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David Bowie Made Me Gay
LGBT musicians have shaped the development of music over the last century, with a sexually progressive soundtrack in the background of the gay community’s struggle for acceptance. With the advent of recording technology, LGBT messages were for the first time brought to the forefront of popular music. David Bowie Made Me Gay is the first book to cover the breadth of history of recorded music by and for the LGBT community and how those records influenced the evolution of the music we listen to today.
David Bowie Made Me Gay uncovers the lives of the people who made these records, and offers a lively canter through the scarcely documented history of LGBT music-makers. Darryl W. Bullock discusses how gay, lesbian, and bisexual performers influenced Jazz and Blues; examines the almost forgotten Pansy Craze in the years between the two World Wars (when many LGBT performers were feted by royalty and Hollywood alike); chronicles the dark years after the depression when gay life was driven deep underground; celebrates the re-emergence of LGBT performers in the post-Stonewall years; and highlights today’s most legendary out-gay pop stars: Elton John, Boy George, Freddie Mercury, and George Michael.
David Bowie Made Me Gay uncovers the lives of the people who made these records, and offers a lively canter through the scarcely documented history of LGBT music-makers. Darryl W. Bullock discusses how gay, lesbian, and bisexual performers influenced Jazz and Blues; examines the almost forgotten Pansy Craze in the years between the two World Wars (when many LGBT performers were feted by royalty and Hollywood alike); chronicles the dark years after the depression when gay life was driven deep underground; celebrates the re-emergence of LGBT performers in the post-Stonewall years; and highlights today’s most legendary out-gay pop stars: Elton John, Boy George, Freddie Mercury, and George Michael.
372 pages, Paperback
First published November 21, 2017
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About the author
Darryl W. Bullock
5 books19 followersDescribed as ‘a veritable Bard of the bent, broken and Baroque’ by Andy Partridge (XTC), Darryl W. Bullock is a writer, publisher and editor, specialising in music and the arts.
He has written for publications including The Bath Chronicle, Venue, Folio, The Spark, The Bath Magazine, Essentially Catering, My Wiltshire, We Are Family magazine, Good Bristol, B-24/7, 3Sixty, The Pink Paper and The Western Daily Press. He has been profiled in The Guardian, The Sunday Times and GT and has featured on BBC One (The Big Questions), C4 (Come Dine With Me) and on numerous local and national radio and TV programmes. He is also the publisher of The Green Guide to Bristol and Bath, the annual guide to ethical living for the West Country.
Darryl is the author of The World’s Worst Records (Volumes 1 and 2) and Florence Foster Jenkins: the Life of the World’s Worst Opera Singer (Duckworth-Overlook, 2016), singled out as ‘delightfully cheering' by bestselling author Alexander McCall Smith in the Guardian. His latest work, David Bowie Made Me Gay: 100 Years of LGBT Music, will be issued in September 2017. He posts weekly on his popular blog, The World’s Worst Records (www.worldsworstrecords.co.uk).
—https://www.facebook.com/pg/darrylwbu...
He has written for publications including The Bath Chronicle, Venue, Folio, The Spark, The Bath Magazine, Essentially Catering, My Wiltshire, We Are Family magazine, Good Bristol, B-24/7, 3Sixty, The Pink Paper and The Western Daily Press. He has been profiled in The Guardian, The Sunday Times and GT and has featured on BBC One (The Big Questions), C4 (Come Dine With Me) and on numerous local and national radio and TV programmes. He is also the publisher of The Green Guide to Bristol and Bath, the annual guide to ethical living for the West Country.
Darryl is the author of The World’s Worst Records (Volumes 1 and 2) and Florence Foster Jenkins: the Life of the World’s Worst Opera Singer (Duckworth-Overlook, 2016), singled out as ‘delightfully cheering' by bestselling author Alexander McCall Smith in the Guardian. His latest work, David Bowie Made Me Gay: 100 Years of LGBT Music, will be issued in September 2017. He posts weekly on his popular blog, The World’s Worst Records (www.worldsworstrecords.co.uk).
