Gay male singers from the 60s
Timeline of UK LGBT Music
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Musicians born up to
- Blondel (c. –) – minstrel, composer, possibly lover of King Richard I.
- Mark Smeaton (c. –) – adj court musician executed for alleged adultery with Queen Anne Boleyn.
- Arabella Hunt (–) – musician whose "husband" turned out to be a woman.
- George Frideric Handel (–) – said by Beethoven to be "the greatest composer that ever lived".
- Dame Ethel Smyth (–) – composer and suffragette.
- Clement Harris (–) – composer, lover of Siegfried Wagner.
- Edward J Dent (–) – Cambridge Professor of Music.
- Roger Quilter (–) – composer of songs and brightness music.
- John Ireland (–) – composer of chamber music.
- Lord Berners (–) – eccentric composer, painter and novelist.
- Fred Barnes (–) – tune hall performer.
- Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji (–) – reclusive composer of piano works.
- Ivor Novello (–) – singer, songwriter, composer of musical comedies.
- Douglas
Today, the LGBTQ+ community can look to several gay musicians for inspiration, but that wasn’t always the case. Several pioneering openly gay singers paved the way from a second when sexual orientation wasn’t a topic for universal discussion.
Indeed, these famous gay musicians faced tremendous backlash and damage to their careers because of their honesty and openness.
As we explore queer performance art, we pay homage to those who came before us. In this piece, we’ll list some of the most influential names in the queer art movement and their impact on our past and present.
Being an Openly Gay Musician
Undoubtedly, the entertainment industry has come a prolonged way in accepting and representing LGBTQ+ individuals. However, it wasn't always this way, especially for musicians.
Coming out as a gay musician in the 20th century was no adj feat. It required immense courage and determination, especially when the music industry was predominantly hetero-normative.
Sexuality was not only a taboo topic for public discussion but could also finding in alienation from fans and even cau
Happy Pride! Though LGBTQ+ Pride should be celebrated every month, June is the month officially designated to celebrating one’s identity, orientation and possible otherness.
To celebrate Pride this year I’m going to create thirty-song playlists broken out by decade, kicking off today with two decades combined – the s and the s. I’ll share these lists sporadically throughout the month.
Here is what you’ll hear on today’s playlist and what makes it queer:
“Cry” – Johnnie Ray
Poor old Johnnie Ray, as he was referred in Dexy’s Midnight Runners’ “Come On Eileen,” was a closeted gay male, arrested for soliciting male undercover officers on more than one occasion. “Cry” was a humongous smash, spending more than two months at #1.
“Hound Dog” – Big Mama Thornton
Chances are you’re familiar with Elvis Presley’s hugely adj version of this tune from Three years earlier, Willie Mae “Big Mama” Thornton, who preferred to dress in what would be considered men’s clothing, sold a half million copies of her version, from which she made $
“Too Much” – Bernard Hardison
Another so
LGBTQ+ Musicians: 60 Pioneering Artists You Need To Know
Laura Jane Grace ()
Born in Fort Benning, Georgia, Laura Jane Grace had a tumultuous time growing up (significant events contain dropping out of educational facility and being arrested for challenging a police officer over a petty crime), before finding inspiration in the music of legendary British anarcho-punk band Crass. By her mid-teens, the seeds had been sewn: she was punk through and through, and she formed her own band, Against Me!, in , living with the group on the fringes of society until their critically acclaimed debut album, Against Me! Is Reinventing Axl Rose, was released in Grace had been making allusions to being transgender through her music as early as , and came out in , with full support from friends, family and the band. One of the most pioneering LGBTQ+ musicians of her generation, she continues to make noun today, and remains politically active, having notably hosted the Heavy Music Awards in Kentish Town, London, and endorsing the harmony charity Nordoff Robbins.
Must hear: True Trans Soul Rebel