# The Brixton Fairies: 1970s gay squat



## editor (May 10, 2004)

I was chatting to a gay playwright friend of mine who was telling me all about 'The Brixton Fairies', a group of outrageous, radical gay men who lived in a set of 14 back-to-back squats around Railton Road in the 1970s.

They'd knocked all the gardens through to form a large communal space and the community was in the forefront of Gay Liberation Front activity at the time. A gay theatre group called 'The Brixton Fairies' grew out of this scene.

I was hoping I could get my mate to write a piece about this fascinating part of Brixton history, but sadly as a writer he'd require a shuffle of fivers for that.

I've tried to research the story myself, but a shuffle through google brought forth barely a peep.

So has anyone any memories, news, photos about this 1970s squat?

And who'd like to write a feature for the site (for free, natch)?!


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## hatboy (May 10, 2004)

Those houses are now the "gay community" in Railton Rd. They are the same housing co-op as my house. I know of people there and could find you contacts.

The 14 gardens are all still one garden and still beautiful.


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## Ms T (May 10, 2004)

The TV people should definitely do Railton Rd and have them in their programme!


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## Mrs Magpie (May 12, 2004)

Quick! Get Alfie Howard a transfer to Railton Road!


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## Gramsci (May 14, 2004)

I have a picture with a banner saying something about Brixton Gay liberation.The book its in im still trying to get back from someone


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## Gramsci (May 14, 2004)

editor said:
			
		

> I was chatting to a gay playwright friend of mine who was telling me all about 'The Brixton Fairies', a group of outrageous, radical gay men who lived in a set of 14 back-to-back squats around Railton Road in the 1970s.
> 
> They'd knocked all the gardens through to form a large communal space and the community was in the forefront of Gay Liberation Front activity at the time. A gay theatre group called 'The Brixton Fairies' grew out of this scene.



 Ive got a feeling the buildings were turned into a permanent Housing Coop-keeping the communal garden.

 Just noticed HBs already pointed that out.

 All I found on google was that a South London Gay Community centre opened in a Brixton squat in 1974.Though i found no other details on it.

 Obviously their is a history to be documented.


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## felixalvarez (Feb 22, 2007)

*I Was There!*

My name is Felix Alvarez. In 1973 I'd just left University. I lived in the south London area and became involved in the early GLF group (which used to meet in a pub next to Oval tube). I was intimately involved with the squatting action which set up the Brixton Gay Community Centre and so, therefore, am well aware of most of the history of that group. I moved away from London to work abroad in 1978 and it was only many years later that I tried to trace many of the people I knew from that group and that era, only to discover, sadly, many had fallen victim to early HIV. Off the top of my head, some of the names of the people involved were as follows:

Gary Devere
Colm (surname I don't remember, but along with Gary, one of the two more forceful GLFers in the group)
Alistair Kerr (prime diamond fairy, lovely guy - also Aids victim)
Malcolm Greatbanks (GLF's candidate to Elections in Brixton around 1974, for whom I stood in as 'partner')
John Lloyd - I understand he is still around and living in the Railton Road 'commune', now Housing Association property
Julian Howes - managed to get in touch with him several years back and I understand deeply involved in Aids awareness work. Also, I understand, part of the Brixton Fairies theatre group.

The Community Centre was an important historical point for the gay movement of the early 70s: it was the first of its kind, for a start. The many activities it sparked (phone counselling, information and advice, gay disco, political awareness raising and action, a gay wrestlers' group, encounter groups etc) brought into many from the nascent gay movement who later went on to continue their work in other ambits (Friend, Icebreakers etc). Contact with the media was also something the group undertook, including a spot on London Weekend Television's "London Programme" around the time of the 1974(?) elections. Fringe film producers also used the members of the Community Centre for what I remember was to be a film entitled "Night Hawks". Don't know whatever happened to that project. 

I vividly remember one night sitting in the Centre only to find, suddenly, the door slamming open and being put into a police van, along with others with practically no reason being given for our detention. We were held in the cells for a few hours and interrogated individually. I never did find out exactly what the reason for that treatment was, but we suspected the reason being that suspected paedophiles had started to attend the Community Centre, discussing issues around child/adult sexuality, the main thrust of which was an ideological position regarding respect for children's sexuality. That, ofcourse, was an area of much contention from a gay liberation point of view, and no consensus was uniformly held.

The participation of women in the centre was always low, though existent. This was, to some extent, undermined by the revelation that one of the women who presented herself as Lesbian was allegedly revealed as being a heterosexual 'fag hag'. This caused a level of unhappiness in a group which saw heterosexuals as attempting to undermine the sexuality of gay men (whom, allegedly, this person enjoyed 'seducing').

Towards the end of the Centre's short life, the cogency and solidarity of the group began to reveal itself in a series of ideological differences. This was, ofcourse, part of the natural development of the group as differences of view indicated the growing self-esteem of individuals who began to assert a plurality of ideological positions regarding their own sexuality.

One of the other problems that raised its head was the attempt by political ideologues external to the Centre attempting to 'infiltrate' the activism and energy of Centre members. One such group I remember well was the International Marxist Group (IMG) who advocated Marxist revolution and advocated an IMG-style approach to social campaigning.

I am sure that the more I think about that era the more will start to emerge from my unconscious. I am happy to enter into any further details with anyone interested in documenting this what I consider to have been important element in early 70s gay activism in order to address what is clearly a deficit in historical documentation (Bill Thorneycroft, by the way, was also a central figure in the life of the Gay Community Centre in Railton Road and it is only today when, prior to discovering this forum, I entered a few key searches that I discovered that Bill went on to co-authoring some interesting academic works on sexuality. I do not know if he still lives, but if so, Bill will similarly be a great source of reminiscences.)

I returned to my native country (Gibraltar) in 1997. Appalled at the situation of gay people in Gibraltar, I founded Gib Gay Rights (GGR) in 2000, which has over the last 7 years grown into Gibraltar's primary voice in gay and human rights. I can be contacted at gibgayrightsATyahoocouk. You can view our website at  http://equalityrightsggr.blogspot.com/ and  I'd be delighted to hear from any of you.

Felix Alvarez


<I've taken out the dots and @ in your email or you'll get spammed to bits...Mrs M>


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## Maggot (Feb 22, 2007)

Looks like Ed's got his article already written!


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## Mrs Magpie (Feb 22, 2007)

felixalvarez said:
			
		

> Malcolm Greatbanks (GLF's candidate to Elections in Brixton around 1974, for whom I stood in as 'partner')


I think I know him......well, I certainly know a Malcolm who has lived in Brixton since God was a child and was involved in GLF....


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## timothysutton1 (Feb 22, 2007)

*Hisory*




			
				editor said:
			
		

> ...fascinating part of Brixton history...



Isn't it a sad comment on the area that any gay activity is now history; not a gay bar, club, cafe or shop in sight.


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## bluestreak (Feb 22, 2007)

yeah, i heard that in the 70s there were quite a few gay venues in brixton.  is this true?


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## Kid_Eternity (Feb 22, 2007)

This is fucking mental! That thread is over three years old!


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## Maggot (Feb 22, 2007)

bluestreak said:
			
		

> yeah, i heard that in the 70s there were quite a few gay venues in brixton.  is this true?


 The Fridge used to be a gay club, and so did Sub-Station (or whatever it was called then). I don't know if either of them go back as far as the 70s though.


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## Mrs Magpie (Feb 22, 2007)

The Fridge used to be down past the Police Station under the gas showroom but in the 70s it was still the Ram Jam...loads of ska, Prince Buster etc etc.


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## Mrs Magpie (Feb 22, 2007)

btw, the Fridge was never a gay club as such, but it was gay-friendly and had gay nights....in the days when music was live.....


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## dogmatique (Feb 22, 2007)

Fantastic post Felix!


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## Bazza (Feb 23, 2007)

The Annexe (former Sub-Station) is not exclusively gay but had a lot of gay clientele when I went there recently. 

Great music.


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## Funki mamma (Feb 23, 2007)

Also...I seem to remember The Prince of Wales was a Gay pub, a lot 

bigger, (and the loos were where the  KFC is now.  ) Early 80s I think.


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## William of Walworth (Feb 24, 2007)

Kinnell, yer man felix is a fucking good historian!  

(I knew nothing, but now do  )

And I never saw this thread when it was started in 2004!!!! A three years later bump is mental! and must be a record on Urban....


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## juliandrag (Feb 24, 2007)

yes the history of :
faerie land in brixton in the 70 and beyonds needs recording - including 
Tom Robinson singing at Gay Dances at the Town Hall
The squatted gay cente in Railton Road
Pearls gay shabeen also on Railton Road
The gay community sqauts on railton and Mayall Raod - and what has become of them 
The blasphemers ball at Lambeth Town hall - raising funds for the campaign against the prosection of Gay Times - and the fact that the campaign was run from Brixton
Gay Noise - a radical late 70s freesheet produced in Brixton
The anto Nazi march through brixton and the strong gay presence on it - and the pink  and blue demim banner strung across railton road with a queen (or two or three) doing a royal wave past - in full drag- from the houses on railton road 
There is a huge wealth of material out I am sure there for anyone who wants to write this history up ...but scattered to the far cormers i am sure 
The only other history of early gay Liberation is 'No Bath but plenty of bubbles' an oral history of the Gay Liberation Front 1970-1973 by Lisa Power . This is no longer in print but easily avaialable on Amazon etc 
My name is Julian Hows and  I was a member of the early Gay Liberation Front , Brixton Faeries and lived in the squats and still live in the railton road area. Would love to hear from anyone who is still alive and remembers and was involved in these times ...especially with pictures, posters etc


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## editor (Feb 24, 2007)

Cheers for the input so far, folks.

I'm going to add a feature about Brixton's gay past in the Brixton section of this site and would be happy to include emails from anyone looking to get in touch with others.


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## lang rabbie (Feb 24, 2007)

Funki mamma said:
			
		

> Also...I seem to remember The Prince of Wales was a Gay pub, a lot
> 
> bigger, (and the loos were where the  KFC is now.  ) Early 80s I think.



Various middle aged Lambeth politicos, of all political persuasions, are united in their nostalgia for the Prince of Wales in that period. 

Was "Phil Starr" (formerly of the Two Brewers at Clapham, I discover from some Googling) the last licensee to try and run that place on its original scale before the site owners took KFC's filthy lucre?


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## quimcunx (Feb 28, 2007)

Quote:  _I vividly remember one night sitting in the Centre only to find, suddenly, the door slamming open and being put into a police van, along with others with practically no reason being given for our detention. We were held in the cells for a few hours and interrogated individually. I never did find out exactly what the reason for that treatment was, but we suspected the reason being that suspected paedophiles had started to attend the Community Centre, discussing issues around child/adult sexuality, the main thrust of which was an ideological position regarding respect for children's sexuality. That, ofcourse, was an area of much contention from a gay liberation point of view, and no consensus was uniformly held._ Unquote

sorry I'm new and haven't worked out how to quote someone elses post yet.