—https://www.facebook.com/pg/darrylwbu...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 164 reviews
June 1, 2019
In brief: A history of the last century of LGBT music and musicians, with digressions into the wider context of queer history.
Thoughts: I am deeply conflicted about this book. On the one hand, it’s an important document, in that I haven’t seen anyone tackle the topic and there’s a lot to be learned and a lot to be inspired by. On the other, Bullock is writing from an older and less than current understanding of some queer identities (see warnings below) and outright omits any queer identity that isn’t L, G, B, or T. On the third, the book frequently gets bogged down in details such as record sales; assumes nerd level knowledge by, say, mentioning genres without defining them or assuming you know that band; and is just poorly edited enough that it can be hard to track who’s doing what to who when.
Oh, and if you’re looking for major icons like Bowie, Mercury, and John, they’re footnotes. I personally am okay with this because they have their own bios and the book largely exists to lift lesser known people into the limelight, but at the same time, I was disappointed that they featured as little as they did because they were still inspirations and important people and, well, Bowie is in the title.
Bullock’s done a very good job of covering his topic, though. All the queer musicians I knew of were mentioned, from Billy Tipton to Sister Rosetta Tharpe to k.d. lang (but not MIKA, now that I think of it), and a lot of musicians I’d never heard of or never knew were queer also feature. He also lists songwriters and music executives and the whole gamut of genres, from jazz to rock to folk to country to rap to musicals, and also mentions songs with queer content that weren’t by queer artists. After a few chapters, I started looking up songs and musicians on Youtube and adding them to a playlist that I’m still working through a few weeks later. There’s some pretty good music out there.
I also liked that he tells enough history of the wider queer community, the music industry, and the wider culture in general that you get context for how music and the world was changing. When did drag start and why? Why did disco become a gay thing? How did Stonewall and AIDS change things? Plus there’s discussion of lesbians and feminist folk festivals, of glam rock pairing gay flamboyance, of forgotten independent albums that have been rediscovered because of the internet, of the ups and downs in one’s ability to be out over time, of hooking up with people in bars.
And I appreciate that even though Bullock is very anglophone-focused, he’s made at least some effort to mention musicians and music from outside the English-speaking world and outside Europe. There’s not much, granted, but it’s there. He’s also up front about how some genres or countries are so homophobic that you can’t get a sense of the queer music history there because everyone is still closeted.
So, content-wise, apart from the infodump problem, I enjoyed this. I learned a lot and think it’s an important window into queer history that I’m kind of boggled has only been written now. As I said, there’s a lot to be inspired by, a lot of people being queer in their music and out despite the repercussions, and a definite sense that yes, queer people have always been here and better, they helped found whole genres. I’d certainly rec it to music lovers and people into queer history, even despite Bullock’s sporadically blinkered attitude towards identities and the other aforementioned problems, for that reason—but I cannot rec it without those warnings, which are also why this is not a 7.5 out of 10.
To bear in mind: Bullock appears at times to understand bisexuality as an undecided, questioning, or hedging identity and is definitely okay with misgendering and deadnaming trans musicians only to mention partway through the section that actually they are a man/woman. Similarly, he uses “transsexual”, seems to believe that people who’ve undergone surgery are more trans than those who haven’t, and defines “asexual” as genderless and sexually harmless. On another note, because this is a history of queer people and queer culture, any and all traumas that the community has faced appear, ranging from slurs and homophobic statements to gay bashings and the AIDS crisis. There is also a chapter that prominently features TERF musicians and TERF-friendly feminist spaces, but which also makes it quietly clear they’re harmful and not okay.
6.5/10
Thoughts: I am deeply conflicted about this book. On the one hand, it’s an important document, in that I haven’t seen anyone tackle the topic and there’s a lot to be learned and a lot to be inspired by. On the other, Bullock is writing from an older and less than current understanding of some queer identities (see warnings below) and outright omits any queer identity that isn’t L, G, B, or T. On the third, the book frequently gets bogged down in details such as record sales; assumes nerd level knowledge by, say, mentioning genres without defining them or assuming you know that band; and is just poorly edited enough that it can be hard to track who’s doing what to who when.
