Strong Love: Songs Of Gay Liberation 1972-81 [Baby Pink LP], Various Artists, Vinyl

On limited Baby Pink vinyl. Originally released on CD in 2012, Chapter's landmark compilation of 70s gay musicalpioneers gets a vinyl release for the first time ever - and on pink vinyl to boot!Strong Love explores the first wave of openly gay songwriting, emergingafter New York's Stonewall Riots kickstarted the modern gay rightsmovement in 1969. It took just a few years for the defiant chanting andinterlocked arms of early 70s pride marches to reverberate onto record,and Strong Love begins with the earliest known example, 1972's A Gay Songby London hippie collective Everyone Involved.Across 15 tracks, the compilation takes in disarmingly personal folk,uplifting soul, outsider country and dark synth-rock. But tellingly, noneof it's songs could be considered well-known. New York's StevenGrossman released the first major label album by an openly gay artist in1974, and Tom Robinson hit the UK Top 20 with the fiery Glad To Be Gayin 1978, but these are the exceptions. The coy ambivalence of Lou Reedand David Bowie was about as sexually adventurous as the 1970s musicindustry got, and most Strong Love artists released their own self-fundedrecordings in very limited numbers.Unlike their lesbian counterparts, who joined forces to create long-lastingrecord labels, strong distribution networks and considerable sales figures,gay male musicians in the 1970s existed largely in solitary bubbles. Whichdoesn't mean they didn't carve out niches of their own. Chris Robisonplayed with the New York Dolls and Elephant's Memory, while LA glamseducer Smokey saw members of the Stooges and Quiet Riot passthrough his backing band. Steven Grossman was covered by Twiggy andScrumbly & Martin are infamous for their work with San Francisco draghippies the Cockettes.Strong Love illustrate the vision, talent and raw courage that drove 1970ssongwriters to sacrifice popular careers for the sake of honesty and selfexpression. Compiled by Chapter Music's Guy Blackman, with anevocative introduction from drummer Richard Dworkin (who playedwith Blackberri and Buena Vista), the album is a powerful tribute topioneering artists whose music has been neglected for too long."Highly recommended" - Pitchfork"A collection of protest songs worthy of the 'classic' moniker" - Beat Magazine