JOHN SAVAGE’S SECRET PUBLIC-HOW THE LGBTQ+ AESTHETIC SHAPED POP CULTURE 1955-1979.

dereksmusicblog ♦ May 30, 2024 ♦ Leave a comment

Jon Savage’s The Secret Public-How The LGBTQ+ Aesthetic Shaped Pop Culture 1955-1979.

Label: Ace.

Format: CD.

Release Date: 31st May 2024.

Ever since the birth of rock ’n’ roll, homosexuality has been part of popular music. However, in the fifties, it wasn’t talked about openly. That was the case right through to the sixties, where many within the gay community felt like outcasts. 

In the UK, gay men were harassed by the police, and risked prosecution and imprisonment. Things started to change when the Sexual Offences Act 1967 was passed. It decriminalised private homosexual acts in England between men aged over twenty-one, but imposed heavier penalties on street offences. 

However, the law wasn’t changed in Scotland until 1980, and in Northern Ireland until 1982.

Then the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 lowered the age of consent for gay men from twenty-one to eighteen. Three years later, it was lowered again, this time to sixteen. That was all in the future.

By the early seventies, attitudes had started to change. There was more openness within the gay community. That was also the case within the music industry. No longer did artists and bands have to hide their sexuality. Far from it. During the seventies, bands and artists celebrated their sexuality in song. 

Some of these songs feature on ‘Jon Savage’s The Secret Public-How The LGBTQ+ Aesthetic Shaped Pop Culture 1955-1979.’ It will be released by Ace on ’31st’ May 2024. It’s a two CD set that features forty-one tracks.

Disc One.

Opening disc one is ‘I Hear A New World,’ the title-track to Joe Meek and The Blue Men’s pioneering space project. It was meant to be released by the Triumph label in 1960. However, by then, the label had encountered financial problems and only an EP was released later that year.

The earliest track on the compilation is ‘Tutti-Frutti’ by Little Richard and His Band. It was released by Speciality in 1955 and nowadays, is regarded as an R&B classic.

‘You Don’t Own Me’ is a track from Lesley Gore’s 1963 album ‘Mixed-Up Hearts.’ It’s very different from her hit singles ‘It’s My Party and ‘Judy’s Turn To Cry.’  The tracks features a self-assured vocal from Gore as she sings about female independence.

‘I’ll Be Your Mirror’ was the B-Side to The Velvet Underground’s debut single ‘All Tomorrow’s Parties.’ It was released in 1966 on Verve, and was taken from the album ‘The Velvet Underground and Nico.’ This tender paean shows a different side to the group. There’s a mixture of vulnerability and darkness in Lou Reed’s lyrics. The result is one of the compilation’s highlights. 

Northern Soul favourite ‘Heaven Must Have Sent You’ by The Elgins was released on the V.I.P. label in 1966. It was penned by Holland-Dozier-Holland and reached number three in the UK in 1971.

In 1967, Al Stewart released his debut album ‘Bed Sitter Images.’ This album of folk and baroque folk marked the start of long and illustrious career. The album was produced by Roy Guest and featured ‘Pretty Golden Hair.’ It’s a song about youth, beauty, homosexuality and growing old. 

‘David Watts’ featured on The Kinks 1967 EP and their fifth album ‘Something Else By The Kinks.’ It was released on Pye, and this Ray Davies composition and on first listen, the track sounds like a song about class envy. However, listen carefully to the lyrics and there’s a gay subtext to the song.

Sly and The Family Stone released their classic album ‘Stand!’ on Epic, in 1969. It’s a stunning fusion of funk, soul and psychedelia, and one of the highlights of the compilation.

 For The Supremes there was life after Diana Ross. Proof of that is’ Nathan Jones.’  It featured on the Motown album ‘Touch,’ which was produced by Frank Wilson and released by Motown in 1971. 

‘Walk On The Wild Side’ is a track from Lou Reed’s 1972 debut album ‘Transformer.’ It was produced by Reed, David Bowie and Mick Ronson and released on RCA Victor. When this tale of bohemian life was released as a single, it reached number sixteen in the US Billboard 100 and ten in the UK. This was the most successful single of Reed’s long career.

Disc Two.

Labelle released their classic single ‘Lady Marmalade’ in 1974. It’s a track from their 1974 album ‘Nightbirds’ which was released by Epic.

‘Nobody’s Gonna Change Me’ is a gospel-tinged track from The Dynamic Superiors’ 1974 album ‘Pure Pleasure.’ The track was written and produced by Ashford and Simpson, and is one of the highlights of the album.

‘I Need A Man’ was originally released by Grace Jones in 1975. Two years later, it featured on her 1977 album ‘Portfolio.’ That year, the 12” Disco Mix was produced by Tom Moulton. It features dancing strings arranged and conducted by Vince Montana Jr and backing vocals from the Sweethearts of Sigma. The result is an anthemic track that’s one of the highlights of Jones career.

The 12” Mega Mix of Michele’s Disco Dance features on the compilation. It was released on West End Records in 1978. The track was produced by Pierre Jaubert and Tom Moulton. However, the Mega Mix is by Patrick Cowley, and is another anthem from the disco era that’s stood the test of time.

These fourteen tracks are among the highlights of what is a truly eclectic compilation. There’s everything from soul, punk, funk and disco to folk, pop, psychedelia, R&B and rock. The compilation features a mixture of familiar faces and what will be new names to be many music fans. They contribute a mixture of classic tracks and hidden gems on Jon Savage’s The Secret Public-How The LGBTQ+ Aesthetic Shaped Pop Culture 1955-1979, which will be released by Ace, on ‘31st’ May 2024.

Jon Savage’s The Secret Public-How The LGBTQ+ Aesthetic Shaped Pop Culture 1955-1979.