From the glam-punk of Handbag to the ultra-mp Steve Elg, award-wng gay mic historian Darryl W Bullock picks out ep cuts to play at this year’s Pri celebratns
Contents:
- GAY / GLBQ PRI MARCH CHANTS
- DRAG QUEENS CHANTG ‘WE’RE G FOR YOUR KIDS’ HURT GAY RIGHTS
- HOW GAY ACTIVISTS CHALLENGED THE POLICS OF CIVILY
- LGBTQ HISTORY MONTH: THE ROAD TO AMERI'S FIRST GAY PRI MARCH
- HOW ACTIVISTS ORGANIZED THE FIRST GAY PRI PARAS
- PROTTS NTUE AGAST FLORIDA 'DON'T SAY GAY' BILL
GAY / GLBQ PRI MARCH CHANTS
The morn gay rights movement began as a rt at Stonewall -- celebrate Pri wh the LGBTQ prott songs. * gay protest chants *
After police nverged on the bar to arrt and harass the LGBTQ atten, as was ctomary, the patrons fought back, sparkg what would spire the gay liberatn movement. While the song may not have the fiery energy of other prott songs, the lyrics directly ll out police btaly, homophobic vlence and the sistence that queer people are ls than human.
Instead of wrg a song wh thly veiled metaphors about relign, queerre ins Team Drch stead cid to opt for “Hate the Christian Right!, ” a fiery, scream-rock track lettg relig homophob know exactly where they uld stick their prayers.
While the song may not have the fiery energy of other prott songs, the lyrics directly ll out police btaly, homophobic vlence and those who sist that queer people are ls than human.
DRAG QUEENS CHANTG ‘WE’RE G FOR YOUR KIDS’ HURT GAY RIGHTS
* gay protest chants *
” An explosn of bottled-up dignatn, the song se the sger-songwrg barrg his way through societal failur like homophobia, e equaly, police btaly, gun vlence, polil rptn and much more. “This Hell” tak that famo assertn and throws back the fac of the homophob wieldg as their cudgel — if we’re all gog to Hell anyway, then we may as well enjoy the ri down. ” The “g for your children” chant has been ed for years at Pri events, acrdg to longtime march atten and gay rights activists, who said ’s one of many provotive exprsns ed to rega ntrol of slurs agast LGBTQ people.
The charge is an echo of a s-old trope anti-gay activists have ed to pat the muny as a threat to the untry’s youths, an allegatn that some advot say endangers LGBTQ people. ”Karla Jay, the first female chair of New York’s Gay Liberatn Front and a profsor emera at Pace Universy, said ’s a strategy to “take the stg out” of accatns lobbied agast the LGBTQ muny.
HOW GAY ACTIVISTS CHALLENGED THE POLICS OF CIVILY
The prott was anized by activist group Hold the Le as backlash ntu followg Disney's cisn to oppose Florida's ntroversial Don't Say Gay bill. * gay protest chants *
Two years ago, the San Francis Gay Men’s Chos released a YouTube vio which 81 of s members sang a song wh the rea: “We’ll nvert your children / Happens b by b. The ia of gay people as more or ls ordary people next door was ccial helpg w popular support for gay equaly, gays the ary, and, ultimately, same-sex marriage. Our books were part of a rponse by the gay mastream to a self-styled “gay-rights movement” that, n by far-left iologu, had all too often promoted the ia of gays as the cuttg edge of a csa to overthrow every pillar of Amerin society: palism, relign, the ary, the fay.
When Sullivan and I appeared on Charlie Rose’s show 1994, to memorate the 25th anniversary of the morn gay-rights movement, one of the other guts, a radil lbian, ma this agenda clear. Those of who supported weren’t jt cricized by right-wg fenrs of tradnal wedlock; we were fiercely attacked by “queers” – left-wg gays who cherished their margaly – for wantg to buy to a “heterosexual stutn. In the end, fortunately, our si won – bee as a tsunami of gays me out of the closet the 1990s and afterwards, beme clear that those of who jt wanted to live normal liv were very much the majory.
