The Velvet Mafia: the gay men who helped shape mic the 60s | Mic | The Guardian

Contents:

• 40 BT GAY SGERS & MICIANS OF ALL TIME (LGBTQ+ SGERS)
• 35 BT GAY SGERS OF ALL TIME (LGBTQ+ SGERS)
• GREATT GAY SGERS OF ALL TIME
• FOTTEN SGER EMERG OM SERT AS 'GAY '70S IN'
• CHART TOPPG SGERS WHO HAVE COME OUT AS GAY
• THE 50 BT GAY SONGS TO CELEBRATE PRI ALL YEAR LONG
• HOW AN OPENLY GAY D.C. SOUL SGER MA MOTOWN HISTORY
• THE VELVET MAFIA: THE GAY MEN WHO HELPED SHAPE MIC THE 60S
• WATCH VIRAL FOOTAGE OF KG VON ADMTG TO BEG GAY TO THE POLICE

40 BT GAY SGERS & MICIANS OF ALL TIME (LGBTQ+ SGERS)

The Stonewall rts were a seri of spontaneo, vlent monstratns by members of the gay (LGBT) muny agast a police raid that began the early morng hours of June 28, 1969, at the Stonewall Inn the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York Cy. Charl Piece 1926-1999 was what might be lled a female impersonator (he lled himself a Male Actrs) who found favor wh dienc both straight and gay wh his knowg imprsns of Bette Davis, Mae Wt, Tallulah Bankhead and Carol Channg, Such impersonatns were que tradnal for a ic performer of this sort. Steve Grossman (1951-1991) a gay sger-songwrer of the early 1970s whose album Caravan Tonight (1974) is distguished as beg the first album alg wh openly gay subject matter released by a major rerd label, Mercury Rerds.

35 BT GAY SGERS OF ALL TIME (LGBTQ+ SGERS)

The are the sgers that fed an This list is based on album sal, impact on the mic dtry, and overall vol JohnBob DylanDavid BowieFreddie MercuryMarv GayeMick JaggerBce SprgsteenMichael JacksonRobert PlantBob MarleyBlack Male Sgers of the 70sThe dtry ow big time to the black male sgers of the 70s mentned below.

GREATT GAY SGERS OF ALL TIME

And we thk ’s only right to give them the cred they are is a list of some of the bt black male sgers of the GayeMichael JacksonRay CharlJam BrownStevie WonrLnel RichieSmokey RobsonPrceAl GreenCurtis Mayfield70s Male Country SgersSce the genre’s ceptn, untry mic has always been domated by male sgers. Not to mentn their songs still hold up today, which is a ttament to their VandrossLtle RichardMarv GayeMichael JacksonJefey OsborneIsaac HayStevie WonrTeddy PenrgrassDonny HathawayRonald IsleyMale Duo Sgers of the 70sGone were the days of the solo artist as the 70s saw the rise of the male duo.

Some of the biggt soul stars of the 70s were Stevie Wonr, Marv Gaye, Al Green, The Temptatns, and The sgers drew spiratn om gospel mic and the blu, creatg a unique blend that spoke to the stggl and joys of everyday the 1970s, soul mic was a unifyg force for Ain Amerins and played an important role the Black Power movement. It also helped to break down racial barriers and brought people together om all walks of said, soul mic is still gog strong today, and the sgers listed are rponsible for CharlBarry WheMichael JacksonMarv GayeLuther VandrossTeddy PenrgrassJam BrownSmokey RobsonCurtis MayfieldStevie WonrPop Male Sgers of the 70sIn the 1970s, pop male sgers were all the rage.

And 1992, he was ducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of popular gay sgers of the 1970s clu:Elton JohnDavid BowieFreddie MercuryArthur ConleyBarry ManilowDave WakelgBilly PrtonDug PnickDave DaviEric EmersonHigh Pched Male Sgers of the 70sThere’s somethg about sgers wh high-pched voic that jt brgs a se to your face. Robert John Arthur "Rob" Halford is an English sger and songwrer, who is bt known as the lead volist for the Grammy Award-wng heavy metal band Judas Prit and famed for his powerful wi rangg operatic lead volist of Judas Prit is gay and he has stated that. Prce Rogers Nelson (June 7, 1958 - April 21st, 2016) was an Amerin mician, bt known for beg one of the most popular and fluential artists om the 80s, wh songs such as "Purple Ra", "Ltle Red Corvette", "1999", and "When Dov Cry" was gay secret.