Oh, and if you’re looking for major icons like Bowie, Mercury, and John, they’re footnotes. I personally am okay with this because they have their own bios and the book largely exists to lift lesser known people into the limelight, but at the same time, I was disappointed that they featured as little as they did because they were still inspirations and important people and, well, Bowie is in the title.
Bullock’s done a very good job of covering his topic, though. All the queer musicians I knew of were mentioned, from Billy Tipton to Sister Rosetta Tharpe to k.d. lang (but not MIKA, now that I think of it), and a lot of musicians I’d never heard of or never knew were queer also feature. He also lists songwriters and music executives and the whole gamut of genres, from jazz to rock to folk to country to rap to musicals, and also mentions songs with queer content that weren’t by queer artists. After a few chapters, I started looking up songs and musicians on Youtube and adding them to a playlist that I’m still working through a few weeks later. There’s some pretty good music out there.
I also liked that he tells enough history of the wider queer community, the music industry, and the wider culture in general that you get context for how music and the world was changing. When did drag start and why? Why did disco become a gay thing? How did Stonewall and AIDS change things? Plus there’s discussion of lesbians and feminist folk festivals, of glam rock pairing gay flamboyance, of forgotten independent albums that have been rediscovered because of the internet, of the ups and downs in one’s ability to be out over time, of hooking up with people in bars.
And I appreciate that even though Bullock is very anglophone-focused, he’s made at least some effort to mention musicians and music from outside the English-speaking world and outside Europe. There’s not much, granted, but it’s there. He’s also up front about how some genres or countries are so homophobic that you can’t get a sense of the queer music history there because everyone is still closeted.
So, content-wise, apart from the infodump problem, I enjoyed this. I learned a lot and think it’s an important window into queer history that I’m kind of boggled has only been written now. As I said, there’s a lot to be inspired by, a lot of people being queer in their music and out despite the repercussions, and a definite sense that yes, queer people have always been here and better, they helped found whole genres. I’d certainly rec it to music lovers and people into queer history, even despite Bullock’s sporadically blinkered attitude towards identities and the other aforementioned problems, for that reason—but I cannot rec it without those warnings, which are also why this is not a 7.5 out of 10.
To bear in mind: Bullock appears at times to understand bisexuality as an undecided, questioning, or hedging identity and is definitely okay with misgendering and deadnaming trans musicians only to mention partway through the section that actually they are a man/woman. Similarly, he uses “transsexual”, seems to believe that people who’ve undergone surgery are more trans than those who haven’t, and defines “asexual” as genderless and sexually harmless. On another note, because this is a history of queer people and queer culture, any and all traumas that the community has faced appear, ranging from slurs and homophobic statements to gay bashings and the AIDS crisis. There is also a chapter that prominently features TERF musicians and TERF-friendly feminist spaces, but which also makes it quietly clear they’re harmful and not okay.
6.5/10
March 16, 2019
This book promised so much ... and delivered so little. For a start it's supposed to be about "LGBT music" when in fact 99 percent of the book is about gay men, there's one chapter on lesbian performers and a few scattered mentions of bi singers but unless you're male, gay, white and cis you're chances of being in this book are almost zero.
On top of this, the author, who feels the need to mansplain gender dysphoria AND GETS IT WRONG! then proceeds to deadname and misgender the handful of trans musicians he deigns to include, often stating that "he now lives as a woman" or "′deadname′ started using {new name}", showing that he knows nothing about trans** people AT ALL!
Throw in some casual mentions of HIV, racism, domestic violence, physical abuse, rape, self harm, suicide, drug addiction and more homophobic terms than I've ever seen collected in one place and you start to wonder if the author really does support LGBT musicians, or is just using this book to make some money out of their experiences.
