To reunt the story of how gay activists joed forc wh Brish mers 1984-85, the creators of “Pri” tracked down participants and extracted their stori, warts and all.
Contents:
- WHEN MERS AND GAY ACTIVISTS UNED: THE REAL STORY OF THE FILM PRI
- A SURPRISG SPECT EMERG IN DEATH OF OPENLY GAY COAL MER
- A STORY OF SOLIDARY: MERS AND THE GAY COMMUNY
- ONCE A YEAR ON BLACKPOOL SANDS FOLLOWS TWO AL MERS AND SECRET GAY LOVERS DURG ONE NIGHT 1953
- COAL MERS AND GAY ACTIVISTS PARTNER IN 'PRI'
- BRISH COALMERS STRIKE WH A GAY COALN IN 'PRI,' A CROWD-PLEASER
- LBIANS AND GAYS SUPPORT THE MERS
WHEN MERS AND GAY ACTIVISTS UNED: THE REAL STORY OF THE FILM PRI
Learn more about the ath of Brad McGarry, a gay al mer om Oh who was killed by lover David Kney. * gay coal 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. 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…'.
A SURPRISG SPECT EMERG IN DEATH OF OPENLY GAY COAL MER
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… * gay coal miners *
"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.
Now his ey she as he remembers the Welsh mers who me to London to march wh Gay Pri June 1985. 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.
A STORY OF SOLIDARY: MERS AND THE GAY COMMUNY
Based on a stage play of the same name, Once a Year on Blackpool Sands is a powerful new Brish drama spired by real events – regardg an extraordary night 1953, several days after the Queen's Coronatn. Maulay Cooper and Kyle Brooks star as Tommy and Eddy, al mers and secret gay lovers who spend their… * gay coal miners *
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. But the nsens was: we have been monised by the prs, maybe we should meet the gay people bee they've also been monised.
ONCE A YEAR ON BLACKPOOL SANDS FOLLOWS TWO AL MERS AND SECRET GAY LOVERS DURG ONE NIGHT 1953
* gay coal 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. 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?
We know about blacks and gays and nuclear disarmament and we will never be the same. 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.
COAL MERS AND GAY ACTIVISTS PARTNER IN 'PRI'
Coal Mers: Wh Beck Bent, Bill Har, Taran Killam, Bobby Moynihan. Levar (Bill Har), the gossipy al mer, spread mors amongst and about his fellow al mers (Kenan Thompson, Bobby Moynihan, Taran Killam, Beck Bent), cludg that one of his workers (Bent) is gay." data-id="ma * gay coal miners *
Growg up as an openly gay man a small village of Lewisville, Oh, McGarry had a difficult childhood. “But he showed that you n be an openly gay man and still be able to do physil labor like straight guys and that’s kd of what he was wantg to do is change the stereotype.
BRISH COALMERS STRIKE WH A GAY COALN IN 'PRI,' A CROWD-PLEASER
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. 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’.
In 1984, a group of gay and lbian activists Bra formed a group to llect money for strikg mers. Their support for the strike prompted the Natnal Unn of Mers to mpaign for the rights of gay people and mand that sexual equaly be clud the program of the Labour Party.
LBIANS AND GAYS SUPPORT THE MERS
The real protagonists were surprised by the film’s mercial succs: 30 years later, a tearjerker about the class stggle beme an ternatnal blockbter, while tellg the te story of Lbians and Gays Support the Mers. My support for the mers actually had very ltle to do wh me beg gay, but wh my social background. “Milant”, the group to which I belonged at the time, nsired gay rights a bourgeois ncern and imaged that the workers would not be able to handle .
Ever sce then, I do not accept the ia that workers are particularly homophobic – even though sometim they say thgs more bluntly. We jt started llectg money om the pri march or gay pubs, and the most we were expectg was a thank you letter om the village we supported.