LGBT History Project: Glad To Be Gay

Contents:

• GLAD TO BE GAYTOM ROBSON BANDTRACK 13 ON POWER THE DARKNS “(SG IF YOU’RE) GLAD TO BE GAY,” ORIGALLY RELEASED 1978 AS PART OF THE BUT EP OF THE GROUP TOM ROBSON BAND IS NOT ONLY ONE OF THE MOST FG SONGS OF THE BAND… READ MORE 1 VIEWER23.2K VIEWS12 CONTRIBUTORSGLAD TO BE GAY LYRICS[SPOKEN WORD INTRO]THIS SONG IS DITED TO THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATN, ’S A MEDIL SONG AND NCERNS A DISEASE WHOSE CLASSIFITN ACRDG TO THE INTERNATNAL CLASSIFITN OF DISEAS IS 302.0[VERSE 1]THE BRISH POLICE ARE THE BT THE WORLDI DON'T BELIEVE ONE OF THE STORI I'VE HEARD'BOUT THEM RAIDG OUR PUBS FOR NO REASON AT ALLLG THE CTOMERS UP BY THE WALLPICKG OUT PEOPLE AND KNOCKG THEM DOWNRISTG ARRT AS THEY'RE KICKED ON THE GROUNDSEARCHG THEIR HO AND LLG THEM QUEERI DON'T BELIEVE THAT SORT OF THG HAPPENS HERE[CHOS]SG IF YOU'RE GLAD TO BE GAYSG IF YOU'RE HAPPY THAT WAY(HEY!) SG IF YOU'RE GLAD TO BE GAYSG IF YOU'RE HAPPY THAT WAY[VERSE 2]PICTUR OF NAKED YOUNG WOMEN ARE FUNIN TBS AND PLAYBOY, PAGE THREE OF THE SUNTHERE'S NO NUS GAY NEWS, OUR ONE MAGAZEBUT THEY STILL FD EXC TO LL OBSCENEREAD HOW DISGTG WE ARE THE PRSTHE TELEGRAPH, PEOPLE AND SUNDAY EXPRSMOLTERS OF CHILDREN, RPTORS OF YOUTHIT'S THERE THE PAPER, MT BE THE TTHYOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE[CHOS](TRY AND) SG IF YOU'RE GLAD TO BE GAYSG IF YOU'RE HAPPY THAT WAY(HEY!) SG IF YOU'RE GLAD TO BE GAYSG IF YOU'RE HAPPY THAT WAY[VERSE 3]DON'T TRY TO KID THAT IF YOU'RE DISCREETYOU'RE PERFECTLY SAFE AS YOU WALK DOWN THE STREETYOU DON'T HAVE TO MCE OR MAKE BCHY REMARKSTO GET BEATEN UNNSC AND LEFT THE DARKI HAD A IEND WHO WAS GENTLE AND SHORTHE WAS LONELY ONE EVENG AND WENT FOR A WALKQUEERBASHERS UGHT HIM, KICKED HIS TEETHHE WAS ONLY HOSPALISED FOR A WEEK(AND HE STILL BEARS THE SRS)[CHOS]SG IF YOU'RE GLAD TO BE GAYSG IF YOU'RE HAPPY THAT WAY(HEY!) SG IF YOU'RE GLAD TO BE GAYSG IF YOU'RE HAPPY THAT WAY[VERSE 4]AND S BACK AND WATCH AS THEY CLOSE DOWN OUR CLUBSARRT FOR MEETG AND RAID ALL OUR PUBSMAKE SURE YOUR BOYIEND'S AT LEAST 21SO ONLY YOUR IENDS AND YOUR BROTHERS GET DONELIE TO YOUR WORKMAT, LIE TO YOUR FOLKSPUT DOWN THE QUEENS, TELL ANTI-QUEER JOKGAY LIB'S RIDICULO, JO THEIR LGHTER'THE BUGGERS ARE LEGAL NOW, WHAT MORE ARE THEY AFTER?'