Good As You: From Prejudice to Pride – 30 Years of Gay Britain

by Paul Flynn

‘One of the most important books about gay culture in recent times’ The QuietusLong-listed for the Polari First Book PrizeIn 1984 the pulsing electronics and soft vocals of Smalltown Boy would become an anthem uniting gay men. A month later, an aggressive virus, HIV, would be identified and a climate of panic and fear would spread across the nation, marginalising an already ostracised community. Yet, out of this terror would come tenderness and 30 years later, the long road to gay equality would climax with the passing of same sex marriage.Paul Flynn charts this astonishing pop cultural and societal U-turn via the cultural milestones that effected change—from Manchester’s self-selection as Britain’s gay capital to the real-time romance of Elton John and David Furnish’s eventual marriage. Including candid interviews from major protagonists, such as Kylie, Russell T Davies, Will Young, Holly Johnson and Lord Chris Smith, as well as the relative unknowns crucial to the gay community, we see how an unlikely group of bedfellows fought for equality both front of stage and in the wings.This is the story of Britain’s brothers, cousins and sons. Sometimes it is the story of their fathers and husbands. It is one of public outrage and personal loss, the (not always legal) highs and the desperate lows, and the final collective victory as gay men were final recognised, as Good As You.

Genres: Nonfiction, LGBT, History, Queer, Gay, Politics

368 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 5, 2016

Reviews

[Rebecca Carter · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating read into gay culture in the U.K. and the changes and evolution over the last 30 years; from a largely homophobic nation, to one which appears to be more accepting of people, regardless of their sexual orientation.

Paul Flynn is a journalist who takes the reader on a journey, starting from the late 70's / early 80's and his hometown of Manchester, up until the day he heard gay marriage had been legalised, when Sir Ian McKellan who was preforming in Vicious made the announcement to the audience.

The book takes the format of using pivotal moments in popular culture to show how the British publics attitudes have changed, as each chapter brings us closer to the present day. From creating camp female characters in soap opera Coronation Street on gay men Tony Warren knew from gay pubs around Manchester, Canal Street and the opening of Mantos and Paradise Factory, the first openly gay pop stars of the 80's, Top of the Pops and Relax and Smalltown Boy, the first gay characters on Eastenders and Corrie, Paul Gambaccini, to Attitude magazine and Paul Flynn's first article about the first episode of Queer as Folk, to politics and the first openly gay M.P, reality tv shows (the section about Pedro Zamora was particularly moving), gay icons such as Kylie, Madonna, Davina McCall and David Beckham, the coming out of previously closeted George Michael, The Pet Shop Boys, how David Bowie falsely claimed to be gay when he had a wife, up to how Will Young and Brian Dowling were key to when attitudes really progressed and moved forwards and the marriage of Elton John and David Furnish.

Flynn then discusses how most stars nowadays find it much easier just to be themselves rather than hide parts of their lives, which shows how far the country has progressed and finally become more enlightened in attitudes.

The only oddity and backward stalwart that remains is football. There are still no openly gay players in the U.K. After what happened with Justin Fashanu and how ostracised the American player Robbie Rogers felt, you would have thought this would have been impetus for more proactive discussion, action and change. Yet the premier league still appears to be stuck in the 1960's with its macho blokey bloke attitudes. Although to be fair this isn't just a British problem. FIFA has a lot to be accountable for in rewarding key competitions to countries such as Russia and Qatar, where even in 2017 it is still unfathomably illegal to be gay.

I learnt so much from this insightful and fascinating book; about Clause 28, the AIDS and HIV epidemic in the 80's, the Terrence Higgins Trust and the London Lighthouse - the interview with Alison was tear jerking where she talks about how there were men in her care, who were dying alone in the Lighthouse because their relatives had no idea they were gay let alone had AIDS. Like most people my age I have gay friends and have always had gay people present in my life. Yet there is so much I was oblivious to, which makes me have even more respect for people prevalent in bringing about the impetus towards change and eventually equality.

