Jon Savage’s The Secret Public - How The LGBTQ+ Aesthetic Shaped Pop Culture 1955-197

[kenneth]

Disc 1 makes no sense to me. "Sally Go 'Round the Roses?" "Nothing But a Heartache?" What is it that makes these LGBTQ anthems? Were they popular in the gay clubs at the time?

Disc 2 seems more evocative of the theme.

Anyone else have any thoughts on the chosen tracks?

[psychedelic jacques]

Disc 1 makes no sense to me. "Sally Go 'Round the Roses?" "Nothing But a Heartache?" What is it that makes these LGBTQ anthems? Were they popular in the gay clubs at the time?

Disc 2 seems more evocative of the theme.

Anyone else have any thoughts on the chosen tracks?

I've read assertions before that 'sally' has a lesbian subtext [...saddest thing in the whole wide world - is to see your {girlfriend} with another girl], and also that 'david watts' is about the singer having a homoerotic crush on a school friend.

Side 1 Tracks 1 & 7 were produced by UK gay producer Joe Meek, and similarly Billy Fury was managed by gay svengali Larry Parnes. Gore, Tanega and Jobriath were all lesbian/gay.

What I have to say I don't get are the motown tracks on disc 1. OK, 'haystack' is pretty camp, but 'nathan jones' 'heaven must have sent you' and 'law of the land' seem to have no lgbt theme lyrically or artistically. Maybe it's just based on the old adage that 60s & 70s motown had a large gay fanbase. It may be interesting to read the accompanying booklet when released.