Concluding with two whole chapters on 21st-century queer music where he makes no mention of era-defining LGBT artists like Tegan & Sara, Tracy Chapman, Lucy Spraggan or Against Me and you start to wonder if he knows anything at all about LGBT music because if so it isn't contained within these 320 timewasting pages.
On top of this, the author, who feels the need to mansplain gender dysphoria AND GETS IT WRONG! then proceeds to deadname and misgender the handful of trans musicians he deigns to include, often stating that "he now lives as a woman" or "′deadname′ started using {new name}", showing that he knows nothing about trans** people AT ALL!
Throw in some casual mentions of HIV, racism, domestic violence, physical abuse, rape, self harm, suicide, drug addiction and more homophobic terms than I've ever seen collected in one place and you start to wonder if the author really does support LGBT musicians, or is just using this book to make some money out of their experiences.
Concluding with two whole chapters on 21st-century queer music where he makes no mention of era-defining LGBT artists like Tegan & Sara, Tracy Chapman, Lucy Spraggan or Against Me and you start to wonder if he knows anything at all about LGBT music because if so it isn't contained within these 320 timewasting pages.
July 7, 2017
Lucky enough to have this ARC handed to me in advance and I have to say it's the most comprehensive history of how the LGBT community has shaped the development of music over the last century. I came to this as a 70's and 80's music aficionado with a deep and abiding love for Bowie, and left with a huge breadth of knowledge and appreciation for so much more. Thoroughly enjoyed the chapters on the New York and London punk scene and was fascinated to learn of the late sixties/early 70's first breakout use of the Moog and how the LGBT community was involved. It's an absolute necessary purchase for any music lover.
January 10, 2018
There is a pronounced lack of David Bowie in this book, but that doesn't lessen the quality or importance of this work. Darryl W. Bullock captured me with the title, and while I was hoping to read a bit about the Thin White Duke, the man who is quickly becoming my philosophical, intellectual, and sexual icon, the book was actually a fascinating history about Queer musicians starting with the rise of Jazz in the early 1900s and ending in our current period.
There are a great many writers that have made a living writing about the importance and relevance of "representation" in the media, and so I want to avoid in this review anything that sounds like a soundbite. David Bowie Made Me Gay is relevant because it writes queer people into the culture by simply observing that we were here, that we have always been here, and that our sexuality is something that has been relevant to our success as artists. Bullock observes numerous instances of artists who were shoved back into the closet because of the repressive cultures they lived in, and the story of Gladys Bently is enough to bring the reader to tears. But what's most important about this book is that Bullock does not attempt to editorialize or dramatize tragedy or success. Bullock's approach in this book is that of a record keeper.
David Bowie Made Me Gay finds queer personalities through the history of music simply to observe that they were there and that many of the most important, and sometimes even just the minor characters in the long history of the music industries and genres were queer. This goes a long way then to helping young queer readers who may be interested in finding queer icons in music. It helps readers, lovers of music period, who might happen to be queer to appreciate that they may not be so different sexually than an artist they love.
David Bowie didn't make me gay personally, but as I'm reading more about the man's life, and listening to more of his music, I see how important it is to have such an icon, such a human being in your life as an example. There are plenty of examples of wonderful, tragic, contemptuous, and of course, gay people in this book and it's worth the reader's time to read through this wonderful chronicle.
The queer community's received another in a long line of great books that reminds the reader of one important fact that so many people would prefer not to here: we've always been here.
There are a great many writers that have made a living writing about the importance and relevance of "representation" in the media, and so I want to avoid in this review anything that sounds like a soundbite. David Bowie Made Me Gay is relevant because it writes queer people into the culture by simply observing that we were here, that we have always been here, and that our sexuality is something that has been relevant to our success as artists. Bullock observes numerous instances of artists who were shoved back into the closet because of the repressive cultures they lived in, and the story of Gladys Bently is enough to bring the reader to tears. But what's most important about this book is that Bullock does not attempt to editorialize or dramatize tragedy or success. Bullock's approach in this book is that of a record keeper.