Paul Flynn clearly has an impeccable knowledge and history of gay culture, and his list of high profile insider contacts help to make this read feel more like sitting down over a coffee for a chat. The first civil partnership he attended was that of Elton John and David Furnish!

His writing style is easy and approachable; from his ability to write with a sense of humour, yet also with compassion, emotion and poignancy. He manages to tell the story of the struggles and hardships gay society has suffered; from being ostracised, belittled and marginalised, to fighting back triumphantly to be heard and to be viewed as rightful equals.

I really enjoyed this powerful book. It is informative yet also entertaining and eye opening. Highly recommended to everyone.

With many thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Random House UK, Ebury Publishing and Paul Flynn for the opportunity to read this ARC in return for an honest and unbiased review.

[ReadAlongWithSue ★⋆. ࿐࿔catching up · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was sent to me by the publishers.

It’s not a book I would choose to read for Gay Pride Month though as it’s more of a journalist documentary that would be better set to TV unlike reading about it with excerpts of gone by visual footage as I feel personally that would make more of an impact.

I notice a lot of it’s pages were given to Kylie Monogue for whatever reason.

The book spans some past 30 years plus and tells how the gay community had to live. How gradually society has changed and it’s become acceptable.

We all remember the HIV outage that blame was put on the gay folk for bringing this fatal disease into our midst.

The fear of the unknown.

It was however great to revisit some eras of my youth with David Bowie, Gary Glitter, Gary Numan to relay but a few.

I got bogged down at times so I’ve picked up, read a little.....put down.....picked up....read a little.

It wasn’t something I could devour in one sitting.

Interesting though.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I recently watched a brilliant documentary on the BBC about the rise of the AIDS epidemic in Britain, which managed to chart the sudden rise and related horrors regarding AIDS and HIV in the UK. It had interviews with several prevalent campaigners for the fight against the disease, and charted the various prejudices people who contracted HIV and AIDS went through in the early 1980s. After watching, I saw this book and hoped to expand my knowledge of what life was really like for homosexual males during this time. What I got was an extremely comprehensive look into various pop cultures, political and social opinions surrounding the gay community from the author’s early experiences growing up in Manchester in the 1970s up until the present day.

I liked the structure of this book. It felt the author had spent a great deal of time researching and speaking to friends and influential people of the times, and followed a loose yet fluid structure of his early life, through his teens and beyond. I particularly liked the sections on Manchester – having lived in Manchester myself previously, and spending a large portion of time on Canal Street. It was great to reminisce, even if my time here was past the peak of ‘Gaychester’ and the Hacienda. I loved reading about the Clause 28 march, and the various political stands made in the city – and it made me fall in love with Manchester all over again.

The stand out section for me however was Chapter 5, which covered the HIV and AIDS epidemic, as I knew it would be. The chapter seemed the most ‘real’ to me. It charted ordinary people, as well as introducing me to the work of the Lighthouse London and Terrence Higgins Trust. I actually wish more time could have been spent on this chapter, as I was far more interested in hearing these people’s stories and the work undertaken by various nurses and carers at this time than I was with regards to various celebrities and their influence on popular culture. I was particularly struck with Alison’s story, and how she was often the only person who came to visit her various patients because none of the patient’s family knew they were gay and had HIV. I was also saddened to read that often the funeral directors would also refuse to deal with the bodies of these sufferers because of the stigma attached to HIV and AIDS. It just seemed to highlight the change that we’ve gone through in such a short period of time in terms of gay rights – hopefully for the better, although we still have a long way to go.

The chapters on pop culture were noticeably weaker. I wasn’t particularly interested in reading about Kylie Minogue’s rise to gay icon, or the sudden influx of gay reality TV stars (particularly Big Brother stars). The exception to this was the story about Pedro, which I found quite touching. At times, particularly in the first chapter, I found the author was excessively gushing about the people he was interviewing which wasn’t particularly endearing, and I felt it didn’t really add anything to the text.

