Britain’s first gay anthem? Why the UK’s pioneering LGBTQ+ protest band reunited

Britain’s first gay anthem? Why the UK’s pioneering LGBTQ+ protest band reunited

Written by members of the Gay Liberation Front in 1972, A Gay Song is a joyously defiant rallying cry. Artist Ian Giles explains why he persuaded its unruly creators to return to the studio

‘There is a little bit of gay in everyone today,” sing Michael Klein and Gillian Bartlam, the lead singers of Everyone Involved, a collective of musicians formed by Klein and the UK Gay Liberation Front (GLF) activist Alan Wakeman. “Gay is natural, gay is good, gay is wonderful,” the song continues. “Gay people should all come together, and fight for our rights!”

The aptly titled A Gay Song is thought to be the first LGBTQ+ protest song to have been recorded on vinyl. It was written by Klein and Wakeman, then recorded in London in 1972, with backing vocals from GLF members – only five years after the partial decriminalisation of male homosexuality in England and Wales.

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