(TELL THEM!)[CHOS]SG IF YOU'RE GLAD TO BE GAYSG IF YOU'RE HAPPY THAT WAY(HEY!) SG IF YOU'RE GLAD TO BE GAYSG IF YOU'RE HAPPY THAT WAYSG IF YOU'RE GLAD TO BE GAYSG IF YOU'RE HAPPY THAT WAY(HEY!) SG IF YOU'RE GLAD TO BE GAYSG IF YOU'RE HAPPY THIS WAY3EMBEDCANCELHOW TO FORMAT LYRICS:TYPE OUT ALL LYRICS, EVEN REPEATG SONG PARTS LIKE THE CHOSLYRICS SHOULD BE BROKEN DOWN TO DIVIDUAL LUSE SECTN HEARS ABOVE DIFFERENT SONG PARTS LIKE [VERSE], [CHOS], ETC.USE ALICS (<I>LYRIC</I>) AND BOLD (<B>LYRIC</B>) TO DISTGUISH BETWEEN DIFFERENT VOLISTS THE SAME SONG PARTIF YOU DON’T UNRSTAND A LYRIC, E [?]TO LEARN MORE, CHECK OUT OUR TRANSCRIPTN GUI OR VIS OUR TRANSCRIBERS FOMABOUT
• GLAD TO BE GAY: LEADG FIGUR ON 50 YEARS OF LIBERATN
• GLAD TO BE GAY
• GLAD TO BE GAY?
• HOW WE MA: TOM ROBSON AND NICK MOBBS ON GLAD TO BE GAY
• "GLAD TO BE GAY" LYRICS
• 'GLAD TO BE GAY': THE STGGLE FOR GAY LIBERATN BEYOND LEGAL RIGHTS
• GLAD TO BE GAY
• GLAD TO BE GAY ’79TOM ROBSONTRACK 4 ON CABARET ’79 1 VIEWER1 CONTRIBUTORGLAD TO BE GAY ’79 LYRICSTHE BRISH POLICE ARE THE BT THE WORLDI DON'T BELIEVE ONE OF THE STORI I'VE HEARD'BOUT THEM RAIDG OUR PUBS FOR NO REASON AT ALLLG THE CTOMERS UP BY THE WALLPICKG OUT PEOPLE AND KNOCKG THEM DOWNRISTG ARRT AS THEY'RE KICKED ON THE GROUNDSEARCHG THEIR HO AND LLG THEM QUEERI DON'T BELIEVE THAT SORT OF THG HAPPENS HERESG IF YOU'RE GLAD TO BE GAYSG IF YOU'RE HAPPY THIS WAYPICTUR OF NAKED YOUNG WOMEN ARE FUNIN TBS AND PLAYBOY, PAGE THREE OF THE SUNTHERE'S NO NUS GAY NEWS OUR LAST MAGAZEBUT THEY STILL FD EXC TO LL OBSCENEREAD HOW DISGTG WE ARE THE PRSTHE NEWS OF THE WORLD AND THE SUNDAY EXPRSMOLTERS OF CHILDREN, RPTORS OF YOUTHIT'S THERE THE PAPER, MT BE THE TTHSG IF YOU'RE GLAD TO BE GAYSG IF YOU'RE HAPPY