IT’S TIME TO SMASH THROUGH THE RAINBOW CEILING.
From Little Richard’s flaming piano playing in the ‘50s to Sam Smith calling himself a “dick monster” in a 2017 TV interview, pop music has always been queer. At times, the number of LGBTQ artists claiming space in the mainstream has been greater than others: imagine tuning into British music show Top of the Pops in the early ‘80s and seeing performances from artists as conspicuously queer as Culture Club’s Boy George, Soft Cell’s Marc Almond and Dead or Alive’s Pete Burns. Legendary drag queen Divine even made it onto the show in 1984, lip-syncing to her gay disco hit You Think You’re a Man in a blonde beehive wig and skin-tight silver dress. Check out her still-mind-blowing performance on YouTube after reading this piece and your own wig will end up in a different postcode.
At other points in pop history, LGBTQ artists have enjoyed less visibility. Look up the UK’s 50 top-selling singles of 1995 and you’ll find some absolute bangers–Mariah Carey’s Fantasy, Celine Dion’s Think Twice, TLC’s Waterfalls–but a grand total of one song by an act with an obvious queer presence: Heaven for Everyone by Queen, whose frontman Freddie Mercury had died of complications arising from AIDS