I think this must have been the Paedophile Information Exchange which was around at the time.  I only just found out about it the other day. Seems they were for getting rid of the age of consent all together.


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## detective-boy (Feb 28, 2007)

Papingo said:
			
		

> sorry I'm new and haven't worked out how to quote someone elses post yet.


Click on the "Quote" button in the bottom left of the post and it opens up a window with the entire post in.  You'll see the square bracketed bits which make it a quote but within them to can delete the non-relevant bits so you don;t have to quote the whole thing.

This button over here ... >>>>>>


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## quimcunx (Feb 28, 2007)

I found it, thanks,  the Quote message in reply tickbox confused me.


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## Crispy (Feb 28, 2007)

Papingo said:
			
		

> I found it, thanks,  the Quote message in reply tickbox confused me.


Yeah, that's for the Quick Reply only.


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## brixtonscot (Mar 8, 2007)

_Here's article about 1978 by Brixton Faerie, Terry Stewart..............._

1978 seems like another lifetime, when one looks at the massive changes in both Gay lifestyles and social attitudes.  I do recall the gay movement was fighting on about four or five different front around various issue such as, the Gay news appeal at the law courts, which was lost.  WH Smiths continued its shelf ban of Gay News. Nazi’s were on the march of hate, and the attempt by the far right to link homosexuality and pedophilia, was in full swing. Finally Captain Morgan’s Homophobic advertising was getting a good battering from queens “You don’t say hello sailor to a Captain Morgan’s drinker”. On all fronts queens were fighting back.

Great gains had been made in America with the election of the first Gay Mayor of San Francisco Harvey Milk. Sadly some deranged religious nut murdered Harvey. The down side was, Anita Bryant a B movie starlet, whose career went nowhere, accept on a homophobic rampage. She wasn’t very good at selling Florida Orange juice either. She lost that job thanks to the Gay lobby in America.

Disco was still all the rage and it seemed like we were never going to stop dancing. Gay Sweatshop Theatre Company was pumping out great shows, as were Blue Lips. Hot Peaches the American theatre group had made a tour of England and Germany and as a result we were all inspired, by their production The Divas of Sheridan Square. So much so that Brixton Fairies theatre company was formed. Not to forget Eric Preslands productions on Hampstead Heath. Can you imagine all that Gay theatre? The women’s group Ova was beginning to make a name on the women’s circuit. We were Cultured, Radical and ready to take on the World. So much so that the International Gay and Lesbian Association was formed. 

Ron Peck the Film Director was just putting together the final script for the film Night Hawks, which depicted the dilemma of a Gay schoolteacher being in the closet. Ron went on to direct the sequel Strip Jack Naked, which I would recommend every young Gay and Lesbian see to get a flavour of the period, nothing to do with the fact that I have a brief cameo role in the film, which lasts all of fifteen seconds. 

A good night at the cinema was to see the latest John Waters cult movies staring the diva of all time Divine, of Hair Spray fame, god rest her little socks.

Poor Julian Hows was having a hard time at work. London Transport had introduced new uniform policy, were female staff could wear trousers if they wish, so Julian decided it should work both ways and arrived on the platform at Earls Court station in a little grey two piece LT skirt and top. Management were outraged. 

We didn’t have Employment Rights, no we had to just go in and brazen it out and hope for the best. British Homophobic Stores didn’t particularly like us then, and we had to make a few visits to their shops and let them know we were not shopping.

 Schoolteachers were getting it in the neck big time and the Gay Teachers Group had a very robust campaign around the issue of being gay and out in the classroom. It was a few years later that the whole issue of Section 28 came along and undone any gains made.

Cottaging was another major issue at the time. People did cottage and large numbers of those who did were closeted or gay men who saw no dilemma in such Social, Public and Municipal activities. There were of course the Moral Mary’s who frowned upon such behaviour and would accuse those who did, of “dragging our good name in the mud”. Begs the question, what good name?

 The Police were raiding the Gay scene on a phenomenal scale, along with a general clampdown on Gays in Bradford, Leeds, Manchester and London to name but a few. This was very much lead by the Commissioner of the Manchester Police Mr. Anderton, who said that God had spoken to him with regards to Homosexuality.
(cont'd )..........


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## brixtonscot (Mar 8, 2007)

_1978 cont'd_

Finally Reverend Ian Paisley had established the “Save Ulster from Sodomy” campaign the previous year, and it was well and truly producing the bigotry and hatred that he wanted to unleash on the Gay community in the North of Ireland. 

The morning of Gay Pride was different in 1978. We would not be marching up Oxford Street freaking out the Shoppers and Tourist. No this year we would march right through a residential area were real people lived, and reclaim the streets of Earls Court which was very much the Gay Mecca of the Time. 

All that year the queens at the various pubs had been having a very tough time with the local police. Night after night there had been arrests around the Colherne Pub. It wasn’t quite Stonewall, but Queens were fighting back and not being bullied by the Lille. This march would be in solidarity with those Out on the Gay Scene and would take us right to the heart of “The Gay Community”.

We were up early that morning and some queens were having a Champers breakfast before taking on London. The Gay Dragon, which would be the centerpiece of the march, was having the final touches put to it, and there was a practice march around the garden to make sure everyone had the general idea of how to dragon dance and breath at the same time. We had the usual Black Steel Band to lead us through the streets of London, as was the case for a number of years. 

I can’t understand where this argument of Black people being more Homophobic than white people came from. You should try being an Irish Catholic gay man. This same backward argument would be used later to move the Pride festival out of Brockwell Park. This certainly wasn’t our experience having lived on the frontline in Brixton for several years in an openly Gay Commune.

 Pearl a lovely big Jamaican women had her Gay Shebeen on the frontline were Black and White gay men would dance until the wee small hours. It wasn’t quite Queer Nation, but we did enjoy ourselves, in an environment that was free from the usual racism that was pretty much run of the mill prejudices encountered by black people on the gay scene at the time. 

Back to the Gay Pride March. The word Festival would come later when the Gay Pink Pounders would attempt to de-politicize the annual event. “Waving banners up and down Oxford Street screaming your tits off is all very well, but we want to be respectable” I heard one queen arguing. We all headed over to West London to begin our Annual Ritual of letting Joe Public know, that we were Out and Proud.

Everything was going well until we arrived outside the Colherne pub, where a bunch of tacky queens came out and decided to bottle the march, not a very good move. Handbags at dawn.  If we were not going to be bottled by straights, we certainly were not going to be bottled by our own.  Some queens rushed the pub lead by His Eminence Julian and put down the revolt in a way that only queens know how. Julian came out of the pub like the Victor over the Vanquished with his booty, a great big handsome Leather queen and some others who joined the march. It all ended very positive with the regulars all coming out and cheering us on.

The march was very lively and upbeat. We didn’t have 95,000 people, but the residents of West London knew we had arrived. The last big march we had was in February which we managed to mobilize thousands on the issue of  “Stop the Backlash” which was during a period of general Homophobia on a wide scale with a lose coalition of the religious right, various sections of the establishment and far right political organizations. 

The Gay Pride Ball that evening was held at Chelsea Town Hall and was a tremendous success until some straight male bouncer decided to chat up some of the lesbians. All hell broke out. We had just finished our production called  “Swan Vista on Rice” which was a ballet on roller skates and a piss take of the John Curry on Ice show, which every family were flocking to see.

 By closing time the police had arrived with dogs and began to clear the hall. We all stood outside, began to sing, blow them kisses and make offers of a good night out, as they retreated with the little dignity they had left, back into their little powder blue panda cars.

The various Gay Centres around London were being attacked night after night. Even known Gay households were firebombed and windows caved in. It was a question of having to get out there and fight for our very survival.

There is nothing more terrifying to a Homophobe than a queen dragged up to the nines wielding a club and screaming obscenities. It often worked and the only damage was a few broken cuticles and nothing a good hairbrush wouldn’t sort out. 

The Economy was in a mess the IMF and World Bank had already threatened to bankrupt the country, even though we were pumping out that black gold in the North Sea. This period also saw a fragmentation of the left in general and the gay and lesbian movement in particular. 

Labour Government in power, broken promises and a shift to the right by the same Government. Does this sound familiar? 

 At a more general level we had seen Workers and Trade Unions begin to take a hammering as the powers that be, began to clampdown on the movement, and remove any gains made during the previous period. 

 The reason I raise these issues is to illustrate how fragile our rights are and how the economic impact on the broader community affects us. 

It was only a very short time before Disco would become House, GLF would become Stonewall and Revolution would become Reform. The economy was in a mess and so was our makeup and we were going to need more than a mascara brush to sort out the dilemmas within the Gay Movement.  The rest is another story for another day.

Some of you will have different memories. Nights out at the Vauxhall Tavern, Bangs Disco, or a romp at the Gigolo and a dance at the Sombrero. Even pubs such as the Salisbury, The Golden lion or the A & B or the Embassy club will spring to mind. The Gateways was at its peak for women. I think the Catacombs may have already closed down. 

Twenty-five years later, seeing young Gay and Lesbians experiencing a better life than the nightmare we were up against, is a joy to be celebrated. 

To see old friends is always a great pleasure, because from 1982 onwards HIV and AIDS devastated our community. We lost almost a whole generation of friends and people who were very valuable to us all.

 It was a very tough time but thanks to the likes of His Eminence Julian and others who have stayed around and did the most tremendous work around HIV and AIDS. You are probably asking yourself is this an article on Pride History or Julian Hows, and my response is, you can’t separate them.

 Individuals don’t make history, but history does make individuals and Julian is one of them.  It is about the early queens who survived and stayed to fight. The unsung heroes that don’t get mentioned.

 That is Pride worth celebrating, worth fighting for, worth remembering and worth gold dust twenty-five years later. I wouldn’t change it for the world you hear me say. I don’t think so. 

I can’t for the life of me remember what happened to the Gay Dragon. Someone put that Gloria Gaynor track on again.


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## zuszsa (Mar 11, 2007)

cheers brixtonscot.


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## mallee (Jan 27, 2010)

*I lived there 1981-1982*



editor said:


> So has anyone any memories, news, photos about this 1970s squat?



My name is Malcolm Thorne from Australia, I lived @ 152 & 146 Mayall Road in 1981 & 1982. I have photos of meetings in the back garden & of the people there at the time; Mathew, Chris, Dirg, Steve, Ernst, Andy & Carlsberg the cat + photos of what was left of Brixton after the riots. Am happy to put photos up on facebook or elsewhere. Mathew Jones & Chris Dobney are alive & living in Australia as far as I know. I was there during the second Brixton riot & I saw the police start it. Many happy memories of the wonderful men of the Brixton Gay squat. malleescrub at internode.on.net


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## cosmic malcolm (Jan 28, 2010)

Mrs Magpie said:


> I think I know him......well, I certainly know a Malcolm who has lived in Brixton since God was a child and was involved in GLF....


