays at the time, this was in the early 80s. The gay community then was thriving but it was underground and businesses were thriving – it was like Wonderland.
“When I first went into a gay bar I was like oh my god – I thought I was the only person that was attracted to the same sex. When I was in a club that was full of LGBTQ people I was overwhelmed.”
Shaun first visited to The Lisbon in the early eighties and said it remains a “close-knit” community to this day. He said: “When I first came here, I must have just been touching 18, and I sat in the corner on my own.
Lady Seanne outside The Lisbon on Victoria Street(Image: Photo by Andrew Teebay)
“There was a girl sitting next to me and at the time there was a drag competition. A group were all dressed in drag to win the £15 competition. I said to the girl sitting next to me do you fancy coming to the toilets and swapping clothes with me and I’ll join the catwalk.
“I asked her if she had any makeup and she said yeah and did me up in the toilets and I put her dress on. It was very Dynasty, like a shoulder padded red dress with a grey strap with grey stilettos. I walked out and jumped on the end, I didn’t know anyone here then and I won the competition.
“I gave her £7.50 – we split it. That gave me my confidence of being Lady Seanne.” Over the years, The Lisbon has also welcomed a number of famous faces through its doors from RuPaul’s Drag Race UK winner The Vivienne to Cilla Black. Shaun said: “It’s the oldest bar that’s always attracted the LGBTQ community.
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“It’s always been known as a home for the LGBTQ, so have other bars, but to me it is the jewel in the crown of Liverpool’s gay community. I live in Aigburth, this is my local. There’s people who live in St Helens, this is their local. There’s people who live the other side of the water and this is their local.
“It’s always had that and their families come, this is a family community bar which it always has been. Eileen has always done that, given people a platform, especially local artists and she’s given me a platform to be who I am.”
This weekend at Liverpool Pride, Shaun will be appearing on the main stage which he described as a “great honour.” He said: “I don’t feel like there’s any other bar like this in Liverpool.
“This is one of the most famous bars for the LGBTQ in Liverpool, even in school you kind of heard about it. We’re here and very proud to be here – long may The Lisbon reign.”