THIS WAYHAVE YOU HEARD THE STORY ABOUT PETER WELLSWHO ONE DAY WAS ARRTED AND DRAGGED TO THE CELLSFOR BEG LOVE WH A MAN OF 18THE VIR FOUND OUT THEY'D BEEN HAVG A SCENETHE MAGISTRATE SENT HIM FOR TRIAL BY THE CROWNHE EVEN APPEALED, BUT THEY STILL SENT HIM DOWNHE WAS ONLY MISTREATED A UPLE OF YEARS'CSE EVEN PRISON THEY...LOOK AFTER THE QUEERSYOU MIGHT ALSO LIKESG IF YOU'RE GLAD TO BE GAYSG IF YOU'RE HAPPY THIS WAYSO S BACK AND WATCH AS THEY CLOSE ALL OUR CLUBSARRT FOR MEETG AND RAID ALL OUR PUBSMAKE SURE YOUR BOYIEND'S AT LEAST 21SO ONLY YOUR IENDS AND YOUR BROTHERS GET DONELIE TO YOUR WORKMAT, LIE TO YOUR FOLKSPUT DOWN THE QUEENS AND TELL ANTI-QUEER JOKGAY LIB'S RIDICULO, JO THEIR LGHTER'THE BUGGERS ARE LEGAL NOW -WHAT MORE ARE THEY AFTER?'SG IF YOU'RE GLAD TO BE GAYSG IF YOU'RE HAPPY THIS WAYEMBEDCANCELHOW TO FORMAT LYRICS:TYPE OUT ALL LYRICS, EVEN REPEATG SONG PARTS LIKE THE CHOSLYRICS SHOULD BE BROKEN DOWN TO DIVIDUAL LUSE SECTN HEARS ABOVE DIFFERENT SONG PARTS LIKE [VERSE], [CHOS], ETC.USE ALICS (<I>LYRIC</I>) AND BOLD (<B>LYRIC</B>) TO DISTGUISH BETWEEN DIFFERENT VOLISTS THE SAME SONG PARTIF YOU DON’T UNRSTAND A LYRIC, E [?]TO LEARN MORE, CHECK OUT OUR TRANSCRIPTN GUI OR VIS OUR TRANSCRIBERS FOMABOUTHAVE THE SI SOP ON THIS SONG?SIGN UP AND DROP SOME KNOWLEDGESTART THE SONG BASK A QUTN ABOUT THIS SONGASK A QUTN *‌CABARET ’79 (1982)TOM ROBSON1. PUB HASSLE2. COLDHARBOUR LANE3. BABY YOU’RE AN ANGEL4. GLAD TO BE GAY ’795. STAND TOGETHER6. EASY STREET7. TCE8. CLOSG A DOOR9. 1967 (SO LONG AGO)10. EVEN STEVEN11. SARTORIAL ELOQUENCE12. MAD ABOUT THE BOY13. GOOD TO BE GAY14. GLAD TO BE GAY ’9715. LAST R16. GAY SWCHBOARD JGLECREDSTAGSROCKEXPAND COMMENTSADD A MENTSIGN UP AND DROP KNOWLEDGE ?GENI IS THE ULTIMATE SOURCE OF MIC KNOWLEDGE, CREATED BY SCHOLARS LIKE YOU WHO SHARE FACTS AND SIGHT ABOUT THE SONGS AND ARTISTS THEY LOVE.SIGN UPGENI IS THE WORLD’S BIGGT LLECTN OF SONG LYRICS AND MIL KNOWLEDGE
• JOHN GOODMAN: GLAD TO BE GAY!
• 302.0: GLAD TO BE GAY
• (SG IF YOU'RE) GLAD TO BE GAY

