This report is by Joseph Price, one of our first year unrgraduate stunts. 35 years ago, on the 29th June 1985, London’s gay pri para received some very unlikely supporters who saw their duty to show their support for a muny who had helped them survive durg tumultuo tim. The supporters were b loads…
Contents:
- WHEN MERS AND GAY ACTIVISTS UNED: THE REAL STORY OF THE FILM PRI
- A STORY OF SOLIDARY: MERS AND THE GAY COMMUNY
- LGBT HISTORY MONTH: LBIANS AND GAYS SUPPORT THE MERS, 1984-85
- COAL MERS AND GAY ACTIVISTS PARTNER IN 'PRI'
- PRI AND JOY: GAY ACTIVISM AND BRISH FILM
- PRI: A HEARTBREAKG BRISH COMEDY ABOUT THE TIME GAYS AND MERS WORKED TOGETHER
- MATTHEW WARCH: WHY I MA A ROM ABOUT GAY ACTIVISTS AND STRIKG MERS
WHEN MERS AND GAY ACTIVISTS UNED: THE REAL STORY OF THE FILM PRI
Pri: Directed by Matthew Warch. Wh Ben Schzer, Abram Rooney, Jim McMan, Gee MacKay. U.K. gay activists work to help mers durg their lengthy strike of the Natnal Unn of Meworkers the summer of 1984." data-id="ma * gay welsh miners *
" He acknowledg now that this is a le you n only e once a pch and explas that he went on to tell the story of mers the Dulais valley South Wal durg the 1984-5 strike – the longt Brish history – and a gay and lbian group om London that donated more money (£11, 000 by December 1984) to their e than any other fundraiser the UK, along wh a mib emblazoned wh the logo LGSM: Lbians and Gays Support the a when a gree of homophobia was the norm, LGSM drove a uple of mib om Hackney Communy Transport and a clapped-out VW mper van to a bleak mg town South Wal to prent their donatns, uncerta what sort of wele to expect. "The story had bee a legend the gay muny. Three years later and the film, shot Banwen, Wal, and London, and directed by Tony-wng Matthew Warch (rponsible for Matilda the Mil, and soon to be artistic director of the Old Vic), is might assume a rom about strikg mers and 80s gays was unlikely to be big box-office, but the same was probably said of Billy Ellt.
It is really illogil to say, 'I'm gay and I'm to fendg the gay muny but I don't re about anythg else…'. "In the homema LGSM documentary, we also glimpse a tall, handsome fellow wearg groovy leather troers, shakg a donatns bucket outsi Gay's the Word bookshop London's Marchmont Street – this is Jonathan Blake. She explas how the gay muny ted the mg muny: "Their stggle is siar to our own.
Cliff, an olr mer ( the film, a killgly funny and affectg Bill Nighy) appears the documentary sayg: "The lbians and gays have been super duper. "We need a character who, like the dience, arriv bewilred at a Gay Pri march. Now his ey she as he remembers the Welsh mers who me to London to march wh Gay Pri June 1985.
A STORY OF SOLIDARY: MERS AND THE GAY COMMUNY
* gay welsh miners *
One hope is that the film might revive polil tert bee the activism of the left has been siled, the tra unns are weak, gay rights issu aren't there. Our first sightg of him is wh fox fur and whistle outsi Gay's the Word book shop.
"Wh the South Wal mers at the 1985 Labour party nference, we put gay rights on the agenda. Tim were tougher for lbians and gay men then. We were well ed to homophobia.
But the nsens was: we have been monised by the prs, maybe we should meet the gay people bee they've also been monised.
LGBT HISTORY MONTH: LBIANS AND GAYS SUPPORT THE MERS, 1984-85
Pri, a heart-warmg new film about gay activists who stand up for strikg mers 1984, lnch cemas this weekend. But what queer activism had e before them, and how was shown on film? * gay welsh miners *
" It was not long before Welsh mers warmed to their e: "They started wearg gay badg on their lapels. "Mike marvels at how tim have changed for homosexuals the metropolan first world: "It is unbelievable, we have ma such progrs.