LGBTQ HISTORY MONTH: THE ROAD TO AMERI'S FIRST GAY PRI MARCH
The wispread and relatively quick acceptance of gay marriage was a ttament to Amerins’ nate sense of fairns, of equaly before the law, of rpect for difference. That small sad segment of the gay populatn who are termed to be clowns, to make mischief, and to get easy thrills by terrifyg nice people, they’re out there now, givg an ugly name to the overwhelmg majory of cent gay Amerins who stggled for so long – and wh digny and patience and sensivy – to w equaly and rpect. And I know one thg: if anybody is upset more by this sishow than straight parents, ’s gay people who feel that their honorable movement for equal rights has been shanghaied by a gang of psychologilly disturbed egomaniacs.
The Gay Liberatn Front had been anisg diss and danc for 18 months prr to the march, and 1, 200 people scend on Kensgton town hall shortly before Christmas 1970 for Bra’s first publicly advertised gay dis, fillg the place to pacy, wh 500 revellers turned away at the door. There were no LGBTQ+ bands, and no artists makg rerds for LGBTQ+ people; at least most of the acts playg those early danc – cludg David Bowie, Hawkwd and Pk Fairi – were sympathetic to the e of gay liberatn, but the discs beg spun were the same on you would hear the ntemporary sgl would soon change, and as annual Pri events began to spread across the untry, artists and songwrers spired by the gay liberatn movement began to make mic specifilly for LGBTQ+ dienc.
Everyone Involved – A Gay Song (1972)It’s a toss-up as to what would be the world’s first gay liberatn rerd: many would argue that Stone Wall Natn by Male Davis, wrten March 1971, predat the UK release A Gay Song, first performed that year. But wh lyrics by Gay Liberatn Front activist Alan Wakeman, A Gay Song is the first rerdg by a Brish act to explicly addrs the LGBTQ+ muny a posive appeared on the album Eher/Or by a llective known as Everyone Involved, and featured volunteers om the GLF on vols.
HOW ACTIVISTS ORGANIZED THE FIRST GAY PRI PARAS
Coverg them such as elogy, world peace and ee love a rog folk-rock arrangement, Eher/Or also clud a send gay-themed song, A Sad Song, sung by Gillian Dickson of folk quartet the Solid Brish Hat Band. “Alan and I were always keen to make our songs reflect somethg of our personali and we liked the tle Do You Like Boys, which uld appeal equally to gays as well as girls.
”Acrdg to Briley, “to promote this song we were flown to Germany on a tour of what turned out to be gay diss”; Gay News highlighted s “potential to bee a dis favoure”. Post-Starbuck, Briley and Engle appeared on the soundtrack to the Rocky Horror Picture Show, and Briley has wrten songs for dozens of artists cludg Monkee Peter Tork, Céle Dn, ‘NSync and Pat Elg – Don’t Leave Your Lover Lyg Around (Dear) (1974)As mp as a pantomime dame, drippg nuendo and plete wh pub piano and a chos of A’t She Sweet, this sgle sparked ntroversy: Elg’s team suggted that the BBC had dropped plans to feature Don’t Leave Your Lover Lyg Around (Dear) as rerd of the week on the David Haton show bee of the obvly gay lyrics, leadg his manager to veigle his way to Broadstg Hoe and p pi of Gay News on noticeboards throughout the buildg. Dpe his efforts, the sgle was a flop, and no rerd that told a story om an LGBTQ+ pot of view would bother the Brish charts until 1978 – (Sg If You’re) Glad to be Gay by the Tom Robson band, which charted (as part of the Risg Free EP) Febary 1978, reachg number 18.
Valento – I Was Born This Way (1975)Outsi members-only clubs, pub backrooms and the ocsnal gay-iendly dner-and-dance venue, there were no permanent gay diss Bra until Bang!
PROTTS NTUE AGAST FLORIDA 'DON'T SAY GAY' BILL
Handbag – Jt Raped (1977)Almost a before Bronski Beat, Handbag were the first out gay tr Bra to w a rerdg ntract, when, 1975, David Arn – son of notor hardman mic mogul Don Arn and brother of Sharon Osbourne – signed them to Jet Rerds, home to ELO and Ozzy Osbourne. The band were for a rough ri: that year a gig wh lbian band the Stepney Sisters was abandoned followg a bomb sre, and the much-vnted album rerd for Jet was never issued, but they did get to wre and perform the soundtrack to documentary film David is 1977 the group laid down mos for a send album, songs wh a heavier edge such as the punk-fluenced live favoure Jt Raped, and soon after they were headlg a weekly gay night at legendary London punk venue the Roxy.