Jeremy Gordon Norman (born 18 May 1947) is a British entrepreneur, whose ventures have included ''

Burke's Peerage Burke's Peerage Limited is a British genealogical publisher, considered an authority on the order of precedence of noble families and information on the lesser nobility of the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1826, when the Anglo-Irish genea ...

'', Mayfair's Embassy nightclub, the gay 'ultradisco'

Heaven Heaven, or the Heavens, is a common Religious cosmology, religious cosmological or supernatural place where beings such as deity, deities, angels, souls, saints, or Veneration of the dead, venerated ancestors are said to originate, be throne, ...

, the clubs Embargo and Leopard Lounge on

Fulham Broadway Walham Green is the historic name of an English village, now part of inner London, in the parish of Fulham in the County of Middlesex. It was located between the hamlet of North End (now renamed West Kensington) to the north, and Parsons Gr ...

, the Power Station gym in Chelsea, in partnership with

Richard Branson Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson (born 18 July 1950) is an English business magnate who co-founded the Virgin Group in 1970, and controlled 5 companies remaining of once more than 400. Branson expressed his desire to become an entrepreneu ...

, and Soho Gyms. He is also an author, television presenter, and journalist, and has had many charitable commitments.

Early life and education

Jeremy Gordon Norman was born in

Marylebone Marylebone (usually , also ) is an area in London, England, and is located in the City of Westminster. It is in Central London and part of the West End. Oxford Street forms its southern boundary. An ancient parish and latterly a metropo ...

, Greater London, in 1947. His parents were Wing Commander Roland Frank Holdway Norman and Muriel Johnson, known as Peggy, daughter of Percy Johnson.''

'' volume 1 (2003), p. 1039
Captain Roland Frank Holdway Norman
The Peerage.com They were living together in Marylebone in 1939 and were married in 1944. His father died in 1958, aged 62. A half-brother, Robert Norman (1922–1942), his father's son by a previous marriage, had been killed in action during the Second World War while serving in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

. Norman was educated at

Harrow School Harrow School () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English boarding school for boys) in Harrow on the Hill, Greater London, England. The school was founded in 1572 by John Lyon (school founder), John Lyon, a local landowner an ...

and

Pembroke College, Cambridge Pembroke College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college is the third-oldest college of the university and has over 700 students and fellows. It is one of the university's larger colleges, with buildings from ...

, where he read

archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

and

anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, society, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including archaic humans. Social anthropology studies patterns of behav ...

. He graduated BA in 1972 and MA by seniority in 1975. After Cambridge, he became a self-employed entrepreneur.

Career

In 1974 Norman went into the wine business with his brother, under the name of La Reserve. The same year, he became Chairman of ''

'', a publisher of genealogical reference works, of which his old school friend

Hugh Montgomery-Massingberd Hugh John Massingberd (30 December 1946 – 25 December 2007), originally Hugh John Montgomery and known from 1963 to 1992 as Hugh Montgomery-Massingberd, was an English journalist and genealogist. He began his career at ''Burke's Peerage''/''Bur ...

was editor at the time. He continued in this role until 1983, his fellow directors including Patrick, Lord Lichfield, and

John Brooke-Little John Philip Brooke Brooke-Little (6 April 1927 – 13 February 2006) was an English writer on heraldry, heraldic subjects, and a long-serving herald at the College of Arms in London. In 1947, while still a student, Brooke-Little founded the Soc ...

, Richmond Herald of Arms. Under his chairmanship new volumes were published on royal families, Irish genealogy, and country houses of the

British Isles The British Isles are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner Hebrides, Inner and Outer Hebr ...

. Norman’s stake in the business continued for ten years. In 1984, the ''Burke's Peerage'' titles were separated and sold: ''Burke’s Peerage'' itself was acquired by Frederik Jan Gustav Floris, Baron van Pallandt (1934–94), while ''

Burke's Landed Gentry ''Burke's Landed Gentry'' (originally titled ''Burke's Commoners'') is a reference work listing families in Great Britain and Ireland who have owned rural estates of some size. The work has been in existence from the first half of the 19th cen ...

'' and other titles were sold to other buyers. Norman's first nightclub, established in 1978, was the Embassy Club in

Old Bond Street Old or OLD may refer to: Places *Old, Baranya, Hungary *Old, Northamptonshire, England * Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD) *OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, M ...

, which has been called "London's first modern New York-style nightclub". Other directors were the fashion designer

Michael Fish Michael Fish (born 27 April 1944) is a British weather forecasting, weather forecaster. From 1974 to 2004, he was a television presenter for BBC Weather. Career Fish was born on 27 April 1944 in Eastbourne, Sussex. Educated at Osmington Sch ...

and Derek Johns, a picture dealer and director of

Sotheby's Sotheby's ( ) is a British-founded multinational corporation with headquarters in New York City. It is one of the world's largest brokers of fine art, fine and decorative art, jewellery, and collectibles. It has 80 locations in 40 countries, an ...

. Norman sold the Embassy to Lady Edith Foxwell. In 1979, he created an entirely new form of club, the ultradisco

, near

Charing Cross Charing Cross ( ) is a junction in Westminster, London, England, where six routes meet. Since the early 19th century, Charing Cross has been the notional "centre of London" and became the point from which distances from London are measured. ...

