Welcome to the Queer Noise exhibition: an online project that aims to tell the hidden history of Manchester’s gay music culture and club life. The key word here is hidden. Despite the fact that there have now been dozens of books written about Manchester music and pop culture – from Factory to Madchester in particular - gay people are rarely given space in the city’s ‘official’ histories.

Believing that this is a severe omission, a group of us decided to set up an online project that would invite LGBT people from across the generations to share their memories, pictures, artefacts and stories – with the aim of constructing a fuller history of the city’s oft-forgotten gay scenes and their wider influence upon British pop culture.

The memories go back to the nineteen-fifties, when pubs such as The Union Hotel (now the New Union), The Cafe Royal and The Prince’s Hotel provided safe spaces for gay clientele. Then there’s the early 80s peak where, despite the attentions of police Chief Constable James Anderton, venues like Hero’s, High Society and Napoleon’s flourished.

Manchester’s gay scene exploded in 1991 with the success of Paul Cons’ Flesh at the Hacienda (again an alternative story to the laddish ‘Madchester’ groups who dominate the histories of that club). The story is well covered from that point on, although there are many debates about the commercialisation of Canal Street and the dilution of the gay subculture.

But there are still many gaps and we’d like your help. If you own artefacts that you think should be included in this exhibition, please upload them to the main Manchester District Music Archive website, or email them to info@mdmarchive.co.uk. Every contribution will be properly credited.

With your support, we hope to construct a proper people’s history and to reclaim Manchester’s vibrant gay music and club culture from the shadows.

Please note: Queer Noise is not compatible with iPhones or Google Chrome.

MDMArchive