Rev Richard Col: 'I'm the go-to gay' | Pop and rock | The Guardian

Contents:

• BOY BAND MEMBERS WHO ARE OUT AS GAY, BISEXUAL OR QUEER
• REV RICHARD COL: 'I'M THE GO-TO GAY'
• REV RICHARD COL: FROM THE COMMUNARDS TO "GAY VIR" NTROVERSY
• REV RICHARD COL: FROM THE COMMUNARDS TO "GAY VIR" NTROVERSY
• APóS TER FOTO íNTIMA VAZADA NA TER, VOLISTA DO PSIRI DIZ SER GAY

BOY BAND MEMBERS WHO ARE OUT AS GAY, BISEXUAL OR QUEER

Born March 1962, the young Richard Col grew up Northamptonshire and attend Wellgborough public school where he was a chorister and, to his horror, realised he was gay. In his late teens – partly due to beg homosexual an extremely hostile time durg the Seventi, where life seemed to offer only disgrace – Richard took a dg overdose and end up a psychiatric hospal. The mastream populary of boy bands wtern mic almost ensur that one or two members of each group intifi as gay, bisexual or queer.

Most out gay boy band members talk about their early reer days of havg dual personas - the public heterosexual teen male, and the private gay dividual - creatg an thenticy paradox. There have been sporadic attempts to create succsful all-gay boy bands to ter to the LGBTQ dance club crowd. Neverthels, there is a group of notable boy band members who publicly intify as gay, bisexual or queer.

Jimmy Somerville and I ed to go to the same pub and then I found myself workg wh him a Channel 4 documentary lled Framed Youth [featurg gay and lbian teenagers nductg vox pops about attus to homosexualy].

REV RICHARD COL: 'I'M THE GO-TO GAY'

" His return to the Church of England fold fally me 2001, by which stage he felt drawn to an openly and unapologetilly gay man, this prented Col wh a few difficulti. Though not as nmnatory of homosexualy as Catholicism, the Church of England is hardly at ease wh same-sex relatnships, pecially among s clergy.

REV RICHARD COL: FROM THE COMMUNARDS TO "GAY VIR" NTROVERSY

" His tone is regretful but not about the route homophobia of some Anglin bishops, pecially those om the Ain provc of the Church? Twenty-five years ago this month, No 1 the UK sgl chart was Don't Leave Me This Way, an energetic renrg of the Harold Melv and the Blue Not soul classic by gay 80s synthpop duo the Communards.

Warm, whimsil and blsed wh a voice that pretty much f "mellifluo", he now prents Rad 4's popular Saturday morng show Saturday Live and is prentg a new four-part Rad 3 seri lled Out the World: a Global Gay was, he nces, "the go-to gay". But 'homosexualy' was basilly vented the 19th century. The ia of 'beg gay' is a morn one.

I mean, if you're gay Malawi, that's a very bald story. If you grew up gay-lib London and are now livg, middle-aged, middle-class, post-civil partnerships, Bra...

REV RICHARD COL: FROM THE COMMUNARDS TO "GAY VIR" NTROVERSY

"For his part, Col has known he was gay sce, he reckons, he was "about eight. He bought a saxophone and did ge got to know Jimmy Somerville on a Channel 4 documentary about gay teens, and wound up playg claret on A't Necsarily So wh the dimutive Glaswegian volist's then band, Bronski Beat.

He sent me a book of lbian and gay prayers afterwards.

"It's not a perfect match, obvly; the majory of gay people don't nform to this stereotype, " he says. He's unhappy wh the CofE's fudge on homosexualy – OK for parishners, permissible for prits, providg they stay celibate. The church has had difficulty wh homosexualy for centuri; 's absurd to thk that n change overnight.

APóS TER FOTO íNTIMA VAZADA NA TER, VOLISTA DO PSIRI DIZ SER GAY

Slate grey, rather roomy, boxer briefs – the unrgarment of the sensible, gay vir. "There is nothg credable the Church of England's posn on gay relatnships, " he agre.

"A while later, he nces that "there are tim when distorts my relatnship wh David, which is the most important thg to me – a feelg that some ways we llu wh a homophobic stutn.