, which "quickly established itself as the centre of London gay nightlife" and became Europe's largest and "the world's most famous gay nightclub". Norman's partner, Derek Frost, designed the "original hi-tech interior". Heaven introduced a new music style,

Hi-NRG Hi-NRG (pronounced "high energy") is a genre of uptempo disco or electronic dance music (EDM) that originated during the late 1970s and early 1980s. As a music genre, typified by its fast tempo, staccato hi-hat rhythms (and the four-on-the-flo ...

. After four years, Norman sold the club to

of Virgin. In 1983 Norman and Richard Branson became partners in Norman's first gym, Power Station in Chelsea (1983–1989). In 1994 he was founding Chairman of Ovalhouse Ltd., trading as Soho Gyms, a chain of ten gyms mainly in central London, a company sold to Pure Gym in 2018. He also owns two property investment companies, Blakenhall & Co. Ltd. and Citychance Ltd. Norman originated two other successful clubs: Embargo (1990–94), and Leopard Lounge on

(1989–92). His other businesses included Pasta Pasta, a manufacturer and retailer of fresh pasta and sauces, with Derek Johns launched in 1984.

Writer and television presenter

In 2006, Norman described many encounters and experiences from his life in his autobiography ''No Make-up: Straight Tales from a Queer Life'' (2006).

Matthew Parris Matthew Francis Parris (born 7 August 1949) is a British political writer, broadcaster, and former politician. He served as Member of Parliament for West Derbyshire from 1979 to 1986. Ideologically a liberal conservative, he is a member of t ...

wrote about this in ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'', calling it "A marvellous book. Startlingly candid, unblushingly funny about wealth, privilege. and the pursuit of fun. Mr. Norman … paints an unforgettable picture of gay life in an age of official prohibition." Norman has also written books about his adventures with Derek Frost aboard a private yacht, from their perspective as "Two Men in a Boat". The first, ''Two Men in a Boat: Chasing Spring'', was inspired by a quotation, "Spring travels up through Britain at the pace of a walking man." This struck Norman as a romantic notion, and he and Frost set out to test the theory, which led them on a journey, chasing the arrival of spring up the west coast of Great Britain. The follow-up, ''Two Men in a Boat: Illyrian Shores'', is a "story of a romantic voyage in the wake of the Venetians... from Cofu to Venice." Norman's "Two Men in a Boat" books developed into a 25-part Out TV television series, under the same title, which documented their odysseys and is narrated by the two men and their expert guests speaking about the history, archaeology, art, natural history, and landscape of the many places they visit. Norman entered the field of journalism with pieces in ''

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British Sunday newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of N ...

'', ''

The Spectator ''The Spectator'' is a weekly British political and cultural news magazine. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving magazine in the world. ''The Spectator'' is politically conservative, and its principal subject a ...

'' and ''

The Times of Malta The ''Times of Malta'' is an English-language daily newspaper in Malta. Founded in 1935, by Lord and Lady Strickland and Lord Strickland's daughter Mabel, it is the oldest daily newspaper still in circulation in Malta. It has the widest circu ...

''. His articles are about food, politics, gay life, and his wide travels with Frost.

Voluntary work

Norman's pro bono and charity appointments have focused on

HIV/AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...

. He was the founding chairman of

Crusaid CRUSAID was a British charity that provided financial assistance during the AIDS epidemic to institutions and to people suffering from HIV/AIDS. In 1996, the charity had close to £11 million in assets Founded in Chelsea in 1986, CRUSAID was abs ...

in 1985, Trustee of the National AIDS Trust in 1986, a founding Trustee of Aids Ark, and a Trustee of the

University Pitt Club The University Pitt Club, popularly referred to as the Pitt Club, the UPC, or merely as Club, is a private members' club of the University of Cambridge. It was formerly male-only, and has admitted women since 2017. History The Pitt Club was ...

, Cambridge, from 1994 to 2009. Appointments: *Hon. Treasurer and Trustee

, Cambridge 1989–2009 *Founder chairman

(national fundraising charity for AIDS) *Trustee National AIDS Trust *Founder Trustee of Aids Ark 2002–2017

Personal life

Norman has been in a relationship with Derek Frost since 1978. They became civil partners on 21 December 2006, the first day the law of the United Kingdom made this possible. They currently reside in

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

Books and publications

* ''No Make-Up, Straight Tales from a Queer Life'', Elliott & Thompson Limited (6 Oct 2006)

At home with Ted
''

'', 10 September 2014, accessed 27 January 2021 * ''Two Men in a Boat – Chasing Spring'' * ''Two men in a Boat – Illyrian Shores''

Films and Documentaries

* ''Two Men in a Boat – Chasing Spring'' * ''Two men in a Boat – Illyrian Shores''

References

External links

*
Heaven Club websiteLive venue websiteTwo Men and a boat – Chasing Spring Out TV
{{DEFAULTSORT:Norman, Jeremy Gordon English writers Living people English male journalists 1947 births People educated at Harrow School Alumni of Pembroke College, Cambridge English businesspeople English male non-fiction writers English LGBTQ businesspeople 20th-century English LGBTQ people 21st-century English LGBTQ people English LGBTQ writers