All together I thought this was a good overview of gay culture from someone who obviously has a great deal of knowledge and experience in this area. As someone who typically classifies themselves as a heterosexual female, this text granted me access to a world I could never truly experience first-hand, and has also broadened my knowledge of the history of gay culture within my society. A great read.

[Yzabel Ginsberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

[I received a copy of this book through NetGalley.]

This was a really interesting insight into gay culture in the UK, from the seventies to nowadays: how it shaped itself, the hurdles gay people had to go through, how other people’s views gradually changed...

The book’s chapters follow specific themes, such as TV, AIDS, politics, football or pop music, rather than going in a purely chronological order. This makes for a rather comprehensive view of various areas of British culture, in the light of what being gay more specifically entails. The chapters are also well-segmented, and it’s fairly easy to pick up the book again if for some reason you had to leave it (to go do those pesky things called ‘work’ or ‘sleep’, for instance).

I learnt plenty here: how the introduction of explicitly gay characters in shows like East Enders or Coronation Street was perceived, how their actors were perceived at the time, how it changed with more recent series. Or how specific bands and singers were seen, who became a ‘gay idol’, who remained in the closet, who openly announced it. Or the many people who lost their lives to AIDS—and may not have, if they hadn’t had to remain closeted and more information had been available. Or Clause 28, which I had never heard about until now (not being from the UK probably didn’t help in that regard), and the journey from there to legalising same-sex marriages.

Paul Flynn interviewed quite a few interesting figures within the scope of this book, including Alison (who worked at the Lighthouse, offering end of life comfort to patients dying of AIDS), David Furnish (Elton John’s partner), or football player Robbie Rogers—not being particularly interested in football in general, I admit I somewhat knew that the latter is still a difficult area when it comes to being gay, but I wasn’t sure to which extent.

If anything, I would’ve liked to see more about the AIDS period, and somewhat less about the Kylie Minogue parts, so I guess I’ll have to pick other books for this.

Conclusion: Probably better as an introduction that will give you pointers to what to research in depth, so if you’re already very familiar with the country and period, the book might seem a little simplistic. Otherwise, go ahead.

[Kath Middleton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Paul Flynn is a journalist and has watched Britain evolve from largely homophobic to largely accepting, passing through the terrible AIDS years. During the thirty years he charts, the country has also been accepting of other minorities such as colour and religion – but not in every case. Things are so much improved, however, and this book follows our progress as a people. I’d like to think it brought more understanding to a wider audience.

I have to say that, as an ancient, straight woman, this book could be considered to hold no interest for me but that’s not true. I read it in a short time, and was totally fascinated with the story it told. The book works forward through the years but not in any strict way. It’s told through the words of many people and contains funny and heart-breaking stories, as well as much common sense and observational detail. I found myself constantly checking on Google as I’m no follower of popular culture but I suspect many people will know the celebrities involved or have followed the television shows. The style is conversational, easy to follow, and it’s like having a chat with a very knowledgeable and well-connected friend. I heartily recommend this book to everyone.

I received a review copy from Netgalley.

[Alex Sarll]

A fascinating look at the mainstreaming of UK gayness which has taken place within living memory. Flynn’s own experiences provide a loose framework, but while the ‘personal journey’ normally gets my back up, he’s been well-placed enough that he’s allowed: his first piece for Attitude was a report on the filming of the first episode of Queer as Folk; he attended Elton John's civil partnership; he heard about gay marriage passing from Sir Ian McKellen at the filming of Vicious. And he has the contacts this suggests, meaning we get interviews with everyone from Chris Smith, Stephen Gately’s PR and an ex-boyfriend of Terrence Higgins to Kylie, Paul Gambaccini and Will Young (who, charmingly, is mildly put out that his dick pics on Grindr haven’t attracted more media attention). It’s told thematically, with chapters on AIDS, TV, politics and so forth, and beginning with eighties pop, which was always going to be a good hook for me. The story of 'Starman' on Top of the Pops as the Dawn of Gay is now familiar to the point of cliche; Flynn, from a later generation, pins that epochal moment instead to the near-simultaneous arrival of 'Relax' and 'Smalltown Boy', and mingles the more socially conscious material with plenty of scurrilous anecdotes from both acts. And then it's on to the first openly gay couple on mainstream TV, via the perfect segue of the actor who played Barry on EastEnders getting a picture with Jimmy Somerville years later. The former dressed as an Imperial Stormtrooper at the time, because why wouldn't he be?

