Mad for Ab Fab in San Fran
8 December 2001

Fans at the Midnight Sun: Ab Fab gets the biggest crowds

If the two Bolly-swigging, Gucci-hugging heroines of the BBC TV series Absolutely Fabulous were ever kicked out of the UK for their bad behaviour, they would find no city more eager to give them asylum than San Francisco.

In a part of the world where the words "Ab Fab" are more likely to denote an aerobics video or brand of diet pill than a TV show, the health-conscious San Franciscans are embracing the unhealthy ways of Patsy Stone and Edina Monsoon as if Jane Fonda's Workout never existed.

The show's local fan-base has been growing ever since the Terrible Two first reeled onto US TV screens seven or eight years ago. But the advent of the new series, freshly imported from the UK, has brought with it a new wave of interest.

While the city's famous annual Halloween Parade has seen a steady increase in Patsy and Eddy look-a-likes over the last few years, this year, the homage to Ab Fab surpassed all former reports.

On the packed streets, crammed with the usual quota of witches, oversized bunnies and people in 70s gear, it seemed there was a blonde or brown curly wig on every corner.

Even the public transport system is in on the hype. The eye-catching Harry Potter billboard ads just can't compete with the simple elegance of the Ab Fab promotions emblazoned in pink on local buses.

At the Midnight Sun, a local nightspot in the heart of The Castro, the US's largest gay enclave, Monday nights have taken on a special significance.

By 9pm local time, the oldest video bar in the US has become one of the busiest, as hip young men in their 20s and 30s pack the floor and gaze adoringly up at two large video screens.

Jennifer Saunders strides into view above their heads in one of her trademark gaudy get-ups. "Once a party girl, always a party girl," she declaims.

Everyone in the Midnight Sun cheers. "I want to be like the girls," admits Deno, a regular at the bar's Monday night Ab Fab screenings, as Patsy primps for a Paris fashion show in the background. "I want big blonde hair."

The Midnight Sun has been broadcasting videos for about 30 years and Absolutely Fabulous has become staple viewing since the first series.

The bar screens other shows like The Simpsons, Queer As Folk and Sex And The City throughout the week, but Absolutely Fabulous draws the biggest crowds.

"We're pretty busy all week," says Tom Ward, who co-owns The Midnight Sun. "But Monday night would definitely not be as busy if it weren't for Ab Fab."

"Ab Fab is the cherry on the cake," says Chris Kopacz, a Midnight Sun bartender. "It gives us a taste of the life we would like to live - a 24/7 party world."

For the Midnight Sun's predominantly gay clientele, the show is refreshingly frank about things that mainstream American society suppresses.

"Since the 1980s, we're supposed to have become more responsible, like, we're not supposed to have prescription drugs sitting around anymore," says Kopacz. "But here's a show with two of the strongest women characters you will ever find. They're strong because they admit to their weaknesses."

Meanwhile, Monday nights at the Midnight Sun remind British visitors of home in more ways than one. "Ab Fab is the gay man's sporting event," says Kerry Tucker, a San Francisco resident from Wales. "Watching the show is like watching a soccer game back in the UK - when Patsy walks on everyone screams."

Copyright British Broadcasting Corporation