David Bowie Made Me Gay finds queer personalities through the history of music simply to observe that they were there and that many of the most important, and sometimes even just the minor characters in the long history of the music industries and genres were queer. This goes a long way then to helping young queer readers who may be interested in finding queer icons in music. It helps readers, lovers of music period, who might happen to be queer to appreciate that they may not be so different sexually than an artist they love.
David Bowie didn't make me gay personally, but as I'm reading more about the man's life, and listening to more of his music, I see how important it is to have such an icon, such a human being in your life as an example. There are plenty of examples of wonderful, tragic, contemptuous, and of course, gay people in this book and it's worth the reader's time to read through this wonderful chronicle.
The queer community's received another in a long line of great books that reminds the reader of one important fact that so many people would prefer not to here: we've always been here.
January 19, 2018
Overall, I found this a very disappointing read. I think the idea of the book (tracing the influences and performers of LBGT music) is great, and the introduction --- with a big focus on Bowie's importance --- makes an excellent case for the exploration. I learned a lot, including the facts that Johnny Mathis and Leslie Gore were gay, the existence of Camp Records and gay novelty LPs, the support of African American communities in the 1920's for LBGT performers, and the differences between the Women's Music movement in the US (folk-based) and the UK (punk-based). There's a ton of information, much of it beyond what this straight reader knew about LBGT music.
However, the organization is often horrible. The first chapters, which focus on just one or two performers, have a better focus, but later chapters suffer from information overload and no narrative structure to give the reader any guidance. A common practice by Bullock is to spend one to two paragraphs on a subject, talk about the performer's contributions, say where they are now, and then repeat with very little transition. (You can even find some sentences which appear to change focus midway through.) There's very little clear connective tissue and an overabundance of personalities. The result is often confusing and feels shallow. I'm sure there are some fascinating stories and thematic explorations that can be written about LGBT music, but this wasn't it for me.
However, the organization is often horrible. The first chapters, which focus on just one or two performers, have a better focus, but later chapters suffer from information overload and no narrative structure to give the reader any guidance. A common practice by Bullock is to spend one to two paragraphs on a subject, talk about the performer's contributions, say where they are now, and then repeat with very little transition. (You can even find some sentences which appear to change focus midway through.) There's very little clear connective tissue and an overabundance of personalities. The result is often confusing and feels shallow. I'm sure there are some fascinating stories and thematic explorations that can be written about LGBT music, but this wasn't it for me.
January 3, 2021
Although it is obvious the author cares about his topic and did tons of research there were some major problems with this book. Also, the title is funny, but misleading as the book is not humorous and Bowie is a footnote.
I was surprised, saddened, frustrated and angered by the author's seeming lack of understanding and compassion for so many who identify as LGBTQIA+.
1. He included absolutely no information about anyone who identified as Pansexual, Intersex, Asexual, or anything other than LGBT.
2. His descriptions of those who are Bisexual undecided, questioning, confused.
3. And transgender individuals are misgendered, dead-named, and treated as more valid in their transgender identity if they have had surgery.
This man claims to be part of the community, and to be passionate about the topic. So, he should realize it is now 2021 not 1980!
I was surprised, saddened, frustrated and angered by the author's seeming lack of understanding and compassion for so many who identify as LGBTQIA+.
1. He included absolutely no information about anyone who identified as Pansexual, Intersex, Asexual, or anything other than LGBT.
2. His descriptions of those who are Bisexual undecided, questioning, confused.
3. And transgender individuals are misgendered, dead-named, and treated as more valid in their transgender identity if they have had surgery.
This man claims to be part of the community, and to be passionate about the topic. So, he should realize it is now 2021 not 1980!
