Tamed Pleasure Boys keep it in trousers this time on return to NI

After the controversy of The Devenish show, Niamh Campbell went to Banbridge to see what kind of night the stripper group had in store

THE UK Pleasure Boys, Frostbit Boy and two Free Presbyterian ministers walk into a bar… No, that’s not the start of a joke, it’s how this reporter’s Saturday night panned out.

After the controversy caused by the Pleasure Boys’ presence the last time they came to Northern Ireland, a lot of people weren’t sure what to expect when they made their return to Banbridge at the weekend.

After heading to see what all the fuss was about, my overwhelming verdict is this — harmless fun, far more tame than expected, and in certain parts, completely bizarre.

No recordings were allowed at this event, after details of debauchery at The Devenish show in Belfast in February went viral across Ireland and the rest of the UK.

And true to their word, any slight show of a phone camera up in the air was quickly tackled by the many security guards tasked to The Bannville dancefloor on Saturday night.

This version of the Pleasure Boys’ XXL Tour began with the compère, a Yorkshire drag queen called Regina Sparkles, who got the crowd revved up with some songs and (relatable) jokes about tight spanx.

She laid the house rules down for the hundreds of attendees, stating that the main reason no cameras were allowed was because “you lot all paid good money to be here; why give it to everyone else for free?”

Crowds started flocking to the Co Down venue at around 8pm, with early-bird tickets for the event having sold out.

The majority were women, with some men from the LGBT+ community, and many of them were shipped in by buses.

One woman from north Belfast said she had boarded a bus at City Hall with a large group of ladies; most of whom had never met each other before.

One even wore a wedding dress, such is the extent of her love for the Pleasure Boys.

Another woman local to Banbridge said her husband had driven her and her sister over, adding: “He told me to go and enjoy myself.”

This journalist was given access to all backstage areas, and to the makeshift podcast studio in the hotel’s basement, where Ruairi Mcsorley was recording the first episodes of his new podcast.

Yes, that same Ruairi Mcsorley who first got a taste of fame as a schoolboy in 2015 when a clip of him appearing on UTV news during a cold snap saying “you wouldn’t be long gettin’ frostbit” went viral.

Mcsorley recorded himself chatting with three of the Pleasure Boys — Big Ben, Big Nate and Dom O’nate.

And after hearing that Free Presbyterian Church members were protesting outside the venue, he invited two of those ministers inside for a conversation, where he joked to them that he had a voice like the late Rev Ian Paisley, and a beard like Gerry Adams.

The night in general was full of contrasts.

A bus full of women banged their vehicle’s windows while they waited to get into the entrance of the Bannville, as directly facing them were the protestors who read Bible verses through a megaphone and held a poster that said: “The wrath of God is revealed from Heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness.”

Families ate roast dinners in the hotel restaurant, while unbeknown to them, the male strippers perfected their final rehearsals in the nearby main function area.

As the evening wore on, a man played country music on his guitar for guests in the main bar area.

Meanwhile, the Pleasure Boys opened with the whole group dancing to Singin’ in The Rain, followed by individual acts from each performer, and a grand group finale. Some ladies in the audience joked that the boys were “right at home” here in Northern Ireland, as one came out dressed in sunglasses and a balaclava-esque face covering, for his Sons of Anarchy-themed performance,

The next act was dressed headto-toe in army camouflage, but all outfits were quickly discarded as they chose willing women from the audience to come up and experience a ‘one-to-one’ strip dance.

And while plenty of audience members had their giddiness fuelled by alcohol, it wasn’t all about drink.

I spotted two pregnant women dancing along and cheering — and they’re just the ones that I saw.

From what this writer witnessed, the audience had a great time overall, and new friendships were even made, but many were disappointed that they didn’t get to see the ‘full monty’.

One woman became visibly annoyed as she kept demanding to speak to council workers, repeatedly saying: “Why can’t adult consenting women see full frontal nudity if they want to and if they paid for it?”

The Belfast Telegraph understands that workers from Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon Council were present at the event to “ensure” that no regulations were broken, with some of the Pleasure Boys claiming that they were told if any private parts were shown, the show would be pulled immediately.

“We have to respect the laws and the councils here,” they told this newspaper.

“However, our shows across the water are still very different.”