1984: The Year Pop Went Queer

by Ian Wade

Genres: Music, Nonfiction, LGBT, History

320 pages, Hardcover

Published July 18, 2024

Reviews

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love all things pop culture, so this was a very entertaining read for me! The writing wasn't the best, and I would've preferred a broader view on LGBTQ+ artists and fanbases (the focus was mainly on the experiences of gay men), but despite its flaws I really enjoyed this book. It delivers tons of fun facts and an absolute banger of a playlist, but also touches on deeper topics of homophobia and oppression. The best part was learning more about the massive impact some of my favorite artists have had on the queer community and on pop culture as a whole.

[Christopher Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

Superb ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

[Sophie (RedheadReading) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a really fun read that's quite light in writing style, although it does discuss some deep topics. There are definitely a few chapters which didn't feel as strongly connected to the thesis of the book as the others, but I think the decision to include snippets at the start of every chapter which highlighted the landscape of the year (particularly regarding the AIDs crisis) were particularly impactful.

[Kees Paalvast · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book, although not particularly well-written, nor a lot of new information, but it gave me a few new insights. Headbangers Judas Priest having a gay frontman was news for me. They were never in the Dutch singles charts though. The homophobia in the UK, especially concerning AIDS is shocking in hindsight (and so totally different than how it was in my country, thankfully).
3,5 ⭐️ that I downed to 3, because of my main problem with this book: it's male-centered. The only women performers are disco diva's. Where are the lesbian performers and icons? Annie Lennox is mentioned in a footnote! (They even sang the theme song for 1984, called Sex Crime!). Madonna's massive lesbian appeal and following is totally ignored. And why no mention of the lesbians singing with the Communards? A missed opportunity. I thought the term queer relates to all the colours in the rainbow 🌈 movement.

[fyrtorn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this musical journey back in time to the 1980s. At first, I was sceptical as to whether this string of different artists (each chapter focuses on one act) would be interesting enough to carry the book over 300 pages, but the author managed to keep me hooked. The detailed sequence of chart positions in some places made my music nerd heart beat faster.
I really liked the summaries at the end of each chapter, which celebrate the achievements of the act in question. I would have liked a little more information on a meta level though. For example, exploring the question of why it was possible 40 years ago to catapult such courageous, queer acts to the top of the global charts, even though social acceptance was nowhere near as advanced as it is today.

[Mike Clarke · Rating 3 out of 5]

Greatest hits compilation: a pleasant, chatty stroll through My Year - (c) Mr Lee - which doesn’t make too many demands of its readers, and the selection of subjects and sources seems very familiar indeed.

If little new ground is broken, it’s worth being reminded, in these troubling times, just how radical the charts were 41 years ago, with Relax, You Spin Me Round (Like A Record) and Smalltown Boy all reaching number one. A host of gender benders were still at it, Elton John married a woman (“you may still be standing, dear, we’re on the fucking floor!” was Rod Stewart’s congratulatory telegram), the biggest selling female artist in the singles chart was Hazell Dean, and a certain young lady released a ditty called Holiday that we all loved - whatever happened to her? All this while in other walks of life, rancid homophobia (plus the usual misogyny and racism) were both normalised and expected.

Ian Wade writes like the gossipy queen he presumably is, with plenty of tittle-tattle and catty asides, such as Frankie Goes To Hollywood coming as a bit of a shock to the pop kids after the likes of “flimsy old comically-haired Kajagoogoo”, or referring to Marilyn (who manages to be the most throwaway of pop stars in a book celebrating the ephemera) as “an in-case-of-emergency Boy George for kids’ TV, someone pretty much constantly ‘in reception’ “. It seems a bit petty with a book of these intentions to critique the style too vigorously, but I do wish he’d cut the use of ticks like “-adjacent” meaning a bit like, or “-allergic” for not a bit like. And to refer to the sainted H Dean, who’d started as a musician, “pivot[ing] to lungsmithery” - ie she switched to singing - is grotesque.

Gripes aside, the author does make a serious point that as we seem to be turning back to the savagery of the past, a little light music wouldn’t go amiss - and he provides an exhaustive playlist to prove it - and with that, it have no argument at all.

[John Gannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an important subject and I’m really glad someone has covered it. So I’m disappointed to be giving it such a low rating.

The positives - the author has a jaunty writing style that puts one in mind of classic Smash Hits pieces from the era being covered.
The footnotes are excellent, some of them are hilarious.
The playlist is amazing.
The bibliography is quite detailed.

The negatives -
Someone really should have proofread the thing.

