june 15, 2010 03:43pm
There's Nowt as Queer As Folk
At the bank holiday weekend, Heidi and I were invited to perform at a couple of concerts taking place in one day at Cecil Sharp House in London titled “Nowt as Queer as Folk”. Organised as part of the May Day “Folk Against Fascism” activities, the event was described as “a musical rumpus of frivolity and festivities! A day of good old British song celebrating every performing gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender artist that has found their voice through this traditional form.” Performers included Tom Robinson, Jo Freya, Jim Causley, Gina Le Faux, Roy Bailey, O’Hooley & Tidow and Louisa Killen amongst others.
We were on a high from performing alongside Chumbawamba at the Queen Elizabeth Hall the night before. We couldn’t quite believe our luck that we were their special guests and that we were able to be part of such a memorable evening with fabulous performances from Chumbas, Show of Hands and Bellowhead. Because of this auspicious invite, we came to London a day earlier, brought a couple of folkie fan friends with us to the South Bank Centre, and felt part of something historic and very important.
Folk Against Fascism (FAF) started up in response to the BNP trying to affiliate themselves with English folk music, infiltrate folk events and turn them into BNP recruiting centres, to spread their racist views. FAF is not a political organisation and does not subscribe to one political party, rather it serves to spread awareness of fascism and the tactics fascists use to spread hatred. The event at the Queen Elizabeth Hall was sold out and packed to the rafters with FAF supporters and music lovers alike. It was a very special evening indeed. Heidi and I were both nervously excited about tottering on stage in front of a thousand people, and managed to play and sing without causing too much mayhem. Boff from Chumbawamba remarked it was a shame there was no microphone for me, just a piano. Jude in her wit replied “that’s because of what she might say”. I did want to tell the audience that me and Heidi are members of the BNP...the big knicker party, so it was probably wise there was no mic.
After stunning performances from the three main acts plus special guests including Jackie Oates, Jo Freya, Sam Lee and Tim Van Eyken, the evening ended with a group sing-a-long which me and Heidi had forgotten all about. As we were sat in the audience, we had to watch from afar, but it was all good fun. As I was designated driver, I ushered Heidi and our two friends out of the hall, into the car and back to our friend Judy’s house as quickly as possible so that we could partake of the vino and deconstruct the evening. Heidi was passed out with her head on the table by 2am. This ended at 3am when I was last to crawl to bed.
On a high from the night before, the bank holiday monday beckoned with clear blue skies and more music. After breakfasting on black pudding, bacon and eggs, we caught the tube to Camden and found Cecil Sharp House. This Georgian building set on Regent’s Park Road is home to EFDSS (English Folk, Dance & Song Society). With performance space, rehearsal rooms, a cafe and a bar, it was an impressive place to hold “Nowt as Queer as Folk”. Sound-checks were underway when we arrived, and we were relieved to find a very lovely grand piano at our disposal. After sound checking, we were taken to the green room where Gina Le Faux was rehearsing with some of the folk degree students from Newcastle Uni. Gina and her partner Cherri greeted us like a pair of long lost daughters even though we hadn’t met before and both Heidi and I commented on how warm and friendly they both were. I was my usual clumsy self and dropped a cup of water all over the corridor floor on the way back down to the auditorium. Gina commented; “well if that’s the worst you can do love, you’ll be fine tonight!”. It put me at ease straight away.
The afternoon concert started at 3pm and there was a reasonably healthy crowd of people there to watch. Many of the performers shared stories with the audience about “coming out” and how they had struggled to be themselves in a society which is mainly heterosexual. There was a feeling of unity amongst many people there and I sensed that many people were moved by the songs and stories.
After lovely homemade food, plus pimms on the lawn, the evening event commenced with an introduction by Tom Robinson. I noticed there were far less people in the audience than for the afternoon show and I was dismayed at the poor turn out. Even though the event had been well publicised, it was only half full. Perhaps people thought you had to be part of the LGBT community to come along, I’m not sure. Looking at some of the forum threads that refer to this event, I hope that it wasn’t due to any disapproval from certain members of the folk community about staging an LGBT event as part of Folk Against Fascism. To my mind, an event which celebrates diversity and welcomes performances from LGBT folkies strikes at the heart of what the BNP would like to stamp out. During the Holocaust, many LGBT people died at the hands of the Nazis because of their sexuality, made to wear the pink triangle as the jews wore the star of david to identify them as surplus to requirement. Fascism with its message of hatred would like to eradicate anyone who doesn’t meet their peculiar set of standards and the LGBT community would be included in those who fail this test. To witness the bravery of Louisa Killen (formerly Lou Killen) as she stepped onto the stage and sang for the first time since battling cancer and undergoing a gender reassignment was deeply moving and I felt humbled. To conclude the evening, we joined all the performers on stage in a rendition of “Sing if you’re glad to be gay”. There were cheers from the audience, but also from the performers, as feelings of pride took over from the usual day to day default of shame. Perhaps for those of you who are able to be accepted for your sexuality without question as most heterosexual people are, it may be difficult to understand why it is important for LGBT people to come together and celebrate their sexualities in events like these. Until LGBT people truly have the same rights as everyone else, until homophobic bullying and assaults are a thing of the past, until we can all live peacefully, then we will continue to sing together in solidarity, protest, and make ourselves visible. We are glad to be gay.
Posted By: beeandh