FOTTEN SGER EMERG OM SERT AS 'GAY '70S IN'

And whether he’s kept a low profile sce then bee he’s livg his life or bee ’s hard for an pennt mician to get tractn this world, he’s still the pg ballaer wh which a young gay man might fall love. Yet back the ’70s was slim pickgs for openly gay artists, and we all knew how to read an artist that ma a joke about beg “bi-astal” (he even named an album that) while throwg himself across the stage like a hyperactive chore on a Broadway belter like “I Go to R.

Currently on her mea culpa tour (for, amongst other thgs, supportg Tmp) and tryg to get the foc back on her mic, this mouthy bisexual MC threw away a lot of goodwill by turng her reer to a spectacle of wrong-footedns — her e of slurs agast gay men has been wily reported. Known for a quick w and sharp tongue, Belli followed up an unexpectedly short stt on Season 4 of RuPl’s Drag Race wh hilar mic parodi of pop hs that mocked Chick-fil-A’s anti-gay polics (“Chow Down (at Chick-fil-A)”), praised well-endowed men (“Love You Like a Big Schlong”) and skewered secret bedroom submissiv (“That Boy is a Bottom”).

Or, at least, a cult act, whose unflchg honty and betiful tenor uld soundtrack the wet dreams of many buddg young gay boys lookg for a “Half-Boyiend” or a breathtakg partner to leave you bereft (“Rob Me Bld”). Yet between his activism, thorship (How to Have Sex an Epimic: One Approach), journalism, and actg (Philalphia, Zero Patience), he found and sang wh the gay apella group The Flirtatns (“Everythg Possible”) and released one solo album, Purple Heart (“Talkg Old Soldiers”), while he was alive. Yet more die rock and punk, this time om another all-female Philalphia tr who do a stellar versn of New Orr’s “Age of Consent” and released a solid sophomore set wh 2017’s New Kd of Normal (“B Ticket”).

CHART TOPPG SGERS WHO HAVE COME OUT AS GAY

Coil, the project of Peter “Sleazy” Christopherson and Jhonn Balance — both of Genis P-Orridge’s Psychic TV, and the se of Christopherson, dtrial pneers Throbbg Gristle — were always very upont about their gayns. Wh two releas behd them, this Atralian band is poised to bee the next Years & Years or Troye Sivan — an electropop die ncern that wav the gay flag proudly and produc betiful synth-based tun perfect for ntemplatn (“Chas’”) and romance (“Csh”).

Their jangly die pop remas the same, the gay ntent has expand and epened, and one day the cult that lov them for their melodic surf-guar and fun groov — “Let’s Go Surfg, ” “Money, ” “Let Me” (to name a few) — might have to share them wh more people. "By 19, he was tryg to sg New York Cy, datg a man om the hippie mil, "Hair, " and hangg out a part of Greenwich Village where male prostut serviced men parked big the early '70s, he was performg regularly at Rodney Bgenheimer's English Dis Hollywood, hangg out leather bars, and sgg provotively gay material while David Bowie and Ray Davi of the Kks were only suggtg sexual, who performed as Smokey wh his partner and engeer, EJ Emmons, rerd sexy versns of the standards "Putt' On the Rz" and "Temptatn, " showg he has real vol chops.

Former *NSYNC member and once hopeful astront Lance Bass nfirmed mors that he was gay and a relatnship wh Amazg Race wner Reichen Lehmkuhl after the New York Post reported that he and Lehmkuhl were seen at a gay bar. Valento, ‘I Was Born This Way’ (1975)The first rerd to feature lyrics about beg an out-and-proud gay man me om the mil performer Charl “Valento” Harris, who released “I Was Born This Way” as an apparently one-off release on Gaiee. ” “The lyrics were perfect, ” she told me Summer, ‘I Feel Love’ (1977)Gay male dance crowds were drawn to rerdgs that featured Black female volists, often intifyg wh their emotnal exprsivens and strength the face of adversy, often to the surprise of the artists, who were ually gospel-traed.

THE 50 BT GAY SONGS TO CELEBRATE PRI ALL YEAR LONG

Patrick Cowley, ‘Mutant Man’ (1982)Patrick Cowley fed his reputatn as one of the world’s most progrsive synthizer players durg rerdgs wh the dis pneer Sylvter, cludg “You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real), ” perhaps the ultimate gay male anthem. Fans may openly embrace a gay Elton John, Melissa Etheridge or Ricky Mart now, but over the past 50 years or more ’s been a stggle for most queer artists to live their liv openly and whout shame and persecutn.