GLAD TO BE GAYTOM ROBSON BANDTRACK 13 ON POWER THE DARKNS “(SG IF YOU’RE) GLAD TO BE GAY,” ORIGALLY RELEASED 1978 AS PART OF THE BUT EP OF THE GROUP TOM ROBSON BAND IS NOT ONLY ONE OF THE MOST FG SONGS OF THE BAND… READ MORE 1 VIEWER23.2K VIEWS12 CONTRIBUTORSGLAD TO BE GAY LYRICS[SPOKEN WORD INTRO]THIS SONG IS DITED TO THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATN, ’S A MEDIL SONG AND NCERNS A DISEASE WHOSE CLASSIFITN ACRDG TO THE INTERNATNAL CLASSIFITN OF DISEAS IS 302.0[VERSE 1]THE BRISH POLICE ARE THE BT THE WORLDI DON'T BELIEVE ONE OF THE STORI I'VE HEARD'BOUT THEM RAIDG OUR PUBS FOR NO REASON AT ALLLG THE CTOMERS UP BY THE WALLPICKG OUT PEOPLE AND KNOCKG THEM DOWNRISTG ARRT AS THEY'RE KICKED ON THE GROUNDSEARCHG THEIR HO AND LLG THEM QUEERI DON'T BELIEVE THAT SORT OF THG HAPPENS HERE[CHOS]SG IF YOU'RE GLAD TO BE GAYSG IF YOU'RE HAPPY THAT WAY(HEY!) SG IF YOU'RE GLAD TO BE GAYSG IF YOU'RE HAPPY THAT WAY[VERSE 2]PICTUR OF NAKED YOUNG WOMEN ARE FUNIN TBS AND PLAYBOY, PAGE THREE OF THE SUNTHERE'S NO NUS GAY NEWS, OUR ONE MAGAZEBUT THEY STILL FD EXC TO LL OBSCENEREAD HOW DISGTG WE ARE THE PRSTHE TELEGRAPH, PEOPLE AND SUNDAY EXPRSMOLTERS OF CHILDREN, RPTORS OF YOUTHIT'S THERE THE PAPER, MT BE THE TTHYOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE[CHOS](TRY AND) SG IF YOU'RE GLAD TO BE GAYSG IF YOU'RE HAPPY THAT WAY(HEY!) SG IF YOU'RE GLAD TO BE GAYSG IF YOU'RE HAPPY THAT WAY[VERSE 3]DON'T TRY TO KID THAT IF YOU'RE DISCREETYOU'RE PERFECTLY SAFE AS YOU WALK DOWN THE STREETYOU DON'T HAVE TO MCE OR MAKE BCHY REMARKSTO GET BEATEN UNNSC AND LEFT THE DARKI HAD A IEND WHO WAS GENTLE AND SHORTHE WAS LONELY ONE EVENG AND WENT FOR A WALKQUEERBASHERS UGHT HIM, KICKED HIS TEETHHE WAS ONLY HOSPALISED FOR A WEEK(AND HE STILL BEARS THE SRS)[CHOS]SG IF YOU'RE GLAD TO BE GAYSG IF YOU'RE HAPPY THAT WAY(HEY!) SG IF YOU'RE GLAD TO BE GAYSG IF YOU'RE HAPPY THAT WAY[VERSE 4]AND S BACK AND WATCH AS THEY CLOSE DOWN OUR CLUBSARRT FOR MEETG AND RAID ALL OUR PUBSMAKE SURE YOUR BOYIEND'S AT LEAST 21SO ONLY YOUR IENDS AND YOUR BROTHERS GET DONELIE TO YOUR WORKMAT, LIE TO YOUR FOLKSPUT DOWN THE QUEENS, TELL ANTI-QUEER JOKGAY LIB'S RIDICULO, JO THEIR LGHTER'THE BUGGERS ARE LEGAL NOW, WHAT MORE ARE THEY AFTER?'(TELL THEM!)[CHOS]SG IF YOU'RE GLAD TO BE GAYSG IF YOU'RE HAPPY THAT WAY(HEY!) SG IF YOU'RE GLAD TO BE GAYSG IF YOU'RE HAPPY THAT WAYSG IF YOU'RE GLAD TO BE GAYSG IF YOU'RE HAPPY THAT WAY(HEY!) SG IF YOU'RE GLAD TO BE GAYSG IF YOU'RE HAPPY THIS WAY3EMBEDCANCELHOW TO FORMAT LYRICS:TYPE OUT ALL LYRICS, EVEN REPEATG SONG PARTS LIKE THE CHOSLYRICS SHOULD BE BROKEN DOWN TO DIVIDUAL LUSE SECTN HEARS ABOVE DIFFERENT SONG PARTS LIKE [VERSE], [CHOS], ETC.USE ALICS (<I>LYRIC</I>) AND BOLD (<B>LYRIC</B>) TO DISTGUISH BETWEEN DIFFERENT VOLISTS THE SAME SONG PARTIF YOU DON’T UNRSTAND A LYRIC, E [?]TO LEARN MORE, CHECK OUT OUR TRANSCRIPTN GUI OR VIS OUR TRANSCRIBERS FOMABOUT