And Flynn is very good at this, getting the curious marginal detail which is amusing in itself but also reflects new facets of the standard story. We all know the significance of Queer as Folk in general and the rimming scene in particular, but here RTD also defends his baby against the charge of being responsible for the henpartification of Canal Street, pointing out that the phenomenon must predate the show given it’s mentioned therein. More painfully, he accepts that he is responsible for the poor kid who was inspired by the show to come out, and then got so badly beaten at school that the thugs broke his cheekbones, a story I'd never encountered before. And yet, that atrocity in its turn leads to an ahead-of-its-time campaign against homophobic bullying…unintended consequence after unintended consequence, rippling out in exactly the way too many pop culture histories miss or gloss over.

Even material which in and of itself interests me far less – reality TV, sportsball – is treated from angles which make it come alive; she always seemed a decent enough type, especially since Dead Set, but I’d never have suspected Davina McCall would be such a fascinating interviewee. The snapshots of the publishing politics behind Attitude are equally fascinating, especially as regards the lucrative but internally controversial covershoots with sexy but straight male stars – though, as Flynn points out, the mere fact these men were willing to countenance those articles was itself a massive sign of progress.

And yet, early on I very nearly abandoned Good As You. One of its problems was one you encounter far too often nowadays; the book just didn’t seem to have been properly copy-edited. Curiously, this was especially noticeable in the first chapters, whereas in my experience it normally gets worse as you near the end of a book, presumably due to deadlines. There were just a few too many words used where they don't quite mean what the author thinks they mean (including, amusingly given the topic, an awful lot of homophones). Some are common errors - 'quantum leap' as a big change, rather than the smallest change possible - while others are more novel; "Gudinski and [Kylie] Minogue are still close friends, fellow Australians who threw a stick in the spokes of the indigenous male rock machine". Yeah, it's not capitalised, but I would probably still have avoided that exact term if I were talking about Midnight Oil and INXS. It’s such a shame, because it makes the book come across as slipshod when it’s very much not, and a little more effort by the publishers could have made that obvious. At his best, Flynn writes beautifully, poignant and funny by turns: “We tend to think of our first boyfriends as defining figures, but your first gay friend is the man you want to remember, not the one you want to forget." And even at his worst he does always write better than the one gay footballer prepared to talk (no, of course not someone from the British Premier League – don’t be silly), the opening of whose coming out statement does little to challenge my prejudices regarding the brainpower of sporting professionals: “For the past 25 years I have been afraid, afraid to show whom I really was because of fear.”

The other, more specific issue I had was far too much bisexual erasure, and I don’t mean in the good sense of my mates’ forthcoming covers band. For ages the B word only appears as something Bowie pretended to be - we're told matter-of-factly that there was "nothing gay" about him, as also Portillo, despite the latter's "dalliances"; that Pete Burns should have had a wife is implicitly absurd, despite the last great Pete Burns song being 'Jack and Jill Party', about the thrill of going to a party with one of each. You really won’t find yourself trapped in logical conundrums half so often if you think a little less binary and a little more bi. Yes, the book only ever claimed to be a history of gay men, not of the whole queer smorgasbord. But there comes a point where you're trying to write a history of the beach without mentioning the sea. Mercifully, bisexuality is finally glimpsed as a real thing in the context of Big Brother, although given by that point we’ve already encountered ‘stray’ (which I confess I’d quite forgotten), it does feel ridiculously late.