Until I was 13, homosexualy was a crime – like makg beg black a crime. Nowadays, is unol for straight men to be disparagg about gay men.
And when he has to make a speech a gay bar wh a clientele whose look is more S&M than M&S, you fear for him – how is all gog to pan out? He says: "Gog to a gay club London was fely somethg I'd never envisaged dog.
COAL MERS AND GAY ACTIVISTS PARTNER IN 'PRI'
Pri, the wonrful new movie about a group of London-based lbian and gay activists who raised money for Welsh mers durg a major 1984-85 strike,... * gay welsh miners *
We know about blacks and gays and nuclear disarmament and we will never be the same.
PRI AND JOY: GAY ACTIVISM AND BRISH FILM
Twenty-seven gay people ( the film is a dozen) slept on his floor – the morng, his six-year-old dghter "uldn't put her foot down". We knew gay people existed – my dad worked wh a mer who was gay – but nobody openly talked about ; was nsired very personal.
Gay activists work to help mers durg their lengthy strike of the Natnal Unn of Meworkers the summer of 1984. Gay activists work to help mers durg their lengthy strike of the Natnal Unn of Meworkers the summer of productn, box office & pany Vios56More like thisReview An amazg story that brgs two very different worlds together for a great films when they are pre-release have so much hype and advertisg nng behd them that by the time the film is actually released we have seen three or four different trailers that have ually given away all the bets bs of the film leavg a sour and disappotg taste our mouths and a feelg as though we have jt wasted our time once we get around to actually seeg them. Pri is a te life story based around the Brish Mer's Strike 1984, Margaret Thatcher was Prime Mister and not very popular, not wh mers and pecially not wh the gay and lbian muny eher.
Joe, a young naïve closeted gay boy arriv London to take part his first gay pri march, soon after arrivg Joe is taken by a lol gay and lbian rights activist group who do their part to raise funds to fight their foe Thatcher and her evil ways. Soon after the group realise that both the Mer's and the gay muny have a lot mon they make the cisn to start raisg funds for the fai of the mers a ltle Welsh town lled Onllwyn. The mers reject the gay and lbian activists money believg will do more harm than good for their e so the group unfazed but a ltle perplexed ci to take the money personally to the town to hand over and expla their suatn and hopefully form a new alliance agast the untri Prime Mister and her party Pri is set a very bleak and dark time of Brish history but I feel that 's never actually shown that way, sure thgs are dark and gray but I wish the director jt add more hardship to his fal ed for the film, not beg a part of personally but rememberg how harsh was om school study and other films I have seen over time.
PRI: A HEARTBREAKG BRISH COMEDY ABOUT THE TIME GAYS AND MERS WORKED TOGETHER
35 years ago, on the 29th June 1985, London’s gay pri para received some very unlikely supporters who saw their duty to show their support for a muny who had helped them survive durg tumultuo tim.
The supporters were b loads of Welsh mers whom had been touched by the overwhelmg generosy of the group, ‘Lbians and Gays Support the Mers’ or LGSM.
MATTHEW WARCH: WHY I MA A ROM ABOUT GAY ACTIVISTS AND STRIKG MERS
Thanks to Mike Jackson and Mark Ashton, foundg members of LGSM, a llectn was formed to raise money to sta the mers and their fai, this money was llected at gay pubs and clubs as well as om buckets the streets. LGSM stands to be one of the cleart acts of solidary gay history, stead of simply ignorg the issue, the muny band together to help another distrs.
After the strike end, a motn was fally passed to place Gay and Lbian rights to the Labour party manifto, though this had been raised before, had never been approved due to a block vote om one key unn- The Natnal Unn of Meworkers. So, thanks to the selfls acts of solidary shown by the LGBT muny, the mers accepted placg gay rights to the Labour party’s agenda, statg their slogan, ‘Mers supports Gays and Lbians’.
As portrayed the 2014 film Pri, the small Welsh mg village of Onllwyn Neath Port Talbot was the settg for the seemgly unlikely llaboratn between a group of lbian and gay activists om London and strikg Welsh mers and their fai durg the year-long UK strike 1984-85.