A bit more factchecking would not have gone amiss - f’rinstance in the Wham chapter alone, they had already released three singles before Simon Napier-Bell came along. In a Q interview, SNB said that George gave him Wham’s Innervision contract, and said if you get us out of that, you can manage us. And he didn’t “steer Dusty Springfield towards fame”.

But the most concerning of all was the author’s treatment of Morissey’s racist, nationalist and sectarian pronouncements. I wish that Mr. Wade had shown the appropriate disdain for these remarks as he has done for anti LGBTQ+ comments. I was a huge Smiths and Morrissey fan, I thought he was and may still be a lyrical genius, but I cannot separate his oeuvre from his beliefs.

[Magdalena · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is written by Ian Wade, so why the hard cover edition pops up with "unknown writer" is really strange. Ian is a very gifted writer on all things pop and queer, and this book is a wonderful mix of both subjects, securely anchored in the year 1984, a year with many marvellous hits.

I was 25 in 1984 and bought record after record with great tunes, music I still listen to. Back then, I was too naive, and my English too bad, for me to get all the references, but one thing I got, that music is including. And music can change your life, your world and your perspectives. Music can heal and empower, music can open doors. This book shows that many of my then favourite artists turned out to be so much more than just pretty faces and a top of the pops tune.

Thank you Ian Wade for reminded me of this. And thank you for writing a book that everybody ought to read to realise what "queer" doors were opened back in 1984, doors that are in danger of being closed again in the current political climate.

[Christopherch · Rating 4 out of 5]

The focus wasn't strictly on 1984, and by 'queer' it meant mostly gay men, but still an entertaining if not particularly enlightening account of the various pop stars of the time. We're given a sort of potted history of each star, a jumble of different gay boys, some out, most not, set against the backdrop of the time - particularly the AIDS crisis and societal prejudices.

I was a teenager at the time, so it was a trip back to Top of the Pops and Smash Hits magazine - the playlist in the appendix was a good idea. And it was a wonderful time for music, fantastic tunes and outrageous personalities.

[Tracey Pearce · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am not going to lie this book had things in it that i already knew about - 1984 was a good way for me in 2 ways. First of all I was 10 and this was year John came down who is now my beloved dad and in his words "my best friend, also 1984 was the year i found my future husband but unfortunately it was not meant to be - if John let me go to Ingliston in 1984 where George was performing it could have been a different story. However did have the privilige of seeing George in 2006 at Wembley Arena in December and he sung Last Christmas - not to me though but i can wish. Anyway as you can guess I love gay music and especially George Michael

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

The perfect new book to read after The Secret Public: How LGBTQ Performers Shaped Popular Culture 1955–1979, as we can take up the ongoing narrative a couple of years later. This is all from a UK perspective so no Andy ruddy Warhol this time (hurrah!) and 1984 was a fine year for pop, in both its poofy and hetero variations. 11 year old me was very much into the artists in the book, and my pocket money somehow stretched to provide vinyl records as well as the obvious comics and Doctor Who novels. Very well written, love it!

[Alexandra Semenova · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s a nice “best hits” sort of book. It was interesting to learn some new facts about artist I knew (like that Elton John gives the profits of all his singles out to charity or that Cindy Lauper is a great LGBT ally). However I got a feeling that for some artists the author didn’t have enough to say so he had to scramble a bit to fill the space.

[Becky]

「包容是個不斷演進的過程，因此我們應該舉杯慶祝這些曾經推動變革的時刻。獻給所有曾經抵抗、推動、甚至直接擊碎障礙的大膽藝術家－－那些怪胎、異類、變裝者與開拓者，他們開闢了另一條道路，也照亮了地下世界；獻給那些為群體發聲，並以行動回饋社群的偶像；獻給那些用短短三、四分鐘音樂，讓人感受到被看見、被聆聽的珍貴時刻；敬那些曾對我們說『你並不孤單』、『不要害怕』或『未來會更好』的歌聲。這正是流行音樂的力量。」

「而流行音樂，確實非常重要。」


以喬治．麥可作結還附上歌單真是太棒了。��1984年為基準的酷兒明星們的故事，有些大眾已經耳熟能詳，讀的時候不免想時代到底是進步還是沒進步，但還是只能對人類抱有信心吧。

[Flora · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars (rounded up because gay). light hearted but also serious! breezy romp through eighties pop history which could have done with an edit in places but was nourishing to read. the eighties isn't my musical decade so I learned a lot, and enjoyed the stories and the author's posi-vibes.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting if slightly tenuous premise, but great to revisit the artists of the early eighties.

[Gary Ward · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting enough if you don't know anything about Hazell Dean, Sylvester and the like. It's a quick read, amusing and poignant too!

[TA Inskeep · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant, just fucking brilliant.