Still, these quibbles aside there was just too much good stuff here for me to storm off in either a pedantic or an invisible huff. It’s a fine history, getting behind the blithe headlines of a generational shift in attitudes, at once a record and a celebration of how far we’ve come. And sure, there’s still some mopping up to do, not just in attitudes but in law - equality of pension rights for spouses was the subject of a court case while I was reading this, in which justice thankfully triumphed. But the very fact that I was reading a book with two guys kissing on the back, and didn’t notice a whisper of a reaction in parks or on public transport, confirms the book’s own account of the progress made.

(I got this as a Netgalley ARC, but then ended up reading it in a library copy, because it was there, and because I still prefer paper books for most things, and because I want to encourage a library in a fairly conservative area to keep getting stock like this)

[Sophy H · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book.

A heartfelt, genuine account of living as a gay man in Britain from the 70's to the present day.

Filled with funny, tragic, dramatic stories and facts that document the LGBT experience in the past 40 odd years. Flynn speaks to many different gay men to hear their histories and circumstances.

As this book is set primarily in the North of England for the majority of Flynn's younger days, I found this very appealing.

I appreciated the funny rivalry between Holly Johnson and Jimmy Somerville back in the early days, and Holly Johnson calling Jimmy a twat because Jimmy had discovered a rampant gay glory hole scenario/gay exchange in the basement of BBC Broadcasting House and never told Holly about it!! Hilarious!!

A sincere, amusing, engaging book by a talented writer.

It is just sad that the title reflects what many gay people thought about their place in the world for a long time, that they aren't "as good as you". Lets all keep fighting and making the change so that no-one ever has to feel like this because of their sexuality.

[Kate Dansette · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fascinating read that manages to incorporate experiences from the author's own life without being annoying, which is unusual. It was a fascinating trip through the last 30 years in gay (and only gay - bisexuality does not feature) pop culture. One quibble: Mark Wahlberg is from Massachusetts not New Jersey!

[Tracy · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a very enjoyable and enlightening book that was to read. These days you tend not to think about the struggle that gay people had to get where we are in an almost parallel/equal country (as far as the UK goes). but reading back we really have moved on tremendously in the past 30 odd years.

[Lee Marney · Rating 4 out of 5]

What an utterly brilliant book, I think as a gay man in manchester I take for granted how much has been fought for before me in order for me to live my life freely and unapologetically. I thoroughly enjoyed this almost encyclopaedic look at gay Britain and its minutia. Very proud of my community and how far we’ve come. Thoroughly recommend!

[Neil · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a terrific read. The conversational tone, journalistic style and the broad content suited me perfectly. It was great to recognise people, places and events mentioned and opened my eyes to gay history and culture that I was not aware of.

The only thing missing from this book? Pictures. I think a series of pictures would have really enhanced the content: people mentioned, stills from music videos, iconic moments of TV history, and a picture of the author himself.

Read this book!

[Mauricio Villamayor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although "Good as You" it gives a good overview on how Britain shift its view on homosexuality in the last 30 years, its main problem relies on how some issues are presented in the book as super relevant to gay culture when you really wonder if it is like that.
For example, there is a whole chapter about Kylie Minogue's iconography, which is roughly the same amount of pages as the ones are destines to describe the AIDS crisis or the Clause 28.

[Monita Roy Mohan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Received a copy of this book from Netgalley. I was interested to read about the evolution of the gay movement in Britain; unfortunately, I left reading this book too late and my copy expired. So, I made it to 70-odd pages and that's it.

This review is based wholly on the quarter of the book I read. The writer of this book has experience in entertainment journalism and comes at the theme from a entertainment industry perspective. To this end, we see the changing attitudes to sexual orientation through characters and actors from British TV, Music and Film. This, to me, felt like a unique method of tackling the usually dour nature of political law and history. We are introduced to Frankie Goes to Hollywood as well as the creators and unconventional stars of EastEnders, Coronation Street, Queer as Folk and more.