Hi.
I used to have a bath at Malcolm Greatbanks as my squat didn't have one, I was known as Little Malcolm as M G was bigger than me.


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## editor (Jan 28, 2010)

Thanks for the update. I've been meaning to add this to the Brixton history part of the site for ages.


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## Gramsci (Jan 31, 2010)

felixalvarez said:


> My name is Felix Alvarez. In 1973 I'd just left University. I lived in the south London area and became involved in the early GLF group
> 
> 
> I am sure that the more I think about that era the more will start to emerge from my unconscious. I am happy to enter into any further details with anyone interested in documenting this what I consider to have been important element in early 70s gay activism in order to address what is clearly a deficit in historical documentation (Bill Thorneycroft, by the way, was also a central figure in the life of the Gay Community Centre in Railton Road and it is only today when, prior to discovering this forum, I entered a few key searches that I discovered that Bill went on to co-authoring some interesting academic works on sexuality. I do not know if he still lives, but if so, Bill will similarly be a great source of reminiscences.)



 Fascinating stuff. I have finally got back precious out of print book on squatting. I will check picture to see if Ive got any of GLF in Brixton.

 I wasnt around in early 70s but I have been collecting Squatting and "Short Life" memorabilia. So I have some photos going back to late Seventies. 

  As the Council is liquidating Short Life and Sqautters its an important history to record.


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## Gramsci (Jan 31, 2010)

Got this on Thorneycroft. Seems LSE has archive that includes Brixton Faeries

http://www.aim25.ac.uk/cats/1/9533.htm


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## Gramsci (Jan 31, 2010)

Seems there was talk on it last year. But can find no record of meeting sadly

http://lgbthmuk.blogspot.com/2009/03/brixton-gay-squatters-tell-their.html


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## OpalFruit (Feb 1, 2010)

Mallee - I am sure at least one of the people you list still lives there 
But I am cautious of blowing anyone's anonimity.


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## Ian Townson (Feb 14, 2010)

*Brixton Gay Community*

I was part of the Brixton Gay Community from 1974 to the early '80s and have deposited masses of material about the period at the Hall-Carpenter archive based at the LSE (leaflets, photographs, play scripts, flyers, posters, manifestos, early videos, audio tape interviews from about 1970-1992). As mentioned previously it can all be found in the collection titled HCA/TOWNSON. There is also a lot of material written by me for an abortive attempt at a history. If you have any more material or memories to set down I am sure the Hall-Carpener archive would be more than pleased to hear from you. Alternatively you can email or post to me and I can deposit them in the collection. The collection has already been used several times already for different projects. To add to Mallee's comments about Mathew Jones and Chris Dobney - Jamie Dunbar, John Witte and Jeffrey Saynor (who sadly died recently) also returned to Oz. Peter Vetter is still around as is Bill Thornycroft, Julian Hows, Tony Smith, Peter Cross and John Lloyd. I have no idea where Anna Duhig or Sue Wakeling are now. The Gay Community Centre at 78 Railton Road acted as a magnet for other gay people to squat in the area and eventually there were about 12-14 back to back gay squats on Railton/Mayall Roads.

Kind Regards and Lots of love,

Ian Townson


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## Mrs Magpie (Feb 14, 2010)

I love this thread 
It may not be added to that often but practically every post is a pearl of local history.


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## Ian Townson (Mar 29, 2010)

Quite a lot more about Brixton Gays in two parts...I put this together for a forthcoming exhibition and publication in Berlin about Radical London in the 1970s.

South London Gay Liberation - Ian Townson 18/3/10



The South London Gay Community Centre at 78 Railton Road, Brixton, was squatted by people 
who were determined to come out into the clear light of day with a public statement of gay 
identity. It was the first of its kind and for two hectic years of 'fits and starts' the Centre 
established an undeniable and irreversible presence of gay people in the area.

(Gay Centre Picture with John Lloyd, Malcolm Watson and Alistair Kerr to our right of the Centre entrance)

The Centre opened in March 1974 and was evicted in April 1976.

(Bailiffs and police evicting the Centre and one of the Women's Centres next door but we were 
forewarned and moved stuff out before they arrived and moved back in again on the following 
day. First photo is Jamie Hall folding carpet, "unidentified" and David Callow standing by the 
Centre's front door. We hastily scrawled 'business as usual' at 207 Railton Road 
(the other Women's Centre) on the boarded up Centre).

During the short period of its existence the Centre acted as a focal point bringing together gay 
people from many different backgrounds through social activities and political action. The 
Centre also acted as a magnet attracting people into the area who squatted several back-to-back 
houses on Railton and Mayall Roads with a shared garden in between them. This became the 
nucleus for further political activity after the closure of the Centre but equally it grew, over time, 
as an experiment in new communal living arrangements for gay people with varying levels 
of success. 

Gay people arrived at the squats for many different reasons. Some were desperately fleeing from 
oppressive situations in their lives. Others were glad to find the company of unashamedly 
out gay people rather than remain confused and isolated. Some consciously saw this as an 
opportunity to attack 'straight' society through adopting an alternative lifestyle that challenged 
the prevailing norms of the patriarchal nuclear family and private property. There were many 
visitors from overseas. Everything would be shared in common including sex partners and
gender bending was encouraged to dissolve rigid categories of masculine men and feminine 
women. For others dressing in drag was a sheer pleasure and an opportunity for ingenious 
invention.

(The boys in bed together. Left to right: Jamie Hall, Peter Vetter, "unidentified", Julian Hows, 
"unidentified", Peter Cross + Julian Hows in full drag splendour)

The 'cultural desert' in South London offered little social space in which to gather strength as 
'out' gay people. The 'straight' gay scene was inhospitable, exploitative and a commercial rip off 
(it is now gay-owned, exploitative and a commercial rip off). Brixton was one of the most 
deprived inner city areas in London with high levels of unemployment and crime, a chronic 
shortage of housing stock with many dilapidated buildings left empty, large-scale environmental 
decay and blatant racism in an area with a large, young black population. Into this cauldron of 
deprivation leapt a number of different groups in and around Railton Road to challenge the 
poverty and decay in people's lives. There were two women's centres on Railton Road, an 
Anarchist News Service, Squatters Groups, a Claimants' Union for those on welfare benefits, 
the Brixton Advice Centre, Icebreakers (a gay liberation counselling group), the Race Today 
Collective and a food cooperative in nearby Shakespeare Road and Atlantic Road. The Gay 
Centre, as a self-determined group, also took its place among the other community based 
groups to challenge prejudice, discrimination, heterosexist attitudes and the complacency of 
officialdom.

There were many different activities at the Centre. A modern dance group was formed and run 
by Andreas Demetriou. There was a wrestling group in the basement and, to counter the 'macho' 
posturing of the group, a sewing bee and knitting circle was formed in the upstairs front room 
run chiefly by Alistair Kerr and Malcolm Watson. We participated in the local and general 
elections in 1974 with Malcolm Greatbanks, Alistair Kerr and Michael Mason as the candidates.

 (photo of two of the candidates in South London Press + newspaper account)

Being against Parlilamentary Democracy as a meaningless sham it was pointed out that we were 
just doing this for the free publicity. There were weekly discos in the basement, individual 
counsellors and regular meetings of the Centre 'collective' to determine which campaigns and 
social events we would support and be involved in. Discos were also organised at Lambeth 
Town Hall and an open day was held for members of the public to come and meet us. Besides 
all of this there was a regular duty rota so that all the people who visited the Centre would be
greeted and made welcome. The 1976 Gay Pride event was also organised by Brixton Gays.

(photo of Bill Thornycroft making tea at the Centre/Alistair answering phone/people outside the Centre in drag on 
open day/inside the Centre socialising/publicity shots inside centre for the London Programme, one of the first public 
access TV shows (1975))

It is possible to convey some of the atmosphere of 'comunal' living in photographs of the gay 
squats that sprang up around the Centre. With a common garden between the houses the back 
doors were often left open so that people could come and go in and out of each others squats. 
The kitchen more often than not became the hub of food, conversation and play.  

(photo of Alistair Kerr & Tony Smith in 146 Mayall Road kitchen/any of the 159 Railton Road kitchen scenes/hippie 
photo in kitchen of 152 Mayall Road with Edwin Henshaw/John Lloyd/Ian Townson/Terry Stewart etc./Andreas 
Demtriou's communal meal at 148 Mayall Road)

In the shared garden people would gather to dine Al Freso or play music or even rehearse for 
various theatre productions. Even just camp it up for the hell of it.

(photo of Colm Clifford, Jamie Hall, Miceal Kerrigan etc. playing musical instruments/people at table outside 159 
Railton Road/'Queens are' tableau with Peter Vetter, Ian Townson, Julian Hows and Peter Cross).

The gay squats eventually became part of the the Brixton Housing Co-op in the early 80s
and were redveloped into single person units. While this made for more secure accommodation 
and the shared garden was kept in tact it led to a more 'privatised' existence and some of the 
original elan and spirit was lost as a result. However the gay households are all still there with 
more or less permanent inhabitants. 

A special mention should be made of the Brixton riots of 1981 which happened chiefly as a 
result of the racism and heavy-handed harassment of black people by the police. The riots 
were centred around Railton Road and when Brixton was burning we showed our solidarity 
with the oppressed by joining them on the streets. We even took tables and chairs out onto
the street in front of the gay squats for a celebration party - some people in drag - getting a
mixed reception from people on the steet. Some hostile, others indifferent, some amused.
Two of us were sent to prison for a couple of years for supplying petrol to the rioters.


----------



## Ian Townson (Mar 29, 2010)

Here comes part 2 of Brixton Gays...

PART 2 OF SOUTH LONDON GAY LIBERATION


The South London Gay Liberation Theatre Group, which later became the Brixton Faeries, 
produced several plays, sketches and street theatre performances. They were mostly 
unashamedly agit prop but later became more sophisticated with better characterisation and 
plotting. Beginning with a Gay Dragon  paraded in a local street festival the group went on to 
perform sketches for local community groups.

(photo of us lot performing at pensioners/girl guides group with 'Increase Pensions Now' placards) 

The first play, 'Mr Punch's Nuclear Family', was performed at the Centre and in a local school 
playground at a community event. The play attacked patriarchal values by showing the 
devastating effects on the wife and gay son of 'rule by the father' and the collusion of the 
male-dominated authorities in acquitting the father of murdering them (1975).

(photograph of the cast of this play standing outside the Centre with Union Jack 'Britannia')

Next came 'Out of it' (1975/76) showing the relationship between patriarchal values, fascism 
and the extremes of christian morality and how they contributed to gay oppression. This was 
followed by 'Minehead Revisited or The Warts that Dared to Speak their Name'. A highly 
topical and controversial play at the time about the Jeremy Thorpe trial at the Old Bailey. As 
leader of the Liberal Party he had been accused of plotting to have a former male lover 
intimidated and even killed in order to keep him quiet about their affair (1977-80). 
'Tomorrow's too Late' was an anarchic blend of music, song and fantasy around gay activist 
groups and the banning of Gay News by WH Smith for carrying an advert about a paedophile 
group and later a poem by James Kirkup suggesting a homosexual relationship between Christ 
and a Roman soldier (1977-80). 'Gents' told the story of 'cottaging', that is, the reasons why men 
have sex with other men in public toilets. The more respectable gays viewed cottaging as 
repulsive and giving ordinary, decent gay people a bad name. The police frequently arrested and
charged men with 'gross indecency' often ruining their lives in terms of losing jobs and 
destroying relationships. Brixton Faeries decided to expose the oppressive nature of police
entrapment and to present cottaging in positive terms as an ideal fantasy even going so far as to 
suggest the local council attempting to stump up funding to 'improve facilities' (1978-80). 

(photographs - take your pick. There are quite a few of the actual performance of 'Gents' and some pubicity shots for the
play showing Peter Bradley, Colm Clifford and Ian Townson going in and out of Brixton Oval toilet outside the 
Tate Library).

We also did Joint productions with various other groups such as Gay Sweatshop in 
'Radio Gay' at the Oval House Community Centre. 

(photograph of Ian Townson and Punk Maggie with Radio Gay tee shirts)

I WASN'T INVOLVED WITH THE CABARET AT OVAL HOUSE. MAYBE BILL CAN SAY 
SOMETHING ABOUT THIS.

Most of the productions were at fringe theatres or community centres and one performance of 
'Out of it' was in front of the Young Communist League who were shocked to see two men 
kissing on stage.

We picketed several pubs that we had been thrown out of in and around Railton Road for 
kissing and cuddling two of which, The George Hotel and The Windsor Castle, were burned to 
the ground during the Brixton riots in 1981. The George Hotel had previously been prosecuted 
under the Race Relations Act for barring black people. 

Queens in Furs refused to pay local rates because none of the rates were used to povide 
amenities for gay people. The fur coat wearing was another way of gay men challenging rigid 
masculine identities. Those who refused to pay rates were summoned to Camberwell 
Magistrates' Court where the presiding judge had difficulty in persuading the plaintiffs that they 
should 'know their place' and behave accordingly. Gary de Vere was thrown out for polemicsing 
out loud and our arguments were rejected. We lost the case as we thought we would but publicity 
was gained as a result. 

(take your pick - there are several photos of Queens in Furs on their way to Camberwell Magistrates Court)

We insisted that the Centre should be publically funded as a right and applied to Lambeth 
Council for a grant rather than scraping pittance money out of our pockets for general upkeep 
and paying the rates. The grant was refused. It was argued that the Centre should be privately 
funded despite the council granting money to other groups in the area. Many people who used 
the Centre were unemployed and could not afford to fund it. Infighting between different 
factions and lack of funding contributed to the demise of the Centre. However the final blow 
came when the Centre was evicted by police and bailiffs so that the private owners could take 
vacant possession of the property and sell it to Lambeth Council for redevelopment. Thus 
bringing to an end the first public and visible institution with a clear gay identity. With this 
closure the focus for political and social activity shifted from the Centre to the gay squats.  

The National Gay News Defence Committee was originally based at 146 Mayall Road and then 
moved to 157 Railton Road with Stephen Gee as one of the main organisers. The group was set 
up when Mary Whitehouse, a right-wing moral crusader, prosecuted Gay News on a charge of 
blasphemous libel for carrying the already mentioned poem by James Kirkup. This happened at
a time when there was also much police activity against gay people in different parts of the 
country on cottaging charges and the wrongful assumption that we were paedophiles. With the 
successful prosecution of Gay News the NGNDC became the Gay Activists' Alliance and 
continued with both national and international campaigns with many locally active groups. Also 
the fascist National Front  was particualrly active at this time; mostly against immigrants, black 
people and left-wing organisations  but also several gay establishments had been attacked by 
them including the Vauxhall Tavern in South London. In 1978 a massive Anti-Nazi League 
march came along Railton Road for a Rock Against Racism festival in Brockwell Park. We fully 
supported the demonstration and the marchers passed under a banner we had slung high across 
Railton Road saying: Brixton Gays Welcome Anti-Fascists. Also there was Anita Bryant, the 
Florida Orange lady, who campaigned in the United States against gays. Her famous phrase 
was:  'God made Adam and Eve not Adam and Steve' and she became even more famous when 
an irate gay activist shoved a cream pie in her face in full view of television cameras.

(There should be a photo of the anti-fascist banner somewhere. Also there is a very good photo with a banner carrying the
pictures of Anita Bryant, Mary Whitehouse and Adolf Hitler. Take your pick of the many photos of other demonstrations).

A special mention should be made of the Union Place Community Resource Centre in Brixton 
which encouraged us to go along and make posters, diaries, badges, calendars and banners for 
our campaigns. Ian Townson and Colm Clifford from the gay community became employees and 
Colm initiated 'Homosexual Posters' from there producing pictorial biographies of gay people 
and even gay Christmas cards. 




*Squatting (we need to define squatting otherwise people might not know what we mean by it).

 **We ought to make it clear that by gay people we mean chieftly gay men. There were one or 
two lesbians involved who stayed for a while.


----------



## editor (Mar 29, 2010)

Ian cheers for the info: do you want the full article in the Brixton history part of this site? Be happy to oblige.


----------



## Ian Townson (Mar 29, 2010)

*Brixton gay community*

Yes, that will be fine. I am trying to copy and paste a few photos but without success so far.

Many thanks,

Ian Townson


----------



## ska invita (Mar 29, 2010)

felixalvarez said:


> My name is Felix Alvarez[...]
> 
> One of the other problems that raised its head was the attempt by political ideologues external to the Centre attempting to 'infiltrate' the activism and energy of Centre members. One such group I remember well was the International Marxist Group (IMG) who advocated Marxist revolution and advocated an IMG-style approach to social campaigning.


 does it never end?


----------



## el-ahrairah (Mar 29, 2010)

That's some fascinating stuff there Ian, cheers


----------



## Gramsci (Apr 5, 2010)

editor said:


> Ian cheers for the info: do you want the full article in the Brixton history part of this site? Be happy to oblige.




That would be excellant idea. 

Also someone from Lambeth archives has got in touch with me about squatting and short life history.

He would be interested I think in anyone with memories or photos etc that can be deposited in the Minet street archives.


----------



## stethoscope (Apr 5, 2010)

Ian Townson said:


> Yes, that will be fine. I am trying to copy and paste a few photos but without success so far.



You need to use the attach (paperclip) icon when you write a post, Ian.

Either that, I'm sure Ed will have an email address you can send them too, or I'm happy to put them on my flickr account temporarily if that helps you in getting them to Ed?


----------



## Ian Townson (Apr 7, 2010)

*Brixton Faeries*

Dear Everyone,

A photo attached that can be included with the main stuff on the Brixton Gay Community Group in the 1970s.


----------



## Ian Townson (Apr 7, 2010)

*Brixton Gay Community in the 1970s*

I seem to have exceeded the byte limit for uploading hence no pictures.

Sorry.


----------



## Crispy (Apr 7, 2010)

Use www.imageshack.us to host the pictures, the site gives you some code you can paste into forums


----------



## Roadkill (Apr 12, 2010)

This thread is fascinating.


----------



## dboy87 (Dec 16, 2010)

hey all,
Iain & Felix this history you both so elequantly describe is amazing, funny, moving and makes me proud of what i am today. Im currently doing a masters degree on queer commodities and its effects on gay culture and would love any visual texts you have if you wouldnt mind. thank you so much for your time and memories, so wish i could of been there but i wasnt even twich in my dads pants back then.


----------



## dboy87 (Dec 16, 2010)

please feel free to email me or ill be more than happy to email you.
danielbrooke.87@gmail.com or my research centre which is d.brooke.uel.ac.uk


----------



## Tolpuddle (Dec 17, 2010)

sounds like we're going upmarket here as we have our own research centre...


----------



## Dan U (Dec 17, 2010)

Threads like this are exactly why i keep posting on Urban 

Great stuff all


----------



## boohoo (Dec 20, 2010)

I saw a book in the Tate which had a section on the 70s Brixton gay scene.... bloody can't remember what it was called though...


----------



## boohoo (Dec 20, 2010)

Found the book.... 

goodbye to london


----------



## Gramsci (Dec 23, 2010)

This looks like an interesting book.

Notice its edited by Astrid Proll ex member of German "Red Army Faction"


----------



## ats (Dec 23, 2010)

I was living in a squat in Railton  Road in 1973, and knew quite a lot of the people mentioned by Felix through the local squatting scene.  I was in a men's group which Gary de Vere, Colm and Alistair Kerr plus a number of straight men, me included. 

I can attest to what Felix says about paedophiles trying to present it as a sexual liberation/child freedom issue.  That was quite a strong trend at the time, with a lot of articles in Peace News, driven by one of the editors.

Gay Switchboard started in an office above a former Chemists on Railton Road, where the ground floor was squatted by People's News Service, a radical news co-operative (my own reason for being in south London).  (Or maybe it started from the Community Centre and it was only when it moved into that office that I became aware of it.  That's perfectly possible.  Or perhaps it grew from something more informal and that's when they started using the name.  You need someone more closely involved to answer that.)

It should not be assumed that all the people named lived in the set of squats named.  Gary de Vere, for example, lived in Appach Road.

'Nighthawks ', the film mentioned, was directed by Ron Peck of Four Corner Films.  See: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0077993/


----------



## Gramsci (Dec 24, 2010)

dboy87 said:


> hey all,
> Iain & Felix this history you both so elequantly describe is amazing, funny, moving and makes me proud of what i am today. Im currently doing a masters degree on queer commodities and its effects on gay culture and would love any visual texts you have if you wouldnt mind. thank you so much for your time and memories, so wish i could of been there but i wasnt even twich in my dads pants back then.



Squatting the real story contains a lot of photos and first hand info on squatting and the politics of the time. It does not contain much on gay culture but is good background reading. It contains an interesting section by Pat Moran on the sexual and anti consumerist communal politics of squatting of that era.

Its out of print but available on Amazon at a price. Got mine courtesy of Bookmongers.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Squatting-Real-Story-Nick-Wates/dp/toc/0950725900


----------



## William of Walworth (Dec 25, 2010)

That book is near-impossible to get hold of at any kind of half way reasonable price, and has been for well over twenty years, search as I might, and *did*. 

You were very lucky Gramsci, when did you fnd your copy?

Luckily. most of that ultra rare book has been scanned and uploaded onto these pages of squatter.org.uk


----------



## Gramsci (Dec 25, 2010)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/teddave/3092063537/

Bookmongers second hand bookshop in CHL run by Patrick. He kept it for me as he knows I collect stuff on history of Short Life.

Merry Christmas William


----------



## tufty79 (Jan 6, 2011)

not quite brixton faeries, but i'm trying to find out about lgbt history in southwark - people, places, events etc - if anyone has any info, please get in touch? (sorry if that sounds a bit scrappy, but i thought this might be a good starting point)

thanks in advance  x


----------



## Gramsci (Jan 6, 2011)

most well known would be Derek Jarman who lived in warehouse by Thames.

http://www.london-se1.co.uk/forum/read/1/11556

He used the warehouse for some of his films. I did meet someone who knew him then u remembers it as a place lots of people used to meet.

Its now converted to swanky flats


----------



## Puddy_Tat (Jan 6, 2011)

kitty_kitty said:


> i'm trying to find out about lgbt history in southwark



This website (London based, not specific to Southwark) might be worth a look - see the "our pink history" section towards the bottom right.  Not a huge amount of Southwark content from a quick glance, though.


----------



## brixtonscot (Jan 7, 2011)

kitty_kitty said:


> not quite brixton faeries, but i'm trying to find out about lgbt history in southwark - people, places, events etc - if anyone has any info, please get in touch? (sorry if that sounds a bit scrappy, but i thought this might be a good starting point)
> 
> thanks in advance  x



I'm fairly sure Jimmy Somerville and some of those around Bronski Beat / Framed Youth lived ( squatted ? ) in flats around Aylesbury estate in early    80's


----------



## tufty79 (Jan 7, 2011)

thank you gramsci, puddy_tat and brixtonscot - very much appreciated!


----------



## brixtonscot (Jan 7, 2011)

brixtonscot said:


> I'm fairly sure Jimmy Somerville and some of those around Bronski Beat / Framed Youth lived ( squatted ? ) in flats around Aylesbury estate in early    80's



From Steve Bronski....also Brixton connection

Jimmy and Connie flitted from Jills flat and shared an apartment on a high rise housing estate near the Oval, Camberwell New Road, south west London. Shortly afterwards Larry and Steve also moved to a separate flat on the same estate. All were squatting. Jimmy and Connie applied for and received a council tenancy for their apartment whilst Larry and Steve were eventually evicted from theirs. Just before the eviction order was enforced, Jimmy and Connie's friends arranged a political demonstration march at Peckham Town Hall at which hundreds of people demonstrated on behalf of Larry and Steve's impending loss of their home. At the hearing, the judge ruled against the pair and issued a warrant for them to vacate the premises. After the imposed eviction, a lovely friend, Amanda Barnes, kindly offered Larry and Steve her only spare room in her flat to store the music equipment and flat contents. 
http://www.jimmysomerville.net/historie/historie_bronski_beat/historie_bronski_beat_beginn_e.htm


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## Gramsci (Jan 7, 2011)

kitty_kitty said:


> thank you gramsci, puddy_tat and brixtonscot - very much appreciated!


 
thanks i was trying to remember who i talked to. she curated some rare films done by some of those around at the same time as Jarman. From what she said there was Gay alternative art scene in London. Its hard to think of it now but being Gay much more difficult then. Many came to London to live in " alternative" life which included politics , sexuality and feminism. Now being Gay is more accepted than it was then. After all people like Jarman were born when it was still illegal.

For a critique of how Gay culture has become consumerist rather than part of a radical challenge that it promised in the 70s see Peter Tatchell.

Not an analysis i necessarily agree with. As a minority gets accepted into the mainstream then its not surprising to see , for example , Gay people who politics are otherwise inclined to the right ( Tory party or New Labour)


----------



## stethoscope (Jan 8, 2011)

Dan U said:


> Threads like this are exactly why i keep posting on Urban
> 
> Great stuff all


 
This - really interesting reading.


----------



## Puddy_Tat (Jan 11, 2011)

Just found Untold London website (as ever while looking for something completely different) - it includes a LGBT section - here

may be worth a look.


----------



## tufty79 (Jan 14, 2011)

massive cheers for this  (sorry i didn't see it sooner!)


----------



## Ian Townson (Jan 24, 2011)

*Goodbye to London and Railton Road*

I visited the exhibition in Berlin on 'Goodbye to London' and met Astrid Proll, Peter Cross and Boris von Brauchnitz, the joint curators. The book is based on this exhibition and deals with squatting, feminist and socialist art collectives, Grunwick and a lot of information on Brixton Gays which I supplied to the Hall-Carpenter Archive for use. It's an excellent exhibition and hopefully, after a trip to Dresden, it will come to London. I think there are plans to do this.

I never was involved in the Mens Group in Brixton but I do remember Gary de Vere, Colm Clifford and Alistair Kerr attending it. All three unfortunately died of  the AIDS virus. I think it might have been Icebreakers, a radical gay counselling group, that was in the room above the Peoples' News Service at 119 Railton Road. It may also have housed Gay Switchboard.

Aaah...the memories

Ian Townson


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## Gramsci (Jan 25, 2011)

http://www.hatjecantz.de/controller.php?cmd=detail&titzif=00002739&lang=en

There are a few photos from the book here.

I must get this at some point.

The Afro Carribean history of Brixton is acknowledged but not this Gay history of Brixton and South London


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## brixtonscot (Jan 26, 2011)

editor said:


> Thanks for the update. I've been meaning to add this to the Brixton history part of the site for ages.



Has it been added to Brixton history yet ?
Does anybody know why this thread has *troll* icon ( I think ? ) on subject title ?


----------



## editor (Jan 26, 2011)

brixtonscot said:


> Has it been added to Brixton history yet ?
> Does anybody know why this thread has *troll* icon ( I think ? ) on subject title ?


There's only a link on the Brixton section, but that's due a massive redesign soon...


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## Puddy_Tat (Jan 31, 2011)

Just a thought - in case you hadn't noticed, February is LGBT History Month - website here

There is a mention on Lambeth's website, but it sends you to the above link.


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## brixtonscot (Feb 16, 2011)

There's a showing of film Strip Jack Naked , which has been referred to on this thread Fri 25 Feb 11.30pm Rio Cinema , folowed with Q&A with Terry Stewart and director Ron Peck.

Outeast Gay History Month Screening
NIGHTHAWKS II: STRIP JACK NAKED (18) 11.30pm
(UK 1991. dir. Ron Peck) 91m.
Nick Bolton, John Brown, John Diamon.
NIGHTHAWKS II: STRIP JACK NAKED puts Ron Peck's original 1978 groundbreaking landmark gay movie NIGHTHAWKS into a 1991 historical and personal context as the director reflects on his own personal journey from closeted suburban teen to politically radicalised filmmaker. The result is one of the most honest and abrasive of film autobiographies. Inevitably, the film reflects the society and attitudes of the time and although laws and policy may have changed in the last twenty years, homophobia itself has clearly not gone away and remains an issue for us all.
+ Q&A with Ron Peck
£7.50


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## cosmic malcolm (Feb 20, 2011)

*The love that you need can never be found at home.*



brixtonscot said:


> I'm fairly sure Jimmy Somerville and some of those around Bronski Beat / Framed Youth lived ( squatted ? ) in flats around Aylesbury estate in early    80's


Steve Bronski squatted in St George's residences behind the gay center on Railton road. I think this was the late 70's.
St George's then was mostly squatted by working class none political gays bisexuals smack heads rent boys hippy's punks and some very none homophobic straits/hets. 
I suppose looking back it was one of the most interesting places I have lived in.   
And thus this was another chapter in the South London gay liberation front. 
And that is one of the reasons I love dear old Brixton town.


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## mwareing1 (Feb 21, 2011)

Ian Townson said:


> I seem to have exceeded the byte limit for uploading hence no pictures.
> 
> Sorry.


 
Ian,

Sorry to trouble you, but did you get to post those pics. Would be great to see. Such an interesting read. Many thanks.


----------



## Ian Townson (Mar 20, 2011)

Hi there mwareing1,

I still find it impossible to upload images onto this site. The only thing I can think of is to send stuff to someone's personal email address and ask them to do it. I've got loads of interesting stuff.

Ian


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## Dan U (Mar 21, 2011)

Hi Ian,

have you tried uploading them to somewhere like Flickr? and then linking to the posts on here?
http://www.flickr.com/ 
or imageshack

http://imageshack.us/


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## editor (Mar 21, 2011)

Ian Townson said:


> Hi there mwareing1,
> 
> I still find it impossible to upload images onto this site. The only thing I can think of is to send stuff to someone's personal email address and ask them to do it. I've got loads of interesting stuff.
> 
> Ian


You can email them to me if you like and I can post them up here.

urban75 - at - gmail dot com


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## mwareing1 (Mar 21, 2011)

I went to Railton Road at the weekend.....I didnt see any gardens knocked together. Are they at the back of the properties. Where are they?


----------



## peterkro (Mar 21, 2011)

They are between the houses on Railton and Mayall roads.


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## Ian Townson (Mar 25, 2011)

Roughly there were gay squats, before they became Brixton Housing Coop flats, from 153-159 Railton Road with the others running almost parallel from 146-152 Mayall Road. The shared garden is in between them. I will be posting photos soon via Urban75 that show this.

Ian


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## editor (Mar 25, 2011)

I've had loads of pics sent to me now - I'll try and sort them out next week.


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## Ian Townson (Jun 15, 2011)

Hiya,

How's it going with the Brixton gay community photos?


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## editor (Jun 15, 2011)

Ian Townson said:


> Hiya,
> 
> How's it going with the Brixton gay community photos?


'Umble apologies. It's in my rather long queue of things to do.


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## mwareing1 (Jun 18, 2011)

Some times you can queue jump ;-)


----------



## Mrs Magpie (Jun 19, 2011)

*votes for a bit of queue jumping because it's a neglected area of Brixton's rich history*


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## stethoscope (Jun 19, 2011)

Definitely, really looking forward to seeing more.


----------



## eroom (Jun 20, 2011)

This is such a fascinating thread - I've lived on Railton Road for a decade - and around Brixton for twice that long: I knew bits and pieces of its radical history but the stories on here are extraordinary. Many thanks to all who have contributed.

Incidently if you have a little peer over the wall between the health centre and the church you can still see the legacy of the communal garden space.

(Apologies to any residents who saw me doing that over the weekend: I wasn't casing...)


----------



## editor (Jul 1, 2011)

I'm now working through the photos and hope to get them published in the next week. It's a fascinating collection. 

Here's a taster:


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## Puddy_Tat (Jul 1, 2011)

i take it the above is not a meeting of the gay police association...


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## TomRob (Jul 3, 2011)

*Stockwell Surrey Halls, 1973*

My first contact with South London GLF was at a dance they put on at Surrey Halls in Stockwell on Saturday October 20th, 1973. They advertised it in Gay News, which you could buy from the newsstand outside Clapham Common Station. I was aged 23 and new to London and living in digs in Park Lane, SW4 at the time and when I plucked up the courage to pay the entrance fee and go upstairs it was a lifechanging experience. 

It was just like all the rural village hall discos I'd known as a teenager: loads of shy people sitting round the outside of the room in the semi-dark and somebody playing records. The crucial difference was that men were dancing with men and women were dancing with women. For the first time ever in that innocent non-predatory environment it was OK to just to go up to a man you fancied and ask if he fancied a dance... it may sound banal nowadays, but back then it was a huge liberation. For me, dancing had been one of those things from schooldays - like football - that I'd never really "got" the point of. That night, thanks to South London GLF, the penny dropped. 

Afterwards on the way out I bought a "Come Out" badge, a GLF badge and a copy of "With Downcast Gays - Aspects of Homosexual Self-Oppression" by Andrew Hodges and David Hutter. It completely changed the way I thought about queer sexuality - you can still read it online *here*... 

I went to the Gay Community Centre in Railton Road a number of times and knew people like Julian Hows, Malcolm Greatbanks, Sue Wakeling, Bill Thorneycroft, Lloyd Vanata, Alistair Kerr and John Lloyd. It's astonishing that nobody's written a full documented account of that vibrant, extraordinary Railton Road community before now - but gratifying to see that people are willing to piece its history together bit by bit on this forum. 

My wife (whom I met at a Gay Switchboard benefit in 1982) also hung out with the South London gay community later in the 70s and knew many of the same people - she was more involved with the theatre crowd who used to work and hang out at Oval House. Her name is Sue Brearley if that rings any bells for anyone?


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## Ian Townson (Jul 3, 2011)

*Brixton gay community*

Nope. Definitely not the Gay Police Association. These coppers are guarding the Gay Community Centre at 78 Railton Road with bailiffs in toe during the eviction proceedings in April or May 1976. Lambeth Council had compulsorily purchased the building from a private solicitor and nursing agency for redevelopment. They subsequtnely flattened it along with 80 Railton Road (one of the two womens' centres on the road) and replaced it with paving stones and shrubs to prettify the entrance to St George's Residences. They still haven't put up a pink plaque where the Centre used to stand.


----------



## Gramsci (Jul 10, 2011)

Great photos


----------



## editor (Jul 10, 2011)

There's so much info to post up, I'm going to turn it into a 3-4 page mini feature. 
Soon!


----------



## cosmic malcolm (Jul 20, 2011)

*The queerest of the queer.*



TomRob said:


> Sue Brearley if that rings any bells for anyone?


Hi TomRob.
Did Sue speak out about her Bisexuality at the Gay Center like I did, and did she have a restaurant type place in Clapham Common.


----------



## Puddy_Tat (Jul 20, 2011)

As ever, while looking for something else, I find that the 56a Info Shop in Walworth has an archive, which includes some stuff (no idea how much - this is just a subject list) on the radical faeries.


----------



## Mrs Magpie (Jul 20, 2011)

TomRob said:


> Her name is Sue Brearley if that rings any bells for anyone?


It does indeed. I used to work for the same organisation and she lived round the corner from me. I remember her great little dog with the goggles and flying helmet that went to work with her on the motorbike.


----------



## Ian Townson (Jul 25, 2011)

*cosmic Malcolm*

No, this was Sue Wakeling and she had a cafe/restaurant on Wandsworth Common. I used to work there.


----------



## stethoscope (Sep 5, 2011)

You done this yet Ed?!!


----------



## editor (Sep 5, 2011)

stephj said:


> You done this yet Ed?!!


I've processed the images (there's a lot of them) but it's going to take a bit longer.


----------



## stethoscope (Sep 5, 2011)

Cool, just checking


----------



## cosmic malcolm (Oct 31, 2011)

Ian Townson said:


> *cosmic Malcolm*
> 
> No, this was Sue Wakeling and she had a cafe/restaurant on Wandsworth Common. I used to work there.


Cheers Ian and thanks for your contribution to this thread.


----------



## editor (Oct 31, 2011)

I haven't forgotten about this - it's just that I'm currently working on another new Brixton project that needs to get going first...


----------



## editor (Feb 14, 2012)

Finally!
*The Brixton Fairies and the South London Gay Community Centre, Brixton 1974-6*
http://www.urban75.org/blog/the-bri...h-london-gay-community-centre-brixton-1974-6/


----------



## stethoscope (Feb 14, 2012)

editor said:


> Finally!
> *The Brixton Fairies and the South London Gay Community Centre, Brixton 1974-6*
> http://www.urban75.org/blog/the-bri...h-london-gay-community-centre-brixton-1974-6/



Ace Ed! Good work 

(like the new look/scheme on the blog too)


----------



## editor (Feb 14, 2012)

stephj said:


> Ace Ed! Good work
> 
> (like the new look/scheme on the blog too)


Thanks. I went though a zillion Wordpress themes before finding one that did what I wanted!


----------



## Ian Townson (Feb 14, 2012)

Thanks Mike. Given all the photos and text I threw in your direction you have done a fantastic job. Well done. I'm sure it will raise a lot of interest and contribute to a history of Brixton in revealing what would otherwise have been a 'hidden' aspect if it had not been for this site and our efforts. 

Unfortunately the text I supplied is a bit threadbare. It was designed to fit in with the photographs and illustrations. Hopefully we will get people contributing to fill in the gaps and correct any errors on my part.

One point about attribution. All the material I sent to you was originally in my possession. However I deposited it at the Hall-Carpenter Archive based at the LSE. I thought I would give them a plug. 

I realise you have been very busy and it has taken you quite some time to put this together but one again thanks for your Herculean efforts. 

Ian Townson


----------



## Gramsci (Feb 15, 2012)

editor said:


> Finally!
> *The Brixton Fairies and the South London Gay Community Centre, Brixton 1974-6*
> http://www.urban75.org/blog/the-bri...h-london-gay-community-centre-brixton-1974-6/


 
This is an excellent piece of work Ed.


----------



## dogDBC (Feb 16, 2012)

Fantastic stuff.


----------



## tim (Feb 16, 2012)

Kid_Eternity said:


> This is fucking mental! That thread is over three years old!


 
It's now about to celebrate its 8th birthday and it's managed to lure Tom Robinson into posting, a very impressive thread. The Editor really is the thinking man's Robert Elms


----------



## dogDBC (Feb 16, 2012)

Tom Robinson posted on this thread?  Really? 

By heck.


----------



## dogDBC (Feb 16, 2012)

_(Five minutes later...)_

Ah, I see. 

I was just reading the posts.

_(Waves)_


----------



## Ivano Darra (Feb 22, 2012)

Hello 
Well done to the editor for the great article first of all

We are a couple of gay film-makers who live in the Brixton area and we would like to do a documentary about this amazing story!

We have friends who currently live in the community who have given us their account about the community, but we found this forum a great resource

At the moment we are writing a proposal in order to raise funding and we would like to include already a list of possible interviewees, so we are asking to all those who have been there (especially in the early days) to get in touch if they would be willing to participate
Cheers, 

Ivano 
ivano.darra@yahoo.com


----------



## Ivano Darra (Feb 23, 2012)

should have said well tone to Ian Townson too for the article!


----------



## kiki kaur (Mar 12, 2012)

ats said:


> I was living in a squat in Railton Road in 1973, and knew quite a lot of the people mentioned by Felix through the local squatting scene. I was in a men's group which Gary de Vere, Colm and Alistair Kerr plus a number of straight men, me included.
> 
> I can attest to what Felix says about paedophiles trying to present it as a sexual liberation/child freedom issue. That was quite a strong trend at the time, with a lot of articles in Peace News, driven by one of the editors.
> 
> ...


 
Hi i'm writing a feature on the Brixton Fairies and would love if you would be willing to speak to me about your first hand experiences since I see you were part of the group.



Would really appreciate if you could be of some help.

Thanks
Kiki


----------



## editor (Mar 12, 2012)

kiki kaur said:


> Hi i'm writing a feature on the Brixton Fairies and would love if you would be willing to speak to me about your first hand experiences since I see you were part of the group.


I think you should say who you're writing the feature for!


----------



## editor (Mar 12, 2012)

Can I just tell you that as a long term Brixtonite, I am utterly fed up seeing articles that always seem to frame their content in relation to the riots (that happened a long, long time ago) or other negative aspects of the area. I don't think it's something that plays upon the minds of its residents, yet it seems to be trotted out every time Brixton is mentioned in the press.


----------



## editor (Mar 12, 2012)

You mentioned the "stigma habitually glued to the area" in your opening paragraph. That's the sort of first-line negative references that I find annoying.


----------



## boohoo (Mar 12, 2012)

kiki kaur said:


> I'm not writing a piece on the riots? I am wanting to write one on the Brixton Fairies, as I think it will be a really interesting topic to write about. So I would really appreciate if anyone can be of any help.
> 
> Thanks


 
I think it's the use of the word stigma or looking at the negative image that Brixton has. 
Brixton is littered with tons of other interesting histories - whether to do with shopping(Electric Avenue's street lighting and Bon Marche) or the squat scene (From Brixton Fairies to Cooltan - read some Martin Millar novels!) or the theatre folk who lived in the area or the arrival of the West Indian Community.... and did I mention murals...


----------



## editor (Mar 12, 2012)

kiki kaur said:


> Ah yes, I said I want to eradicate that stigma.


But by referring to it in your opening paragraph, you're actually perpetuating it.

Not sure how your essay is going to "eradicate" anything either, btw.


----------



## ddraig (Mar 12, 2012)

it is not rude at all!

by mentioning the 'stigma', you are drawing peoples attention to it when there is no need.
what stigma btw?


----------



## Mrs Magpie (Mar 12, 2012)

I don't think he's being rude. I think you're being precious and over-sensitive though...oh the touchiness of youth who think they know everything and get all snippy when someone doesn't totally lap up their every utterance.....


----------



## boohoo (Mar 12, 2012)

kiki kaur said:


> Would really appreciate if you would stop being so rude, if you read the rest of the post it stated how the magazine was going to
> capture the eccentricity, charm, personality, uniqueness and tragedy that Brixton inhibits. I really dont see how this would serve to perpetuate the stigma. Also it's not an essay I am writing. And for the record, I live in Brixton too...I will look elsewhere for my information since you seem so unwilling to be of any help whatsoever.​


 
I think it's quite hard when people look at Brixton not to mention the riots because if there wasn't riots here, you might as well write about anywhere (if that makes sense). It's the wanting to say Brixton's alright even if they did riot 30 years ago. Look Brixton has culture and other stuff. It would be nice to ignore the riots and write about Brixton's heritage without it all revolving around the riots or crimes, past or current or problems that have arisen or were there before the riots. However, many would say to ignore it, is missing out something that impacts the area and makes it what it is.


----------



## editor (Mar 12, 2012)

kiki kaur said:


> Would really appreciate if you would stop being so rude, if you read the rest of the post it stated how the magazine was going to
> capture the eccentricity, charm, personality, uniqueness and tragedy that Brixton inhibits. I really dont see how this would serve to perpetuate the stigma. Also it's not an essay I am writing. And for the record, I live in Brixton too...I will look elsewhere for my information since you seem so unwilling to be of any help whatsoever.​


If you were actually _listenin_g you'd realise that I've been very helpful indeed. I'm helping you to avoid writing really dull, negative clichés about your subject matter.


----------



## Mrs Magpie (Mar 12, 2012)

kiki kaur said:


> Hi i'm writing a feature on the Brixton Fairies and would love if you would be willing to speak to me about your first hand experiences since I see you were part of the group.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Actually you didn't read his post properly. He didn't say that at all. Read it again.


----------



## ddraig (Mar 12, 2012)

indeed, "why can't everyone be as excited and vibrant!!!!"
 e2a - to Mrs M post 131
kk - if you were the editor or moderator, would you appreciate someone joining up to get help with their homework/project? and then calling them rude when they point out some advice after reading your rationale?


----------



## Mrs Magpie (Mar 12, 2012)

kiki kaur said:


> I never said anything about Riots, you assumed? I never said i was going to write about anything negative so you again assumed I was going to write about cliches, all I stated as one of my features was The Brixton Fairies....the aim of the magazine is for it to be a celebration of Brixton. So it seems you misread what I had written and quickly became defensive.


Well, you _*completely*_ misread ats's post. So pot, kettle, sooty arse


----------



## editor (Oct 8, 2013)

I've just added a new piece related to the Brixton Fairies - the fabulous tale of Julian How's Underground-boss infuriating skirt!







http://www.brixtonbuzz.com/2013/10/...ality-and-julian-hows-london-transport-skirt/


----------



## brixtonscot (Mar 22, 2014)

Film on Brixton Faeries now available online
http://laundrettefilms.wordpress.com/


----------



## CH1 (Mar 22, 2014)

brixtonscot said:


> Film on Brixton Faeries now available online
> http://laundrettefilms.wordpress.com/


Interesting film - and great to see one of the interviewees, who worked at Decca when I did (1977-78). Nice to know he's still around.


----------



## Puddy_Tat (Oct 15, 2014)

thread bump 

noticed in tame out that there's a screening of the film at the cinema museum (kennington / elephant-ish) this Sunday (19.10.14)

free, but pre-booking required

more here


----------



## editor (Oct 15, 2014)

Puddy_Tat said:


> thread bump
> 
> noticed in tame out that there's a screening of the film at the cinema museum (kennington / elephant-ish) this Sunday (19.10.14)
> 
> ...


If you can't make it, you can watch it online: http://www.brixtonbuzz.com/2014/03/...airies-squat-community-made-available-online/

I saw it at the fabulous Made Possible By Squatting exhibition last year.


----------



## RoseGibbs (Jan 7, 2016)

juliandrag said:


> yes the history of :
> faerie land in brixton in the 70 and beyonds needs recording - including
> Tom Robinson singing at Gay Dances at the Town Hall
> The squatted gay cente in Railton Road
> ...




Dera Julian, I am currently doing some research on the Gay Liberation Front and am interested in the community activities and street theatre actions that were part of the gay liberation movement. I would love to have the chance to speak with you, if you had the time. Or in fact as well, if you were able to put me in touch with other people who were involved, that would be fantastic. I look forward to hearing from you. with best wishes Rose


----------



## RoseGibbs (Jan 7, 2016)

Dear Tom,

I am currently doing some research on the Gay Liberation Front in London and would love to know more about your experiences in it? I wondered if it might be possible for me to speak with you some how.

I look forward to hearing from you 

best Rose 





TomRob said:


> *Stockwell Surrey Halls, 1973*
> 
> My first contact with South London GLF was at a dance they put on at Surrey Halls in Stockwell on Saturday October 20th, 1973. They advertised it in Gay News, which you could buy from the newsstand outside Clapham Common Station. I was aged 23 and new to London and living in digs in Park Lane, SW4 at the time and when I plucked up the courage to pay the entrance fee and go upstairs it was a lifechanging experience.
> 
> ...


----------



## RoseGibbs (Jan 7, 2016)

Ian Townson said:


> *Goodbye to London and Railton Road*
> 
> I visited the exhibition in Berlin on 'Goodbye to London' and met Astrid Proll, Peter Cross and Boris von Brauchnitz, the joint curators. The book is based on this exhibition and deals with squatting, feminist and socialist art collectives, Grunwick and a lot of information on Brixton Gays which I supplied to the Hall-Carpenter Archive for use. It's an excellent exhibition and hopefully, after a trip to Dresden, it will come to London. I think there are plans to do this.
> 
> ...




Dear Ian, I am currently doing some research into the gay liberation movement of the 70s, and am specifically interested in the use of street theatre. I would love to come and talk with you about your involvement with the Brixton Faeries. I am sure you must be very busy, but it would be great to hear about it. If you have other suggestions of people who were involved and would be keen to share the history with me I would be very grateful. I look forward to hearing from you. With best wishes Rose


----------



## Shippou-Sensei (Apr 4, 2019)

Just obtained  this photo of the Brixton Faeries (featuring Shippou-Chichiue)


----------



## Shippou-Sensei (Apr 5, 2019)

It was his funeral today. The photo was very much admired and the Faeries fondly remembered.


----------



## Gramsci (Apr 5, 2019)

Shippou-Sensei said:


> Just obtained  this photo of the Brixton Faeries (featuring Shippou-Chichiue)
> 
> View attachment 166642



Great photo. Do you know the year it was taken? 

Looks like Railton road?


----------



## Shippou-Sensei (Apr 5, 2019)

I don't know the year at the moment I will check later.  also yes  as far as I am aware that is railton road


----------



## CH1 (Apr 6, 2019)

Shippou-Sensei said:


> I don't know the year at the moment I will check later.  also yes  as far as I am aware that is railton road


Gramsci

I would have thought this was 1970s or early 1980s - but difficult to be sure. The van seems really antique. Things in Railton Road have changed a lot physically due to riot damage clearance, shop fronts being removed for flat conversions and other things.

I think it possible that the scene is outside 151 Railton Road, one of a number houses in Railton Road that were part of the Brixton Housing Co-op.

The Sitexed building next door in this Google maps shot suggests the change from terraced house with front steps to the new-build health centre. I'm not totally sure though as I cannot see any decorative balls (finials) in the original picture (one of the fairies is standing in front).

In any event in case anyone is interested Mr Ian Towson a local historian with a particular interest and expertise in Queer Brixton will be doing a walk covering the area. This will be on April 23rd at 12.45 pm (the Queen's birthday?). I have attached his flyer, saved down as a pdf - there are some interesting historical pictures.

As a taster here is Ian Townson's picture of the 121 Anarchist Collective After (eviction) party, which he dates to 1999.


----------



## Puddy_Tat (Apr 6, 2019)

CH1 said:


> The van seems really antique.



it's a 1958 Austin 101 / J type van (the Austin version was a 'badge engineered' Morris) - according to DVLA info, it's currently on 'SORN' so still out there somewhere


----------



## Dominic Bilton (May 9, 2019)

Hello! 

I'm doing a project for University about Pearl Alcocks Shabeen and the memories of people that went into it!

Reading the stories and the history of queer Brixton in the 70's, I feel like i really missed out on something really amazing both socially in the squats and politically in the activism. 

I don't know much about Pearl, or even have a picture of the Shabeen or her as a person, so if anyone does and would like to share with me, I would be really really grateful I would love to hear your stories of going down there!

My email is:

dominic.bilton@manchester.ac.uk or if you want to share with me here, I would be really grateful.

Dominic


----------



## friendofdorothy (May 12, 2019)

Dominic Bilton said:


> Hello!
> 
> I'm doing a project for University about Pearl Alcocks Shabeen and the memories of people that went into it!
> 
> ...


share with us what you know. How have you heard about Pearls Shabeen? 

Ian Townson pointed it out on his tour and regaled us with a few good tales about Pearl.


----------



## Ian Townson (Mar 2, 2020)

Ian Townson said:


> *Brixton gay community*
> 
> Nope. Definitely not the Gay Police Association. These coppers are guarding the Gay Community Centre at 78 Railton Road with bailiffs in toe during the eviction proceedings in April or May 1976. Lambeth Council had compulsorily purchased the building from a private solicitor and nursing agency for redevelopment. They subsequtnely flattened it along with 80 Railton Road (one of the two womens' centres on the road) and replaced it with paving stones and shrubs to prettify the entrance to St George's Residences. They still haven't put up a pink plaque where the Centre used to stand.


Sorry not the gaycentre but the womens centre next door at 80 Railton Road.


----------



## Ian Townson (Mar 3, 2020)

I haven't visited this site for many years but I think Carl Hill posted on this thread in reponse to my piece about the Brixton Gay Community. He included a photo of Sue Wakeling and Malcolm Greatbanks. I can't seem to find his contribution. I mentioned Michael Mason in my Queer Tour of Brixton as one of the people who stood in Brixton's 1974 local elections as a Gay Liberation candidate and I think Carl was once his partner. Just to let him know and everyone else that I will be conducting my next tour on 19th March (see link below).









						'Queers Make History'  a guided tour of Brixton Tickets - London - OutSavvy
					

Queer Tour of Brixton | Herne Hill Overground Station | Sunday 24th October 2021 A guided walking tour, conducted by Ian Townson, concentrating on the radical gay community and gay squats in Brixton from the mid 1970s to 1981, the year of the Brixton uprising.Ian Townson squatted in Brixton in...




					www.outsavvy.com


----------



## CH1 (Mar 3, 2020)

Ian Townson said:


> I haven't visited this site for many years but I think Carl Hill posted on this thread in reponse to my piece about the Brixton Gay Community. He included a photo of Sue Wakeling and Malcolm Greatbanks. I can't seem to find his contribution. I mentioned Michael Mason in my Queer Tour of Brixton as one of the people who stood in Brixton's 1974 local elections as a Gay Liberation candidate and I think Carl was once his partner. Just to let him know and everyone else that I will be conducting my next tour on 19th March (see link below).
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I forget whether you linger outside 1t51 Railton Rioad - where there is a gold plaque commemorating Rotimi Fani-Kayode, who lived there with partner and artisitic collaborator Alex Hirst in the late 1980s.
I was trying to find out more. Some of his work is on show at an exhibition called Masculinities at the Barbican.
I attach the Barbican's press release which descirbes the scope of the exhibition. Exhibition ends May 17th, but is not free.


----------



## editor (Oct 6, 2020)

Bit of history here 
















						Brixton’s radical past: when lesbians were barred from the Brady’s/Railway Hotel pub in the 1970s
					

In the late 1970s, a protest and picket took place outside Brady’s (the Railway Hotel) in Atlantic Road, Brixton, after the manager decided to ban lesbians from the premises.



					www.brixtonbuzz.com


----------



## editor (Dec 22, 2020)

Ian Townson said:


> I haven't visited this site for many years but I think Carl Hill posted on this thread in reponse to my piece about the Brixton Gay Community. He included a photo of Sue Wakeling and Malcolm Greatbanks. I can't seem to find his contribution. I mentioned Michael Mason in my Queer Tour of Brixton as one of the people who stood in Brixton's 1974 local elections as a Gay Liberation candidate and I think Carl was once his partner. Just to let him know and everyone else that I will be conducting my next tour on 19th March (see link below).
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Hope you don't mind me reproducing your Facebook post here:





> In 1975 the South London Gay Community Centre applied to Lambeth's right wing Labour council for a small grant to cover rates, rent and running costs. It was refused and one of the main people opposing the grant was Mrs. Old joint proprietor of the George public house. Having failed to ban black people she succeeded in banning gay people from drinking at her establishment.
> As a result of the grant refusal we plastered this poster over different parts of Lambeth. No prizes for guessing its meaning.


----------



## Sue (Dec 22, 2020)

> Having failed to ban black people she succeeded in banning gay people from drinking at her establishment.



Bloody hell.


----------



## Puddy_Tat (Dec 22, 2020)

Sue said:


> Bloody hell.



and the pub got burnt down in 1981, more here


----------



## Armoone (Feb 8, 2021)

juliandrag said:


> yes the history of :
> faerie land in brixton in the 70 and beyonds needs recording - including
> Tom Robinson singing at Gay Dances at the Town Hall
> The squatted gay cente in Railton Road
> ...


----------



## Armoone (Feb 8, 2021)

mallee said:


> *I lived there 1981-1982*
> 
> 
> 
> My name is Malcolm Thorne from Australia, I lived @ 152 & 146 Mayall Road in 1981 & 1982. I have photos of meetings in the back garden & of the people there at the time; Mathew, Chris, Dirg, Steve, Ernst, Andy & Carlsberg the cat + photos of what was left of Brixton after the riots. Am happy to put photos up on facebook or elsewhere. Mathew Jones & Chris Dobney are alive & living in Australia as far as I know. I was there during the second Brixton riot & I saw the police start it. Many happy memories of the wonderful men of the Brixton Gay squat. malleescrub at internode.on.net


Hi Malcolm, my name is Angela and my brother David used to squat on 155 Railton Road I beleive. Unfortunately David is no longer with us but I was shocked and happy to find a picture of David in the documentary Brixton Fairies. It was strange as I just knew I was going to see a photo of him. David is the goodlooking boy with the curly hair. Perhaps you remember him? I would love to hear more about the squatting life and David's lifestyle. David was gay but lived with a young couple who had a toddler living with him, as I never forget visiting him when I was still at school. His friend had painted muruals on the stairways. I know he was right next door to the front line and David squatted for a lot of his life. He even squatted next door to me and my mum on People Road Kensal Rise when I was around six years old so 1974.


----------



## ddraig (Feb 8, 2021)

Armoone said:


> Hi Malcolm, my name is Angela and my brother David used to squat on 155 Railton Road I beleive. Unfortunately David is no longer with us but I was shocked and happy to find a picture of David in the documentary Brixton Fairies. It was strange as I just knew I was going to see a photo of him. David is the goodlooking boy with the curly hair. Perhaps you remember him? I would love to hear more about the squatting life and David's lifestyle. David was gay but lived with a young couple who had a toddler living with him, as I never forget visiting him when I was still at school. His friend had painted muruals on the stairways. I know he was right next door to the front line and David squatted for a lot of his life. He even squatted next door to me and my mum on People Road Kensal Rise when I was around six years old so 1974.


Hi Angela, Malcolm's post was made in 2010, hope they get an alert and are able to come back and answer


----------



## Armoone (Feb 8, 2021)

juliandrag said:


> yes the history of :
> faerie land in brixton in the 70 and beyonds needs recording - including
> Tom Robinson singing at Gay Dances at the Town Hall
> The squatted gay cente in Railton Road
> ...





editor said:


> I was chatting to a gay playwright friend of mine who was telling me all about 'The Brixton Fairies', a group of outrageous, radical gay men who lived in a set of 14 back-to-back squats around Railton Road in the 1970s.
> 
> They'd knocked all the gardens through to form a large communal space and the community was in the forefront of Gay Liberation Front activity at the time. A gay theatre group called 'The Brixton Fairies' grew out of this scene.
> 
> ...


My brother is the guy with the curly hair in the Brixton Fairies documentary did you know him? please contact me oif you did


----------



## Armoone (Feb 8, 2021)

editor said:


> Cheers for the input so far, folks.
> 
> I'm going to add a feature about Brixton's gay past in the Brixton section of this site and would be happy to include emails from anyone looking to get in touch with others.


Hi, my name is Angela and my brother David used to squat on 155 Railton Road I beleive. Unfortunately David is no longer with us but I was shocked and happy to find a picture of David in the documentary Brixton Fairies. It was strange as I just knew I was going to see a photo of him. David is the goodlooking boy with the curly hair. Perhaps you remember him? I would love to hear more about the squatting life and David's lifestyle. David was gay but lived with a young couple who had a toddler living with him, as I never forget visiting him when I was still at school. His friend had painted muruals on the stairways. I know he was right next door to the front line and David squatted for a lot of his life. He even squatted next door to me and my mum on People Road Kensal Rise when I was around six years old so 1974.


----------



## Armoone (Feb 8, 2021)

ddraig said:


> Hi Angela, Malcolm's post was made in 2010, hope they get an alert and are able to come back and answer


Thanks so do I,  I only stumbled on the video last year and this forum just now


----------



## brixtonscot (Feb 12, 2021)

Ian Townson might know


----------



## editor (Feb 12, 2021)

brixtonscot said:


> Ian Townson might know


I emailed him last week - hopefully he'll pop back in the thread.


----------



## Ian Townson (Feb 13, 2021)

editor said:


> I emailed him last week - hopefully he'll pop back in the thread.





editor said:


> I emailed him last week - hopefully he'll pop back in the thread.


Hello Angela,
Is this your brother on our left in the photograph? I know very little about him. I know he squatted and was around the Brixton Gay Community Centre quite a lot. The scraps of information I have, which may or may not be correct, is that his full name is David Fuller and he moved to France. Unfortunately he was involved, I think, in a car accident where he lost a leg. He died there but I am not sure if this was as a result of the accident. Apparently he had a drug problem. Sorry to be the bearer of sad news.

In the photograph he is partnered with John Lloyd who I am regularly in touch with. We are collaborating with others on writing a website/book on the Brixton Gay Community in the 1970s/early 80s. He may know more about David.

I hope this helps and I trust I have got the right David.

Best wishes,

Ian Townson


----------



## friendofdorothy (Feb 26, 2021)

Ex faerie appearing in this zoom on sat, he sharing his photos and talking about the squats.

*Feb 27th - LGBT Housing History Month Event* 2pm - 3:30pm

Looking to the past to inform our future. Discussion with audience Q & A.   There will be stories from the past from a former Brixton Faerie *Julian Hows,* from Stonewall Housing in '80s *Femi Otitoju, *and old lesbian *Clare Truscott*.  And hearing about present day housing issues from *Carla Ecola *Director The Outside Project, *Josh Willacy* a Trustee of Stonewall Housing and *Daniel Hibbs-Woodings  *of Tonic Housing for older lgbt people.

Zoom meeting hosted by Lambeth Libraries as part of Lambeth Links LGBT History Month. Free!

Lambeth Links - Housing


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## Puddy_Tat (Jun 19, 2021)

this thread seems the best place for this


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## Puddy_Tat (Aug 12, 2021)

and more digitising


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## ska invita (Aug 12, 2021)

since this thread has been bumped - ive been meaning to ask this, and its not exactly the right thread for it but:
i had a book once that id like to see again
it was small, size of your palm
it was about sexual liberation
iirc was published in the 1990s
....i remember it saying that it was written in a brixton squat

any ideas??
longshot i expect


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## Armoone (Dec 18, 2022)

editor said:


> I was chatting to a gay playwright friend of mine who was telling me all about 'The Brixton Fairies', a group of outrageous, radical gay men who lived in a set of 14 back-to-back squats around Railton Road in the 1970s.
> 
> They'd knocked all the gardens through to form a large communal space and the community was in the forefront of Gay Liberation Front activity at the time. A gay theatre group called 'The Brixton Fairies' grew out of this scene.
> 
> ...



My brother us in the pics and squatted on Railton Toad I'd love  to hear more about the days please armoone@hotmail.com


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## friendofdorothy (Dec 22, 2022)

Revolting Gays!


			https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.revoltinggays.com/&ved=2ahUKEwiRpNiYmo38AhWNilwKHbVNDR4QFnoECAcQAQ&usg=AOvVaw1appySJehbuC375iBZKEF9
		


Ian Townson has written this wonderful site recording the history of the squats and sharing his extensive photo collection.


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## Jesterburger (Dec 22, 2022)

What happened to the squatted properties and communal garden? Are any of the founder community still there?


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## Pickman's model (Dec 22, 2022)

ska invita said:


> since this thread has been bumped - ive been meaning to ask this, and its not exactly the right thread for it but:
> i had a book once that id like to see again
> it was small, size of your palm
> it was about sexual liberation
> ...


reckon it might be from the 121 centre, they used to have a duplicator in there. plus all manner of activities going on. have you tried the internet archive? they've a great ton of anarchist and similar ephemera on there

Fozzie Bear, does this book ring any bells with you?


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## ska invita (Dec 22, 2022)

thanks for bumping
it was great
it had pictures
not a lot of text but very to the point


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## friendofdorothy (Dec 22, 2022)

Jesterburger said:


> What happened to the squatted properties and communal garden? Are any of the founder community still there?


still there. Some of the surviving members of the squats still there too.  But owned / run by the Brixton Housing co-op


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