February 1, 2018
The first part of this book was really interesting and informative. I never knew there were so many GLBT artists from the 1920's-50's that had such influence on music and the struggles they went through. I enjoyed that part the best. The second half, mostly the 70's to today, was kind of a letdown. Most of the information was based on magazine articles or previously published source material, even though a large number of the people discussed are still alive today. I don't know if they just couldn't get interviews or if they didn't try, but I think they missed a big opportunity. And what they did have just wasn't new information, at least for me. Additionally, it was very focused on men, more so that I had hoped. All in all, it left me wanting.
November 19, 2019
This book was spectacularly badly written on both a micro and macro level, and failed to create any compelling narrative. While I did want to finish to learn about queer musicians in the last century (and believe me, Bullock hits seemingly ALL of them in confusing levels of detail), I wouldn't have been able to finish it if I hadn't needed something to read with one eye at work while still paying attention to everything else around me.
October 23, 2024
Goed boek over de geschiedenis van lgbt artiesten. Er werden alleen veeeel te veel artiesten genoemd waarvan ik waarschijnlijk 75% al ben vergeten... dat is een beetje jammer maar voor de rest wel interessant
August 29, 2018
This book is simply fantastic. I don't think I've ever seen another book dedicated specifically to the place of LGBT+ people in the music industry, but not only was it brilliant, after having read "David Bowie Made Me Gay," it was obviously necessary. Bullock describes each musician in all of their often bittersweet glory and proves to represent a good number of identities with his assortment of selected performers, and while I was aware of a good few of them, I am very happy to say that I had by no means heard of the vast majority. This book is definitely a favorite.
May 10, 2023
A very well researched and informative book about LGBT music in the past 100 years. From the 1910s and 1920s to modern day music and the influence that the gay community has been in the careers of many artists.
September 8, 2022
I liked this book, but I can’t quite give it more than three stars. Because even though it was interesting to read about LGBTQ musicians, three of my all time favorites of all time (Elton John, Freddie Mercury, and David Bowie) were hardly mentioned.
March 27, 2018
Exactly what I wanted from this book, and exactly the kind of book I've been searching for over the past few years. A comprehensive, well-written but not overwhelming history of queer music and musicians over the past 100 years. A western focus overall, mostly within the US/UK/the occasional Australian act, but delightfully does cover all the letters within LGBT. Some stuff I knew, a lot of stuff I didn't know! I loved reading this, was glad to take a copy out from the library, and hope to buy a paper copy myself for my collection sometime soon.
March 20, 2022
Interesting, titles a bit misleading, the sub heading should really be the title, but all in all a good read. Some parts felt really well researched, whereas others felt a bit sparce, but overall I learnt a lot of really cool new stuff.
July 6, 2018
Informative. However due to the insane lack of sensitivity around language the author used with talking about trans artists (constant deadnaming, back and forth pronouns, and a few uses of “transgendered”) I can’t really recommend this book to anyone without a grain of salt. Just another instance of gay cis men not having a clue about how to treat and respect trans people.
Also, this book read like a run on sentence from hell.
Also, David Bowie statutory raped someone. Not so much as a mention of that, only a glorifying title slot.
Also, this book read like a run on sentence from hell.
Also, David Bowie statutory raped someone. Not so much as a mention of that, only a glorifying title slot.
August 6, 2018
What an incredible read , informative in an interesting and upBEAT way, total page turning paradise........❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
July 18, 2025
3 stars
I am so behind on Goodreads reviews. I finished this on June 7, and it is now July 17th. Yikes! Anyway, I'm glad that I read this for a book club, and it was chock-full of information about LGBTQ+ artists and their impact. My biggest critique is that this feels like someone's hyperfixation, and it often doesn't feel cohesive. This is also quite a dense read. I didn't think someone could make queer music history feel overwhelming, but Bullock somehow manages to. Also, this title is lying, and while it's catchy, I think it's inaccurate, but that title will sell books. The subtitle of 100 Years of LGBT Music isn't gonna sell as many copies.