The trouble with all this is, these shows and bands are very British, and while they played their own part in normalising attitudes towards the spectrum of preferences in Britain, the book does not afford the uninitiated with much context. Who are these people, what do they look like and what did the world that they occupied look like - the text can only sketches the outlines, we needed more detail. For once, I firmly believe a book could have done with pictures. I am not sure if the final printed version will include images, but the version I received had none and it detracted from my connection with the people written about. Mention David Bowie and I know who he is, but even though I have seen Queer as Folk, I have no clue who the 'Alexander' mentioned in the book is.

Despite its length, the writing never felt turgid, a formidable feat given that the author is tracing quite a subsequent timeline of acceptance. I fear I may have lost interest partway (had I had the chance to continue) if the figures mentioned in the book continued to be unfamiliar to me. I know the British are very proud of their entertainers, but the majority of outsiders will not be familiar with a vast number of them. Having not seen EastEnders, Corrie or heard the Archers, I cannot quite grasp the devotion to these shows, but the tidbits included in the book succinctly put forth the importance of the changing landscape of their characters and arcs.

I foresee this book to be a quiet favourite among those interested in the British entertainment industry's attempts at representation, as well as a unique look at a difficult history of the recent past.

[Patrick Notchtree · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read for an LGBT book club

The book states its message in the title, Good As You, with As also capitalized so it spells GAY. This book was interesting, but its claim to be a history of gay Britain is a bit ambitious. It was a very personal account of the author's experience, very Manchester focused, and it well reflected his interesting life, knowing, meeting and talking to many people in media and entertainment. But to say this is reflects the life of gay mean across the UK is stretching it a bit. There were some very useful insights into the 80s and 90s which were a period of massive change and stress for many gay men. The book doesn't seem to reflect the experience of so many silent, closeted gay men living far away from the pink areas of Manchester, London, Brighton and so on. It seems to assume that all gay men are into pop culture. Some of the people he talked about, apparently having made that assumption, I'd never heard of. I lived through all this period as a pot war baby-boomer but too many of the references were out of my experience.
I found it jumped around a bit along the timescale which sometimes could have done with more references to the date of the events being referred to.
Another comment was that it was sometimes a bit disjointed and wanders about, and would benefit from a good edit. One example when talking about Caroline McAteer:
"Until she began representing the most famous man in Britain, David Beckham, Caroline’s clients included Boyzone and the Spice Girls." That reads as though once she signed David Beckham, she ceased to have Boyzone and the Spice Girls as clients. I don't think that's what the author meant.
Another error noted was 'creek' instead of 'creak'. There were some others so a good, sharp-eyed editor is needed.
Despite this, it was interesting. One quote that tickled me was about "(people indulging in) Irrational behaviour, but then sex is not a rational activity." How true that is!
Average score: 5.5

[Siobhan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good As You is a powerful, sometimes funny, and emotional account of British gay culture from the hits of the 80s and the identification of HIV to the legalisation of same sex marriage. Flynn organises this into thematic sections—music, television shows, football, reality stars, politics—with personal anecdotes to introduce each part. There are interviews with various important figures, well-known and less so, and a wealth of detail, both factual and anecdotal, which makes the book a vivid account of the good and bad of gay men and popular culture across the last thirty years.

The format means that the book could be easily dipped in and out of, and it is a light and sometimes humourous read. The different chapters will have varying appeal depending on the reader—for instance, my personal interest leans more towards music and politics—but overall every section is interesting, highlighting things like the ongoing lack of acceptance in football and the connection of reality TV and gay culture in the 2000s. Of course, the spectres of AIDS, homophobia, and mental health loom large, and Flynn on the most part does not avoid them to make a nicer portrait of an upward struggle.

The book touches on most aspects of British culture, showing how ‘Gay Britain’ has evolved and changed over the past thirty years. Due to space constraints and readability, Flynn focuses on specific examples of important moments and figures (which may leave some people disappointed that their greatest influences aren’t included), creating a book that feels a bit like a documentary series, engaging and varied. Good As You is a book that needs to exist, part-personal memoir and mostly a look at the personal and larger effects of British gay culture until the present day.

