Screw Loose : Uncalled for Memoirs

by Peter Blazey

First published twenty years ago, Peter Blazey’s audacious, irresistible autobiography is now available in a revised edition with a foreword by the Honourable Michael Kirby. Candid and at times provocative, these self-styled ‘uncalled-for memoirs’ encompass five decades in the life of a controversial Australian journalist, biographer, and gay activist.

The reporter who got the scoop on the death of Harold Holt, Blazey also wrote the definitive biography of Victoria’s longest serving Premier. He was appointed Press Secretary to the Environment Minister in the Whitlam Government and followed this with six months in a London Trot squat – a witness to punk while street fighting the National Front.

In 1978, he was party to the riot that led to Sydney’s first Mardi Gras parade and later became a pioneering Gay Liberation Candidate in the NSW State election. Blazey always found himself in the hub of political and cultural times. He frequented Studio 54 in its heyday; enjoyed life as a millionaire wastrel in Barbara Stanwyck’s former Hollywood mansion; and, in his final years, agitated for change as an inflammatory columnist and troublesome AIDS activist. Blazey was close to the mark when tagging himself ‘a belligerent old bugger’ though, in the end, his larrikin spirit was tempered by insights both heartfelt and profound.

Screw Loose is a unique account of a remarkable life that remains as vivid, incisive, and raucously entertaining as when it first appeared in 1997.

Genres: Biography, Gay

Paperback

Published January 1, 1997

Reviews

[Keith Johnstone · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easily one of the best books I have read for years. A fabulously written autobiography that is an amazing snapshot of a gay man’s life from 1939-1997, it is funny, moving, sad and impossible to put down. This book will more and more become an important historical reference that perfectly explains the challenges faced by gay men and the opportunities provided the Australian upper middle classes in the 70s/80s. Sadly a lot of the homophobia and pressure from social ‘norms’ referenced in the book still exist today, which make the book all the more important, acting as an anchor. There is joy in this book of a life well lived but also sadness that HIV/Aids took so many fabulous, talented gay men like Peter Blazey who would have continued to contribute massively to our societies in the best possible way with wit, challenging thought and artistic ability. Twenty-six years after this book was written, Peter’s insights into Australians, New Zealanders, Brits and politicians are still right on point!