Glad to Be Gay Lyrics[Spoken Word Intro]This song is dited to the World Health Organizatn, ’s a medil song and ncerns a disease whose classifitn acrdg to the Internatnal Classifitn of Diseas is 302. 0[Verse 1]The Brish Police are the bt the worldI don't believe one of the stori I've heard'Bout them raidg our pubs for no reason at allLg the ctomers up by the wallPickg out people and knockg them downRistg arrt as they're kicked on the groundSearchg their ho and llg them queerI don't believe that sort of thg happens here[Chos]Sg if you're glad to be gaySg if you're happy that way(Hey!

) Sg if you're glad to be gaySg if you're happy that way[Verse 2]Pictur of naked young women are funIn Tbs and Playboy, page three of The SunThere's no nus Gay News, our one magazeBut they still fd exc to ll obsceneRead how disgtg we are the prsThe Telegraph, People and Sunday ExprsMolters of children, rptors of youthIt's there the paper, mt be the tth[Chos](Try and) Sg if you're glad to be gaySg if you're happy that way(Hey! ) Sg if you're glad to be gaySg if you're happy that way[Verse 3]Don't try to kid that if you're discreetYou're perfectly safe as you walk down the streetYou don't have to mce or make bchy remarksTo get beaten unnsc and left the darkI had a iend who was gentle and shortHe was lonely one eveng and went for a walkQueerbashers ught him, kicked his teethHe was only hospalised for a week(And he still bears the srs)[Chos]Sg if you're glad to be gaySg if you're happy that way(Hey!

) Sg if you're glad to be gaySg if you're happy that way[Verse 4]And s back and watch as they close down our clubsArrt for meetg and raid all our pubsMake sure your boyiend's at least 21So only your iends and your brothers get doneLie to your workmat, lie to your folksPut down the queens, tell anti-queer jokGay Lib's ridiculo, jo their lghter'The buggers are legal now, what more are they after? It was not until the 1960s that the MP Leo Abse and Lord Arran proposed a bill to liberalise male homosexualy, drawg on the remendatns of the 1957 Wolfenn report.

GLAD TO BE GAY: LEADG FIGUR ON 50 YEARS OF LIBERATN

30am on 5 July 1967, the Sexual Offenc Act was passed, crimalisg private homosexual acts between men over 21 England and Wal (Stland eventually ught up 1980, Northern Ireland 1982). Events clu the Brish Mm’s show, Dire, Love, Inty: explorg LGBTQ histori, the Natnal Theatre’s Queer seri (6-10 July), which offers rehearsed readgs chartg the LGBT experience, and the Natnal Tst’s programme explorg genr diversy through the history of s ho, Prejudice and is Queerama, a new film openg Sheffield’s documentary ftival (9-14 June), that offers the most alarmg sight to homosexual life pre-1967.

He explas: “One 20 of both sex is homosexual…” He elaborat – a stab at enlightenment – that “ntrary to popular opn, they don’t look any different om anyone else” although they “stand acced of pravy and vice” and “disturb nformist valu”. Photograph: Graham Turner/The GuardianAcrdg to Queerama director Daisy Asquh, was “easier to go unr the radar the 19th century than the 50s when Churchill enuraged prosecutns of gay men, which ma life very ighteng for them”. She was repeatedly “floored”, she said, makg the film, by the “urage of the gay men, bisexuals and lbians and anyone transgenr or non-bary who me out the first two-thirds of the 20th century”.

In 1988, Margaret Thatcher add a vic new twist, Sectn 28 of the Lol Government Act, which stated that lol thori mt avoid “promotg homosexualy” or the “acceptabily of homosexualy as a pretend fay relatnship”.

GLAD TO BE GAY

In 1994 the age of nsent was lowered to 18, and 2001 to 16, but was not until 2003 that sectn 28 was repealed and not until 2009 that David Cameron apologised for do this mean gay legislatn is now plete? Photograph: Si Dhanda/The ObserverThe poet Andrew McMillan was born South Yorkshire 1988, the year Alan Hollghurst’s but novel, The Swimmg-Pool Library, was published, a book that ma a huge splash – a chlorated wave – as an unually sexually explic narrative, set 80s London, about a sctive, privileged and promiscuo gay hero, volved wh a young, workg-class black man.

GLAD TO BE GAY?

AH: I did at a school dance get a girl a rner but I don’t thk eher of was I had a girliend for a month but already knew that I was gay so wasn’t fair on her.

There was all the bs about Clse 28 gog on, which aimed to prohib lol thori om “promotg” homosexualy, and my book was ught up the discsn: was this the sort of tle that might be banned om public librari? In the 1980s and 90s, the Aids crisis stimulated a send wave of out gay wrg, though I feel that, as a genre, gay l is now rather losg fn, and the polil and cultural urgency for s existence feels ls. There’s a thg EM Forster’s gay novel Mrice, where he says that Mrice, who is a rather ordary, unimagative person, is saved by beg gay, bee wak him up, turns him to a cric of his own society.