I am so behind on Goodreads reviews. I finished this on June 7, and it is now July 17th. Yikes! Anyway, I'm glad that I read this for a book club, and it was chock-full of information about LGBTQ+ artists and their impact. My biggest critique is that this feels like someone's hyperfixation, and it often doesn't feel cohesive. This is also quite a dense read. I didn't think someone could make queer music history feel overwhelming, but Bullock somehow manages to. Also, this title is lying, and while it's catchy, I think it's inaccurate, but that title will sell books. The subtitle of 100 Years of LGBT Music isn't gonna sell as many copies.
December 26, 2025
Jesus, it's absolutely harrowing to think about how much AIDS decimated queer cultural icons and the broader community in the late 20th century. This book offers a fascinating insight into various aspects of queer musicianship spanning from the origins of blues music up to what could be happening next. However, the writing is sometimes confusing, especially when the author uses multiple names to refer to the same person (e.g. stage name vs actual name), and there are some odd moments where trans musicians' deadnames are given without seemingly good reason? Without these missteps, I think the book would have been more readable with a touch more editing.
June 5, 2022
I borrowed the audiobook of this from the library.
After one soporific hour, I had to call it a day! Daryl Bullock is not a voice designed for audio, unless he did a book about insomnia and wanted to help you to sleep!
I was really excited about hearing about LGBT music but the information was presented in such a dry manner, it made it really boring! There are reams of irrelevant details about venues and artists that seem completely unnecessary, and constant quoting of people!
Nah, this didn't work for me. Returned to the Borrowbox app!
After one soporific hour, I had to call it a day! Daryl Bullock is not a voice designed for audio, unless he did a book about insomnia and wanted to help you to sleep!
I was really excited about hearing about LGBT music but the information was presented in such a dry manner, it made it really boring! There are reams of irrelevant details about venues and artists that seem completely unnecessary, and constant quoting of people!
Nah, this didn't work for me. Returned to the Borrowbox app!
July 9, 2021
It took me so much longer to read this book than expected as I kept googling and searching youtube and then got lost in a world of musical gems.
Critics of this book will say it did not include XY or Z or that Bowie's name was used a trick but they are missing the point, the book is designed to tease you in, while making LGBT musical history accessible and understandable, and there are enough sign posts to guide you onward to a wonderful and compelling journey of discovery.
At just over 300 pages the length is perfect as an introduction, the conversational style of the book makes for easy reading and I am positive it will be a landmark text for many years to come for people interested not just in the impact of gay artists but music in general.
Critics of this book will say it did not include XY or Z or that Bowie's name was used a trick but they are missing the point, the book is designed to tease you in, while making LGBT musical history accessible and understandable, and there are enough sign posts to guide you onward to a wonderful and compelling journey of discovery.
At just over 300 pages the length is perfect as an introduction, the conversational style of the book makes for easy reading and I am positive it will be a landmark text for many years to come for people interested not just in the impact of gay artists but music in general.
May 17, 2020
First half was great, really interesting to learn about a lot of LGBT history I had no idea about. However second half was a little more chaotic and I found the deadnaming/misgendering of trans people throughout a little uncomfortable given its a book ABOUT their identities and art? All in all though a pretty comprehensive book for anyone interested in LGBT history and the music industry.
Read
March 3, 2021I appreciate this book’s commitment to highlighting queer musicians who have been neglected by history books. That said, the focus on this book was wildly inconsistent—exceedingly granular biographies on some subjects, but just a paragraph or two dedicated to critical moments in LGBTQIA history. A frustrating read.
April 12, 2021
Excellent book about the history of LGBT musicians. Many well known such as Boy George and Marc Almond but many unknown,especially from the past. I highly recommend it and truly need to look up many of the songs mentioned throughout. Very little discussion of Bowie but there are other books for that.
October 28, 2024
Eminently readable, extremely interesting. I lost track of the names a bit as it's a whistlestop tour through 100 years of queer music and queer musicians, but it makes for a good jumping off point to go and find out more. A little bit out of date already but left me wanting to go out and explore a musical back catalogue.
