Brit singer/songwriter Tom Robinson started his band in 1976 and their debut punk rock album went ‘gold’ just two years later. TRB, as the band were known, were voted “Best New Band” and “Best London Band” for the year 1977 by listeners at the Capital Radio Music Awards. Like many of the ‘new wave’ groups of that era, TRB expounded their far-left political views as part of their act, but what set them aside from all the others, was the fact that Robinson was not only openly gay ….. a rarity in those days …. but he was very proud of it too.
His song (Sing if You’re) Glad to Be Gay became a rallying call for the LGBT community when it was released in 1977 and made Robinson into something of a folk hero. However the infighting within TRB got os bad, that they spilt up in 1979. They reformed again in 1989 but that short-lived reunion just lasted a year.
Revisiting Robinson’s gay anthem you realize how very dated the lyrics seem now, but nevertheless it still brings back the memories of that defiant spirit of the time when we sensed real change was just around the corner.
Labels: 2016, gay history, music video, Turn Back Time