There is somethg admonory about this lack of awarens – HIV fectn rat are gog up among young What would be lovely is if the growg equaly uld lead to a more secure sense of self gay muni.

HOW WE MA: TOM ROBSON AND NICK MOBBS ON GLAD TO BE GAY

He is the first openly gay actor to have been nomated for an Osr My sense is that theatre has been a place where people like Ian McKellen were nurtured and that that may have ntributed to his powerful impact on the wir world. Homosexualy may have been accepted to the mastream, but I believe this is only wh the boundari of a heterosexual profile which straight people are fortable. If your muny happens to be very relig, you uld be tantalisgly close to beg able to lead an openly gay life and yet your own fay and muny uld be closed to advice would you give to any young people uncerta about g out?

I am so grateful many ways to be gay bee has given me a different perspective on the world – has meant I have had a richer experience – and is helpful as an actor to have a different You have to do . And then there is Charl Allen who ran Granada and John Browne who ran BP – openly gay men who were not openly gay when they were chief executiv of their pani. What we now have is a polil system where on the centre ground – left and right – gay rights are firmly I’ve been gog to Conservative party nferenc for years and the only one where I was chokg back the tears was when David Cameron stood up and said: “We’re for marriage and, by the way, that means whether you are a man and a woman, a man and a man or a woman and a woman”.

Donald Tmp is fairly progrsive about gay people but when you look at Mike Pence and the Republin party, the relig unrtone threatens to roll back the ti of progrs. Songfacts®:"(Sg If You're) Glad To Be Gay" by the Tom Robson Band (TRB) was rerd as part of a live EP November 1977 and appears on Robson's crilly acclaimed but album Power In The Darkns.

"GLAD TO BE GAY" LYRICS

"A lot of heterosexuals don't unrstand that you grow up beg tght to hate and fear homosexuals before you're of an age to know you are one, " Robson told Q magaze.

This was a watershed moment for many gay youth the UK who found the strength to e out, Holly Johnson of Frankie Go to Hollywood and Boy Gee of Culture Club among them. "The song ntas the tertg uplet:There's no nus Gay News, our one magazeBut they still found exc to ll obsceneIn June 1976, Gay News published a poem by the amic Jam Kirkup, The Love That Dar To Speak Its Name (a pun on Osr Wil). Tryg to meet the needs of lbians and gay men was necsary to reverse past excln and, was argued, uncils should cease to regard any hoehold stcture as normal, or to enforce nformy to any particular liftyle.

At the same time, sectns of the Left believed that a new polics uld only be nstcted by abandong a simple reliance on the tradnal workg class, and nstctg stead a ‘rabow alliance’ of opprsed groups, which would also clu women, blacks, young sgle people — and lbians and gays — groups which, add together, would form a majory for socialism.

'GLAD TO BE GAY': THE STGGLE FOR GAY LIBERATN BEYOND LEGAL RIGHTS

People would jo wh what begs as an anti-police number and, by the time they're at the chos, they're all ught up , beltg out: "Sg if you're glad to be gay. "I'm now married wh kids, but Glad to Be Gay was about anyone who didn't nform, om lbians to transgenrs, a way of regnisg that most of have plex sexuali.

I never imaged that, 35 years later, would be lled the gay natnal anthem, or that we'd have openly gay pop stars and a Tory prime mister mpaigng for gay marriage. This is reflectg the extremely recent history of the stggle for gay liberatn; equal legal rights were reluctantly granted to gay people, yet whout acpanyg methods of rercement or tn, such legislative chang the UK did not immediately lead to equaly for gay people. Contrary to the school curriculum’s prcriptive narrativ that wh legal gay rights me equaly, the stggle for gay rights, an end to rampant homophobia, or the btal police treatment of gay people, did not end wh legal chang.

Growg up wh gay parents, I know this to be te om my personal memori, and whilst I nnot attempt to entirely unrstand the experience of growg up gay ten, twenty, or thirty years ago, I n touch upon my recent experienc as the dghter of a gay uple to give some sight to the suatn.

