Richard Dennen tells us all about the gay tribes of London...

East End Boyz

The scene?
Boys from all over the world beat a path to the east London scene because, of course, it's the most eclectic part of town. They're drawn to the fashion magazines like i-D, which have extolled the virtues of the area and helped populate it. This is where you'll find the influential fashion gays as well as that ultimate in edge - the "Shoreditch gay" who rocks life wearing Boy London. It's where London's gay artists and designers have their studios and where the drag queens and club kids come to play. It's the most anything-goes neighbourhood of the capital - they can dress however they feel with not a single eyelid batted.

Where to find them?
While the sun's up, in the cafés on Bethnal Green Road or Hoxton Square. At night on Hackney Road and the George & Dragon followed by The Joiners Arms, the skanky cult gay pub which provides the perfect after-party to the George. This is East End hipster meets tank-top and buff. Pretty fag hags welcome too. Then there are the parties like Daniel Lismore's Shabba Dabba Da where Larry Tee spins his new electro music to an almost Blitz club-like crowd. East Bloc, the new gay hang-out on City Road, has even the Vauxhall gays crossing the river.

The trannie to know:
Jonny Woo, the drag queen bringing alternative drag and cabaret to mainstream audiences.

The Lambeth Walkers

The scene?
Welcome to the old-school gayhood of the "twink" and "Muscle Mary" type who hit Fire, the club under the arches in Vauxhall on South Lambeth Road, because they think that's what being gay is about. Maybe they've got a point? Amid the terrifyingly buff, shirtless men who like to party all night, morning and then night again are some cute boys in there listening to the dance music. This is the land of the sex club and the sauna, of "bears" - the larger, hairier guy - wearing checked shirts and a fair share of leather tumbling out of the leather clubs. How terribly on-trend.

Where to find them?
This is where the day is spent discussing the night. The Two Brewers on Clapham High Street might be stronger on the older gay who likes to pretend he's young with a bit of designer stubble and an Abercrombie T-shirt. Dress down at XXL, which is the men-only super-club night for the bears at Arcadia on Southwark Street while Horse Meat Disco is the Sunday night party at the Eagle on Kennington Lane; a heady mix of bears, fashion kids and trannies dancing to Seventies disco. South London is also the place for cabaret bars with performers like the comedienne Pam Ann. The dress code is generally alternative at Duckie, the Saturday night event at the Royal Vauxhall Tavern, whose organisers describe themselves as "purveyors of progressive working class entertainment", and that attracts top performance artists like David Hoyle. And it's sponsored by the Arts Council. How Establishment can you get?

The trannie to know:
Uma Gawd or muscle-bound walking art installation Chrissy Darling.

The Camden Kids

The scene?
The north London scene revolves around Camden where the gays are talking about music and whoever is playing later that night at KoKo or the Roundhouse. It's where the young Goths, emo (roughly a more emotional goth) and skater boys live and play. And yes that means we're talking black, with some skater clothes and a healthy dose of pretty grimey. Main interests include hitting the skate parks, playing with their bands or discussing the new shades of illamasqua make-up or nail varnish.

Where to find them?
During the day it's lunch at Gilgamesh, the fabulously camp restaurant of biblical proportions, followed by going downstairs to express themselves in the Camden Stables Market. Well, perhaps that's what a thousand straight kids are doing too. But drinking is at the Black Cap pub on the high street (which throws its Palladium of Drag at 11pm, something that's unlikely to be found in the Hawley Arms) followed by dancing at the Goth club Slimelight on Torrens Street near Angel (it's members-only so just bribe a friendly Goth to help you get in), or with the rest of NW's gilded youth at Proud Galleries back in the Camden Stables.

The trannie to know:
Baga Chipz, Amy Winehouse impersonator and friend of Davina McCall.

The West End A-Gays

The scene?
This is where things can get queeny; there are stare-offs and angst weighs heavy in the air. Nevertheless this beat is well-dressed and immaculate with shirts buttoned to the collar. They are preppy though, not Hoxton, in skinny jeans and Burberry leather jackets and quiffs everywhere one looks (though hair is getting shorter.) It's the land of oversized glasses and man bags on PR types, agents, graphic designers and a horde of young gay guys who are runners for Soho film companies. Yes, this is sophisticated medialand where gays rule OK. Conversation is film and TV with arguments about Madonna or Gaga on the tip of the tongue. It is here that one can also find an unusually high number of guys who take their dogs to work.

Where to find them?
The West End gay mingles freely in the straightforward high end establishments. In fact in Soho House, Nobu (either Park Lane or Berkeley), J Sheekey in St Martin's Court or Hakkasan (again either Bruton Street or Hanway Place) they stretch as far as the eye can see. If they're not "on a shoot", that is.

They will leave W1 on occasion and head east for Jonny Woo's gay bingo at "Whoreditch House" or may even start the early afternoon drinking on Old Compton Street - but by the weekend they've fled Soho with their other-half to the country, the dog and the wi-fi.

The trannies to know:
Lady Lloyd, the blond who toured with Ke$ha and is friends with Lady Gaga.