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1984: The Year Pop Went Queer
'MAGNIFICENT!' CAITLIN MORAN
'A riveting read about a pop revolution hiding in plain sight' PETE PAPHIDES
'Very funny and very moving' JUDE ROGERS
In 1984, pop came out of the closet - even if not all of the artists felt that they could - and, in the process, charted the course of the rest of the decade.
In 1984: The Year Pop Went Queer, writer and musician Ian Wade charts where these artists, including Queen, George Michael, David Bowie, Pet Shop Boys, Frankie Goes to Hollywood and Madonna - who all enjoyed chart success in 1984 - were during that epoch-making year. It studies the impact these groundbreaking musicians had before, during and after on the gay community and popular culture, and it demonstrates how they were able to break down barriers, raise consciousness and set in motion the first nascent ripples in a pond that are still being felt today.
As a backdrop, it explores the strides made in the name of the cause and how the wider surrounding culture reacted with equal parts glee, bafflement and disgust.
'A riveting read about a pop revolution hiding in plain sight' PETE PAPHIDES
'Very funny and very moving' JUDE ROGERS
In 1984, pop came out of the closet - even if not all of the artists felt that they could - and, in the process, charted the course of the rest of the decade.
In 1984: The Year Pop Went Queer, writer and musician Ian Wade charts where these artists, including Queen, George Michael, David Bowie, Pet Shop Boys, Frankie Goes to Hollywood and Madonna - who all enjoyed chart success in 1984 - were during that epoch-making year. It studies the impact these groundbreaking musicians had before, during and after on the gay community and popular culture, and it demonstrates how they were able to break down barriers, raise consciousness and set in motion the first nascent ripples in a pond that are still being felt today.
As a backdrop, it explores the strides made in the name of the cause and how the wider surrounding culture reacted with equal parts glee, bafflement and disgust.
257 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 18, 2024
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
September 24, 2025
This book shows that its author Ian Wade clearly knows his subject backwards, forwards and sideways. It is hugely informative and written in relatively discrete chapters about Pop icons of 1984, so if not interested in all the people covered you can read only those chapters that interest you.
The book does stray quite extensively before and beyond 1984 when talking about the artists and groups covered, although all of them held significant positions in The Charts in that year.
From Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Queen and Wham/George Michael through more obscure artists at the time like Hazel Dean, Sylvester, Divine, Bronski Beat to Judas Priest, The Smiths, Pet Shop Boys, Prince, Elton John and more you always learn something about each - sometimes in a bit too much detail!
I would have liked some photos of each artist or group covered to help me place them, but I thought a Spotify playlist was a good idea for the time, and I enjoyed Wade’s more ‘fruity’ personal takes on language used throughout the book …..
Not sure where they came from / why there was a comment about AIDS at the start of each chapter, nor where the quote under the artists’ names came from …. perhaps part of a lyric?
My main bug bear though was that no one in that year would have referred to themselves as Queer (as Queer was a term of abuse to bully gay men) so perhaps its title should be called 1984 The Year Pop Went Gay!
Highly informative but because of the huge amount of information a bit of a slog to get through - sorry Ian!
The book does stray quite extensively before and beyond 1984 when talking about the artists and groups covered, although all of them held significant positions in The Charts in that year.
From Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Queen and Wham/George Michael through more obscure artists at the time like Hazel Dean, Sylvester, Divine, Bronski Beat to Judas Priest, The Smiths, Pet Shop Boys, Prince, Elton John and more you always learn something about each - sometimes in a bit too much detail!
I would have liked some photos of each artist or group covered to help me place them, but I thought a Spotify playlist was a good idea for the time, and I enjoyed Wade’s more ‘fruity’ personal takes on language used throughout the book …..
Not sure where they came from / why there was a comment about AIDS at the start of each chapter, nor where the quote under the artists’ names came from …. perhaps part of a lyric?
My main bug bear though was that no one in that year would have referred to themselves as Queer (as Queer was a term of abuse to bully gay men) so perhaps its title should be called 1984 The Year Pop Went Gay!
Highly informative but because of the huge amount of information a bit of a slog to get through - sorry Ian!
September 5, 2024
"Absolutely brilliant and beautiful! "1984: The Year Pop Went Queer" by Ian Wade is a captivating read about a pop revolution that occurred in 1984. The book explores the impact of artists like Queen, George Michael, David Bowie, and Madonna on the gay community and popular culture. It delves into how they broke down barriers, raised consciousness, and set in motion ripples still felt today. Additionally, the book examines the progress made for the cause and the various reactions from the culture, including glee, bafflement, and disgust.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews