Frankie Goes To Hollywood, who are often considered the butt of a joke when referring to the 80s, were also one of the pioneers in their own way. One of the most well known stars in this camp with many ties to gay culture is arguably Debbie Harry from Blondie whose ties to the New York club scene and Queer underground nightlife goes all the way back to Studio 54 and collaborating with Andy Warhol. One of the descendants of disco was new wave, which also incorporated elements of post-punk and synth pop, and the genre’s ties to gay culture also go far and beyond. And music was obviously an essential part of these gatherings, and the sound of these events eventually developed into disco. In New York City at the beginning of the 70s, many queer people of color and allies came together with an intention to create safe spaces where they could be themselves and be with others in ways not permitted in the everyday world, rather than adapting to fit the heterosexual notions of nightlife. One of the ways that Queer people dealt with the trauma was by going to the clubs, but these clubs were more than just sites for dancing. Fall of the Berlin Wall, Iran-Iraq War, Chernobyl, and especially the AIDS crisis which plagued the community and brought on unprecedented levels of tragedy. The 80s was obviously a culturally complicated period. Larry Levan was a gay black DJ who worked at the Paradise Garage in downtown New York and he is considered responsible for the ascendance of almost all genres of current electronic music as we know today. But one of the biggest subcultures involved in music with an extremely rich history was the underground club culture that paved the way for dance music, even though it is not afforded the same cultural reverence as rock or punk. Even long before LGBTQ+ was in the cultural zeitgeist, a lot of rock’n’roll pioneers were Black blues musicians who happened to be queer, like Little Richard and his forebearer Billy Wright as well as Bessie Smith and Big Mama Thornton. When we look at music history, many elements of each movement and subgenre, from visuals to sound, can usually be traced back to gay culture.
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