His theatril scream-sgg, macho stage prence, and all-around badassery (bt showsed on inic rerds like 1980’s Brish Steel and 1982’s Screamg for Vengeance) prompted many fans to ll him “Metal God:” a tradnally mascule trope Halford boldly upend Febary 1998, when he me out as gay an MTV News terview. As the earlit show of queer solidary om a proment metal mician, Halford’s admissn proved val rhapg the public perceptn of heavy metal, repostg an earspltg, heteronormative boys’ club as a safe space where headbangers of all typ uld be themselv, sheltered the flailg arms of not jt a benevolent (and openly gay) God, but the scene wr large. ” The fact that he did all while beg pletely open about his sexualy – llg himself “rock’s tt fairy” – is astoundg and, for a brief, shg moment 1974, Jobriath beme the most visible gay man popular mic.

While the “Queen of Dis” is a tle most monly btowed upon Donna Summer, also appli to Sylvter, who was a fixture of the dis scene and an in of the gay liberatn movement that spawned out of San Francis. It wasn’t until after hostg var episos of the show for a uple years – which all centered on LGBT issu – that she spoke openly about her partner of over two s and the stggl of beg gay the mic dtry. Brish punk rocker Tom Robson achieved chart succs wh h songs “2-4-6-8 Motorway”, “Up Agast the Wall” and “Don’t Take No for an Answer, ” but he’ll always be immortalized for his sgalong prott anthem, “Glad to be Gay.

HOW AN OPENLY GAY D.C. SOUL SGER MA MOTOWN HISTORY

As long as pop mic has been around, there have been lbian, gay, bisexual, and transgenr sgers, but many have felt the need to hi their sexual orientatn orr to reach wispread acceptance wh pop dienc. Although seems most of Queen’s fans were cluels as to how openly gay and subversive ontman Freddie Mercury was – spe the unabashed swank of his stage prence – he also never really tried to hi . Much of Erasure’s disgraphy embodi not precisely celebratory gay pri but gay romantic realy – a ankns about the emotnal, if not overtly sexual, liv of gay men toward the end of the 20th century.

THE VELVET MAFIA: THE GAY MEN WHO HELPED SHAPE MIC THE 60S

The Bay Area gay punk pneers found a ht of mastream fame when they toured wh Green Day on their Dookie n 1994, but was their sexy lyrics and who-giv-a-fuck attu that enared them to a generatn of queer kids – before that term was even fashnable.

It’s difficult to pick one song that f them – wh songs like “Dick of Death, ” “Groovy Unrwear” or their classic ver of Prce’s “Jack You Off” – but we went wh one that seems to fy the ia of a gay “anthem” no matter how you thk of . ” Sgg “No fay is safe when I sashay, ” he slks to a nference room and gyrat his hips for a room full of sus – a sly riposte to the legns of homophob who weaponize their fears agast LGBTQ people, om wh board rooms, Congrs, or out on the streets.

WATCH VIRAL FOOTAGE OF KG VON ADMTG TO BEG GAY TO THE POLICE

Maybe even the most overtly homoerotic song anyone's 1970s[youtube expand=1 se_id=25879312]Alice Buhr, June Millgton, and Nickey Barclay of FannyThe rock band Fanny's importance the annals of popular mic nnot be overstated. [youtube expand=1 se_id=25879312]Doug Pnick of Kg's X Christian rock band Kg's X had been kickg around for a few years by the time released s sophomore album, Gretchen Go to Nebraska, what many nsir to be s tone work, 1989.

In the mid-’30s, at the edge of the Great Deprsn, moral backlash—sometim disguised as enomic nservatism but ually explic s bigotry—shut down many of the clubs and formally crimalized gay sex at a sle that had never before been seen. The ’70s brought glam and dis, genr play, and explicly queer nightlife back to the mastream; we n’t fet that ’s great gay pop in, Elton John, and s great bisexual on, David Bowie and Freddie Mercury.

In 1992, poet and LGBTQ activist Essex Hemphill wrote of beg Black and openly gay, “we are a wanrg tribe that needs to go home before home is gone… is no place else to go that will be worth so much effort and love. As Joshua Gamson wr his bgraphy The Fabulo Sylvter: The Legend, the Mic, the Seventi San Francis: “Sylvter shared the Cockett’ affy for outrageo flamg, their celebratn of sex and gayns, their love of acid and good hash, and their bent movie-mil fantasi.