‘It was an electric time to be gay’: Sarah Waters on 20 years of Tippg the Velvet | Books | The Guardian

Contents:

• THE VELVET MAFIA: THE GAY MEN WHO HELPED SHAPE MIC THE 60S
• THE VELVET RAGE BY ALAN DOWNS | SIX LSONS ABOUT GAY NARCISSISM | PART 01
• ‘IT WAS AN ELECTRIC TIME TO BE GAY’: SARAH WATERS ON 20 YEARS OF TIPPG THE VELVET
• PRI AND PREJUDICE FOR GAY MEN
• ABOUT THAT GAY MAFIA...

THE VELVET MAFIA: THE GAY MEN WHO HELPED SHAPE MIC THE 60S

But the people who shaped and advised those artists – the on who managed the stars of the classic rock age – were, by an outsized marg, gay terwoven muny clud Brian Epste (who brought the world the Beatl), K Lambert (who -managed the Who), Simon Napier-Bell (the Yardbirds, and a young Marc Bolan), Robert Stigwood (Cream, the Bee Ge), Billy Gaff (Rod Stewart), Ken Pt (David Bowie), Barry Krost (Cat Stevens), as well as Tony Stratton-Smh (who formed the visnary label Charisma for bands like Genis).

THE VELVET RAGE BY ALAN DOWNS | SIX LSONS ABOUT GAY NARCISSISM | PART 01

In fact, was a gay man, Larry Parn, who svengali-d Bra’s very first rockers, om Tommy Steele to Billy Fury to Marty Wil. A new book tled The Velvet Mafia: the Gay Men who Ran the Swgg Sixti aims to tell the Brish si of this story by focg on several key players the scene, cludg a few of the aforementned nam along wh the novative producer Joe Meek and the head of the UK’s most powerful label at the time, Sir Joseph Lockwood. ”At the same time, the rich, powerful and fluential men faced the nsirable nsequenc of beg gay at a time when homosexual acts were still outlawed the UK.

‘IT WAS AN ELECTRIC TIME TO BE GAY’: SARAH WATERS ON 20 YEARS OF TIPPG THE VELVET

”There were, fact, a few powerful gay women the Brish rock scene at the time as well, cludg Vicki Wickham, who booked the acts on the semal TV show Ready Steady Go and who later managed Dty Sprgfield and LaBelle.

”Bullock’s book don’t lve to the eper cultural and psychologil issu volved the relatnships between the gay and straight men.

PRI AND PREJUDICE FOR GAY MEN

Still, ’s clear to any stunt of the era that the edgy liv of gay men at the time fascated the straight artists they worked wh.

ABOUT THAT GAY MAFIA...

”In some ways, managers like Epste and other others uld sulate themselv om the everyday life of gay men at the time – throwg their own exclive parti and circulatg elevated circl where they uld do as they pleased.

Ironilly, after the law agast homosexual acts changed Bra 1967 – crimalizg them certa circumstanc and for those of a certa age – the harassment of LGBTQ people actually tensified. “But post-67, and wh the formatn of the Gay Liberatn Front 1970 Bra and wh gay people beg more outspoken, the raids and the psdo-polil attacks started to happen more.

Straight or gay, the prsure is on om the time we're very young to bee our culture's John Wayne-style of man. It jt ma him feel like a double failure: first, he turned out to be gay; and send, he uldn’t keep a long-term relatnship.