May 3, 2021
Si usted tiene mente chismosa, este libro es para usted. Con muchas digresiones, nos muestra la vida y los tiempos de los artistas LGBT del siglo XX.
July 21, 2021
I found the 1900-1950 history more interesting than the more recent stories, but I’d love the author’s take on Lil Nas X.
March 6, 2023
really interesting book but didn't do it for me as much as i was hoping; it was a pretty comprehensive history of lgbt music but weirdly enough kind of skims over who we consider to be icons, and barely touches on the man for whom the book is named. i didn't hate it but it was kind of rambling and at times disjointed, although i definitely learned things!
June 16, 2018
Let's get one thing straight - I learned a lot from this book and there are many interesting facets of information I did not know, and feel all the better for knowing. A tremendous amount of research obviously went into it, and that shows. My hat off to Darryl W. Bullock for that.
That being said, this book felt very disorganized to me. The chapters are (mostly) chronologically ordered, which I appreciate, but I often feel the author jumps when telling stories and histories; from one musician, to another, and then back to the first. This sometimes makes it hard to follow. In conjunction, the second half of the book feels like it happens too fast and doesn't include enough - there is not much mention of the Smiths, or of the Magnetic Fields (they get exactly one brief throw-in), or various other queer artists from the modern age who have/are changing the landscape. The main reason for the rating however, is that there is very little analysis of anything - actions, and especially lyrics. I feel the book would have benefited from a little more specificity in that regard, and perhaps that's what I was looking for and didn't get. It comes out predominantly in the passages on "Relax", but otherwise the book is fairly devoid of analysis.
And, yes, despite the title, there is not a deep focus on David Bowie, but really that's beside the point. I'm still glad to have read this book since it clarified some things I knew, and taught me that which I did not.
That being said, this book felt very disorganized to me. The chapters are (mostly) chronologically ordered, which I appreciate, but I often feel the author jumps when telling stories and histories; from one musician, to another, and then back to the first. This sometimes makes it hard to follow. In conjunction, the second half of the book feels like it happens too fast and doesn't include enough - there is not much mention of the Smiths, or of the Magnetic Fields (they get exactly one brief throw-in), or various other queer artists from the modern age who have/are changing the landscape. The main reason for the rating however, is that there is very little analysis of anything - actions, and especially lyrics. I feel the book would have benefited from a little more specificity in that regard, and perhaps that's what I was looking for and didn't get. It comes out predominantly in the passages on "Relax", but otherwise the book is fairly devoid of analysis.
And, yes, despite the title, there is not a deep focus on David Bowie, but really that's beside the point. I'm still glad to have read this book since it clarified some things I knew, and taught me that which I did not.
August 29, 2024
Vähän kuiva ja numeropainotteinen kirja (esim myyntiluvut), mutta toisaalta opin uutta. Ei kovin moninainen teos, sillä kirjan fokus on homomiehissä. Ei mikään kaikista vetävin lukukokemus, mutta toisaalta mikäli sateenkaarevat tietokirjat erinäisistä aiheista kiinnostavat, on tämä ihan lukemisen arvoinen.
February 3, 2019
This is a hard book to review. The first three quarters of the book are really good. I learnt a lot. The chapters which cover the first half of the 20th century are particularly great. However when Bullock hits the 80s, the book starts to get confusing. He jumps from artist to artist and back and forth in time, resulting in no real insight into any of the artists he mentions.
I also noticed a few, not errors exactly, but quotes or events taken out of context and presented in a way which really didn't convey the whole story or gave the wrong impression. The instances where I noticed this were around discussions of the bands Suede and Queen, both of whom I know quite a bit about. It left me wondering whether this was the case for other artists discussed that I know less about as well.
I also noticed a few, not errors exactly, but quotes or events taken out of context and presented in a way which really didn't convey the whole story or gave the wrong impression. The instances where I noticed this were around discussions of the bands Suede and Queen, both of whom I know quite a bit about. It left me wondering whether this was the case for other artists discussed that I know less about as well.
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