[LucyLui · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good As You by Paul Flynn

Title: Good As You
Author: Paul Flynn
First Published: 2017
Publisher: Ebury Press
Pages: 368
Price on Amazon: Hardback £13.60 Kindle: £9.99
ISBN:978785032929

From prejudice to pride in thirty years.

Good as you follows the struggles gay men had to go through to get equality. This book starts out in 1984 with music on top of the pops showing the world what the gay scene is like with songs like small-town boy.

The book also talks about the HIV outbreak and the panic and fear that followed marginalising an already discriminated against community even more. Yet through all this equality eventually came with the right for same sex couples to legally get married not just have a civil partnership.

This book is a collection of stories of victories for the gay men and community and the victory they finally received as being known as good as you.

This book is close to my heart being part of the LGBT community myself. It was interesting to learn how my community fought for the rights and freedom that I have today to be myself and to marry and be with who I want to be with. For the rights that I have today because of them. I am married in a same sex marriage but had i been born into my mother generation this would not have been possible. I am thankful for the rights we have today.

I think Flynn has done a great job showing the hardship and triumphs our community has had to go through to get to where we are today. 4 out of 5 stars for this book. Very much deserved. I read this book in a single night as i couldn't put it down.

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[Jordan · Rating 3 out of 5]

*** 2.5/5

This is a mostly light hearted 'history' book, but it's also very oddly specific in some respects. There's only ten chapters and when a gay history book dedicates the same amount of space to Kylie Minogue as it does to the AIDS crisis there's definitely an issue. Every page is filled with oral testimony from significant figures in pop culture throughout the period but that's kind of it? It's like a stretched out 350 page manuscript of a BBC documentary that was never made, or, maybe more aptly, a Channel 4 documentary.

It's all a bit pseudo-historical and simple really. Not an awful book, all the facts are there - they're just presented in a very inane way with too much focus on the personal lives of celebrities. I like Kylie Minogue as much as the next gay guy, but a few sentences would have sufficed over a chapter tracking her 'gay metamorphosis.' The last chapter about gay marriage also just sort of focused on Elton John and his partner?

The book's just plain weird in its structure and choice of subject matter tbh. Fine for a rifle through if you're bored and need some light reading, but nothing that'll really impress you with any sociohistorical analysis of gay culture in modern Britain.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

extremely interesting and poignant look at the history of gay britain from the 1970s to the 2000s.
my favourite quote:
'i gave up on the idea of normalcy years ago. 'normal' is a false god. nobody really knows what it is or can claim it as their own. behind the twitching curtains of suburbia there is as much madness as there is rattling around city centres on a saturday night. between the cracks of those who identify at either extreme of the kinsey scale of sexuality, there is so much space in between, much of it unfactored, undocumented and unsaid. dab a sponge at the wipe-clean façade of middle england and its stains show. the moral high ground is no more than the rational preserve of one sexuality, religion or cluster of intentioned individuals than it is any other. science has made parenthood possible for everyone, should that be what they want. repression is the enemy of everything.'
if anyone knows of any similar books dealing with bisexuality specifically, would be very much appreciated if you could let me know! x

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Paul Flynn offers an interesting overview of the evolution of Britain from a homophobic country to its current more accepting state, with a journey through the ages looking at music, the culture, reality stars, TV programmes, and various other themes. Paul offers insights into his own life, woven throughout these various themes which is a really enjoyable read. I think due to the cultural references, this would be a much more enjoyable read to anyone who has grown up in the UK, other than perhaps somewhere like the US. With his journalistic experience, Paul manages to offer a very well-rounded overview of how people's thoughts and feelings have evolved over the decades.

Due to the varying themes and the book being split into chapters, it is one that is good to dip in and out of, without forgetting what's going on or where you've got to. A fascinating read that I'm sure many will appreciate.

Thanks to NetGalley for this copy.

[Barney · Rating 3 out of 5]

This wasn't quite what I was expecting. For some reason I thought this would be a history of LGBT rights, progress and challenges in modern Britain. It wasn't - instead it was an assorted collection of anecdotes by Paul Flynn on his personal journey as growing up as a gay man combined with extended essays on pivotal queer U.K. pop culture which meant something to him (from Bronski Beat's 'Smalltown Boy' to Brian winning Big Brother).