GLAD TO BE GAY

‘Glad To Be Gay’My spiratn for this article was origally Tom Robson Band’s song, first released 1978, lled ‘Glad To Be Gay’ which, after listeng to first several months ago, ntued to echo my md for some time. Inially misguid by the happy notatn and tone of the mic, the lyrics h me hard; still, when I listen to this song I feel emotnal, and grieve for everyone who grew up durg a time – not so long ago – when beg gay was not socially accepted by most. The song opens wh a thls illtratn of the state of Bra regards to homophobia and the treatment of gay people, spe the legalizatn of homosexualy the Sexual Offenc Act of 1967, (albe wh an unequal age of nsent pared to heterosexualy).

The openg l offer a sarstic nial of the homophobic police btaly that was rife Bra; police equently raidg gay bars, physilly assltg, and verbally harassg gay people.

GLAD TO BE GAY ’79TOM ROBSONTRACK 4 ON CABARET ’79 1 VIEWER1 CONTRIBUTORGLAD TO BE GAY ’79 LYRICSTHE BRISH POLICE ARE THE BT THE WORLDI DON'T BELIEVE ONE OF THE STORI I'VE HEARD'BOUT THEM RAIDG OUR PUBS FOR NO REASON AT ALLLG THE CTOMERS UP BY THE WALLPICKG OUT PEOPLE AND KNOCKG THEM DOWNRISTG ARRT AS THEY'RE KICKED ON THE GROUNDSEARCHG THEIR HO AND LLG THEM QUEERI DON'T BELIEVE THAT SORT OF THG HAPPENS HERESG IF YOU'RE GLAD TO BE GAYSG IF YOU'RE HAPPY THIS WAYPICTUR OF NAKED YOUNG WOMEN ARE FUNIN TBS AND PLAYBOY, PAGE THREE OF THE SUNTHERE'S NO NUS GAY NEWS OUR LAST MAGAZEBUT THEY STILL FD EXC TO LL OBSCENEREAD HOW DISGTG WE ARE THE PRSTHE NEWS OF THE WORLD AND THE SUNDAY EXPRSMOLTERS OF CHILDREN, RPTORS OF YOUTHIT'S THERE THE PAPER, MT BE THE TTHSG IF YOU'RE GLAD TO BE GAYSG IF YOU'RE HAPPY THIS WAYHAVE YOU HEARD THE STORY ABOUT PETER WELLSWHO ONE DAY WAS ARRTED AND DRAGGED TO THE CELLSFOR BEG LOVE WH A MAN OF 18THE VIR FOUND OUT THEY'D BEEN HAVG A SCENETHE MAGISTRATE SENT HIM FOR TRIAL BY THE CROWNHE EVEN APPEALED, BUT THEY STILL SENT HIM DOWNHE WAS ONLY MISTREATED A UPLE OF YEARS'CSE EVEN PRISON THEY...LOOK AFTER THE QUEERSYOU MIGHT ALSO LIKESG IF YOU'RE GLAD TO BE GAYSG IF YOU'RE HAPPY THIS WAYSO S BACK AND WATCH AS THEY CLOSE ALL OUR CLUBSARRT FOR MEETG AND RAID ALL OUR PUBSMAKE SURE YOUR BOYIEND'S AT LEAST 21SO ONLY YOUR IENDS AND YOUR BROTHERS GET DONELIE TO YOUR WORKMAT, LIE TO YOUR FOLKSPUT DOWN THE QUEENS AND TELL ANTI-QUEER JOKGAY LIB'S RIDICULO, JO THEIR LGHTER'THE BUGGERS ARE LEGAL NOW -WHAT MORE ARE THEY AFTER?'SG IF YOU'RE GLAD TO BE GAYSG IF YOU'RE HAPPY THIS WAYEMBEDCANCELHOW TO FORMAT LYRICS:TYPE OUT ALL LYRICS, EVEN REPEATG SONG PARTS LIKE THE CHOSLYRICS SHOULD BE BROKEN DOWN TO DIVIDUAL LUSE SECTN HEARS ABOVE DIFFERENT SONG PARTS LIKE [VERSE], [CHOS], ETC.USE ALICS (<I>LYRIC</I>) AND BOLD (<B>LYRIC</B>) TO DISTGUISH BETWEEN DIFFERENT VOLISTS THE SAME SONG PARTIF YOU DON’T UNRSTAND A LYRIC, E [?]TO LEARN MORE, CHECK OUT OUR TRANSCRIPTN GUI OR VIS OUR TRANSCRIBERS FOMABOUTHAVE THE SI SOP ON THIS SONG?SIGN UP AND DROP SOME KNOWLEDGESTART THE SONG BASK A QUTN ABOUT THIS SONGASK A QUTN *‌CABARET ’79 (1982)TOM ROBSON1. PUB HASSLE2. COLDHARBOUR LANE3. BABY YOU’RE AN ANGEL4. GLAD TO BE GAY ’795. STAND TOGETHER6. EASY STREET7. TCE8. CLOSG A DOOR9. 1967 (SO LONG AGO)10. EVEN STEVEN11. SARTORIAL ELOQUENCE12. MAD ABOUT THE BOY13. GOOD TO BE GAY14. GLAD TO BE GAY ’9715. LAST R16. GAY SWCHBOARD JGLECREDSTAGSROCKEXPAND COMMENTSADD A MENTSIGN UP AND DROP KNOWLEDGE ?GENI IS THE ULTIMATE SOURCE OF MIC KNOWLEDGE, CREATED BY SCHOLARS LIKE YOU WHO SHARE FACTS AND SIGHT ABOUT THE SONGS AND ARTISTS THEY LOVE.SIGN UPGENI IS THE WORLD’S BIGGT LLECTN OF SONG LYRICS AND MIL KNOWLEDGE

