HAPPY PRIDE MONTH :Gay men that shaped Rock And Roll (By Anthony)

2020-2021 , has been a struggle for everyone in all communities .

Different cultures, sectors , races, communities , industries and religions have unfortunately been denied to assemble to practice whatever it is they believe in.

This is the month of the year when the 2SLGBTQ+ community celebrates the pride that they believe in.

Whether you are coming to your identity , or have been out for some time, Black Donnelly Media wishes all members of all communities a Happy Pride Month.

If everybody was the same , we would be sick and tired of each other, and this place would suck.

The story of rock’n’roll in the 60s has been told countless times by the stars who sang the songs, spun the solos or thrashed the drums.

In the UK at the time, that most often meant straight white men, as it did in the US. But the people who shaped and advised those artists – the ones who managed the stars of the classic rock age – were, by an outsized margin, gay men.

That interwoven community included Brian Epstein (who brought the world the Beatles), Kit Lambert (who co-managed the Who), Simon Napier-Bell (the Yardbirds, and a young Marc Bolan), Robert Stigwood (Cream, the Bee Gees), Billy Gaff (Rod Stewart), Ken Pitt (David Bowie), Barry Krost (Cat Stevens), as well as Tony Stratton-Smith (who formed the visionary label Charisma for bands like Genesis).

In fact, it was a gay man, Larry Parnes, who svengali-d Britain’s very first rockers, from Tommy Steele to Billy Fury to Marty Wilde.

Likewise, in the US, you had key LGBTQ music power players like Clive Davis at Columbia Records, Seymour Stein at Sire, David Geffen at Asylum, and Danny Fields, who discovered the proto-punk stars Iggy Pop and MC5 for Elektra.

During Pride Month Black Donnelly Media encourages families and our communities to spend some time learning about the many achievements and contributions of the 2SLGBTQ+ communities and all communities in addition to learning about their history, trials and tribulations.

Fly your flag

And

May Good juju Find You

Anthony (BDM)