ROB HALFORD On Beg A Closeted Gay Man In The '80s Glam Scene: "It's Like, 'Am I Missg Somethg Here?'"

Contents:

• ROB HALFORD ON BEG A CLOSETED GAY MAN IN THE '80S GLAM SCENE: "IT'S LIKE, 'AM I MISSG SOMETHG HERE?'"
• MEET SMOKEY, THE GREATT '70S GAY GLAM-ROCK BAND YOU NEVER HEARD OF
• ROB HALFORD REFLECTS ON EXPERIENCE AS CLOSETED GAY MAN DURG 1980S ANDROGYNO GLAM METAL ERA
• GROWG UP GAY TO A GLAM ROCK SOUNDTRACK

ROB HALFORD ON BEG A CLOSETED GAY MAN IN THE '80S GLAM SCENE: "IT'S LIKE, 'AM I MISSG SOMETHG HERE?'"

Judas Prit volist Rob Halford famoly me out as a gay man durg an terview on MTV 1998. Now a new terview wh Ultimate Classic Rock, Halford exprsed some nfn about the fact that beg gay was ls accepted the metal scene at a time where glam rock was kg and "guys looked like girls. "And I uld never que figure that out, bee of the homophobic stuff that was gog on the '80s.

MEET SMOKEY, THE GREATT '70S GAY GLAM-ROCK BAND YOU NEVER HEARD OF

And then me as a closeted gay man, 's like, 'Am I missg somethg here? Bars that we might intify today as “gay” sprang up the big metropolis, and there was an explosn of female impersonators that created a New York drag scene not dissiar to today’s. Of urse, no summary of pre-war gay stars would be plete whout mentn of Noël Coward, who would go on to be one of the pla’s greatt stars.

The social reprsn that reigned after the end of the Send World War meant gay performers had to tread refully not to offend sensive sensibili. But the biggt ternatnal gay star of the era immediately leadg to rock n roll was Liberace. The tradn of soft, accsible pop ran through the 50s and early 60s wh gay stars such as Johnny Mathis, Lley Gore, and Tab Hunter hidn tightly wh their rpective closets, but the electrifyg revolutn of rock’n’roll was makg wav.

As the 60s started to swg, many of the biggt stars of the era were steered by gay managers and producers, cludg Brian Epste (The Beatl), Joe Meek (The Honeybs), and Larry Parn (Billy Fury). It was the 70s, and the years followg the Stonewall Rts and the birth of the morn gay liberatn movement, that saw more dramatic evince that LGBTQ artists, and those that supported them, uld be more nfint at last.

ROB HALFORD REFLECTS ON EXPERIENCE AS CLOSETED GAY MAN DURG 1980S ANDROGYNO GLAM METAL ERA

The glam rock explosn saw a new theatrily burst onto the scene and, while straight acts such as The Sweet, Alice Cooper, and New York Dolls experimented wh make-up and pantomime performance, genue progrs was ma when, 1972, David Bowie announced to the world he was gay – even though he wasn’t. By the middle of the , gay men’s sexualy at least was beg more nfint and visible. Rod Stewart’s story of a gay-bashg, “The Killg Of Geie, ” was a huge ternatnal h 1976; The Rocky Horror Show, wh s subversive them wrapped up a sh of mp humor, had been nng on stage for years; and dis began to emerge as the fg sound of the dancefloor.

But marketg an act wh a strong gay msage uld still be difficult.

GROWG UP GAY TO A GLAM ROCK SOUNDTRACK

In Bra, Peter Straker’s first album was advertised almost exclively the gay prs, and bombed. In the US, Jobrah was signed and billed as the world’s first gay megastar but drowned a PR blz that left both the dtry and ctomers largely unrwhelmed.

While lbian sger-songwrers such as Cris Williamson, Holly Near (later to live wh a man and renounce labels), Joan Armatradg, and Janis Ian enjoyed some succs, the mastream kept them largely on the sil favor of safer, straighter women the lik of Diana Ross, who rerd “I’m Comg Out” 1980 and ma a pot of urtg the gay market to mata their reers.

But if anythg threatened to relibrate the genr balance this era, was actually dis, which ma big stars of artists such as Gloria Gaynor and Donna Summer. Androgyno in Sylvter had a worldwi h wh “You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)” and the scene even tablished s own gay supergroup, wh Village People savg weddg playlists for evermore when they released songs such as “YMCA” and “In The Navy” at the ’s close.