This led me to thk about the experienc of my own parents such s, and realize what a urageo thg was to be openly gay a time when homophobia was not only socially accepted, by actively perpetrated by the police, stutns, and employe.

JOHN GOODMAN: GLAD TO BE GAY!

Yet the chos, wh the eponymo lyrics, ‘Sg if you’re glad to be gay, sg if you’re happy that way’ remds of the empowerg value beg open and standg proud, the face of jtice–every person who openly intified as homosexual or who volly supported this ntributed to the materializatn of progrs.

Robson’s lyrics expose the hypocrisi popular media pani nmng homosexualy for beg explic, whilst simultaneoly slappg hyper-sexualized imag objectifyg women all across their pag. The fal verse turns to the realy of beg gay the UK the 1970s, addrsg the persecutn of gay people, the unequal age of nsent, and the qutn of rponsibily not only for those who were gay but also for iends and alli. This is bee foc on the monplace cricism of gay people beg aquate parents, a sentiment which has been voiced by criqu, policians, and even everyday people teractns throughout my life.

302.0: GLAD TO BE GAY

The homophobic crique agast lbian women beg mothers, a crique of the basic right to motherhood, only dit how enormoly brave each lbian who beme a mother mt have been – the odds were fely not their favor.

The first time I realized this was primary school; the word ‘gay’ was flung about abundantly as an sult, although I did not ially rrelate this to my parents’ sexualy. Fortunately, our school was que progrsive, wh a diverse mixture of children om a variety of backgrounds: workg class, middle class, Mlim, Christian, ternatnal… At this time, any discsn of homosexualy was sentially absent om curriculums, yet our school ma an active effort to enforce equaly and did not tolerate discrimatn any form. I soon realized that this playground lgo was imative, and not ually tend as homophobia cricism - most children were too young to even know what beg gay meant.

I learned to disnnect om such vert stanc of homophobia when younger, however as I grew olr, I learned to pot out that was wrong to e such terms, and I gradually learned to be open and vol about havg gay parents. If anyone readg this was brought up by gay parents, you will unrstand what I mean when I talk about that awkward, advertent, slightly-unnecsary-feelg ‘g out’ to your iends, not about you beg gay, but about your parents. She even remarked that if my parents pretend, for the sake of her own prejudic, to be two sisters, then she would sell the ticket– was explicly homophobic behavr, hdsight.

(SG IF YOU'RE) GLAD TO BE GAY

My siblgs and I were serly embarrassed by the cint, which attracted some hant looks om people nearby, but I now look back wh pri, that my parents stood up for their sexualy, for their rights, and for our fay– is people like them that we have to thank for the crease acceptance for beg gay, and the tolerance of homophobia at least publicly the UK and much of Europe today.

Dpe our often naïve, tated view of history as a lear, evable path towards the current state of ‘progrs, ’ we mt regnize how recent the stggle for gay liberatn really was.