Once I'd gotten over it not being what I was expecting, parts of it were really interesting. In other parts, it didn't quite hang together and it felt a little disjointed.

[Alice Bell · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is why journalists should not write novels. Or they should make sure they have a great editor. This was rambling and yet it should have been a thought provoking and analytical insight into an essential area of recent history. There were a few interesting bits and pieces (and I loved the Manchester references) but often it just felt a little bit like “famous people I’ve met and spoken to”. The chapter headings seemed like it would be thematic but no! Every chapter rambled on and really had little coherence. It wasn’t even well written; the vocabulary was stilted, grammar was poor and there was no flow or eloquence anywhere to be found. The 3 stars is generous. If this had been a student submitting an EPQ I would be despairing and they would barely pass.

[Gill · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a recent history of gay men in Britain, segmented into chapters covering categories from music to marriage, fashion to football, and written in an engaging, chatty style. A really good read for anyone wanting to learn more about recent history and the giant leaps in queer equality that have been made from the 1990s on.

Some areas of particular interest to the author received perhaps too much attention, e.g. the development of Manchester's gay village or the love for Kylie Minogue. There's little or no mention of lesbian history and it's very much a white cisgender man's perspective of the period.

[Paul Lavoie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sometimes the cultural references weren't resonating with me because of having grown up in the states instead of the UK or not being a devotee of a certain component of pop culture (I skipped past the BIG BROTHER chapter). That said, Paul's writing manages to be both very personal and yet have the insight that comes with stepping back and looking at the big picture. His career in journalism has suited him well in this endeavor and this is one important read for any LGBTQ person regardless of provenance.

[Darren · Rating 5 out of 5]

An interesting way to portray thirty years of history. Although I was born in 1976, I can certainly remember a lot of this from my childhood, although clearly not the specific gayness of the times. By the 90s it is familiar territory. Looking back from 2017 it seems we have come so far but also that maybe something has been lost along the way. It will be interesting to see what we think of the period in another thirty years. An interesting read if you lived it and an enlightening read if you didn't.

Review copy from Netgalley

[Sammeh · Rating 5 out of 5]

thank you to netgalley for the opportunity to read this book.
I found this book to be informative,but not only that I feel like it hit the spot with quite a few of my interests. I love to read about how Britain has evolved and people's thoughts and feelings have changed. I feel that if you need to be educated about gay culture this is the book for you. it has been written by someone who has had first hand experience and you can't get any closer than that without living it yourself.

[Dauvit · Rating 4 out of 5]

A thoroughly-researched but ultimately deeply personal account of the social changes in the UK as regards homosexuality in the period from the mid-1980s to the present day. It is brilliant to read an overwhelmingly positive, cheerful and outward-looking account of what, for many, was a deeply troubled time.
A bit too Manchester-centric to be universal and glosses over some important issues - such as Tatchell's farcical outbursts - but overall fantastic.

[Megan]

this was super good!! very informative on the UK's gay culture, esp liked how manc-centric & focused on music it was. v much abt gay men but like,,, that's not necessarily a bad thing, the author spoke for his own experience rather than on behalf of other communities which Iiked. a bit long but that gave it smth for everyone I think

[Cassi · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book recounts the stories of so many in the Gay community and how things have improved in the last 30 years. To get an insight from so many different people and understand from their perspective has been eye opening for me as a straight cis woman not having much prior knowledge into LGBT topics and history.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book offers a wonderfully accessible survey of the integration of gay culture into popular British culture. Interweaving interviews with lively discussion of pop references, Paul Flynn has made me more appreciative and alert to the freedom and support we are able to claim.

[grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been reading so slowly recently boooo. anyway this one was good but felt like there was something missing by focusing only on gay men, but I guess trying to cover 30 years of all queer people and issues would be a very long book and not the author's area of expertise.