Bronski Beat, Klaus Nomi, Josie Cotton & more: Your alternative Pride playlist

Now that we’re into the second half of Pride month, I feel like I’ve heard the same ten songs wherever I go. The go-to tracks for Pride always seem to be dance hits by the divas, with little contribution from queer folks. With all due respect to Madonna, Mariah, et cetera, let’s take a look at a top 10 list of queer artists who were making radical music in the early ’80s, at a time when being out was a career killer. These pioneering artists deserve our attention, and a few adds to playlists, any time of year.

“Smalltown Boy” by Bronski Beat (1984)

Led by Jimmy Somerville, this was one of the first songs by a queer artist to crack the mainstream. With a pink triangle proudly stamped on their first album cover, Bronski Beat were out, proud, and loud, at a time when very few artists were. A song about leaving home to find the “love you need” the video pulls no punches; Jimmy plays a character who leaves home after getting gay bashed for cruising a guy at the local gym. “Smalltown Boy” was a game changer for queer representation in popular music.

“Homosapien” by Pete Shelley (1981)

Homosapien or Homosexual? The synth-pop styling of Shelley’s first solo single was a hard left turn from his work with punk band the Buzzcocks but he created a queer anthem. Pete’s lyric about having a “homosuperior, in my interior” got the song banned by the BBC immediately! He later sings about not wanting to be classified like an animal but recognizes his ‘friend’ is also a homosapien; the innuendo is not hard to read. The bisexual Shelley also wrote the queer-punk gem “Ever Fallen In Love” written about another man.

“Johnny, Are You Queer” by Josie Cotton (1981)

Originally performed by the Go-Go’s during live shows this 60s throwback recorded by Cotton, who is not gay, caused a major controversy by asking a simple question about a potential love interest. There’s no judgement in this underground hit which is its real charm; Josie is just a girl who is horny for a boy, and simply wants to know his sexual preference. Cotton’s career stalled after performing the song in 1983’s Valley Girl, starring an impossibly hot young Nicolas Cage.

“Dirty Back Road” by the B-52s (1980)

Often overlooked in the queer canon, the B-52s were made up of 4 queer folks of their 5 members, and are often only remembered for “Love Shack” and “Rock Lobster.” “Dirty Back Road” from their second album is dirtier and grittier than those two pop gems and includes some pretty obvious allusions to anal sex. The B-52s deserve their own top 10 queer anthems but this track sparks a slow, sexy fire. Sadly, the band would lose guitarist Ricky Wilson to complications from AIDS in 1986 before the band truly cracked the mainstream.

“Fade to Grey” by Visage (1980)

Led by singer Steve Strange, Visage was born from London’s infamous Blitz Club scene. This swoony synth-pop masterpiece has one of the most distinctive beats of the era that pushed it into the top 10 in the UK. Strange also appeared in David Bowie’s “Ashes to Ashes” video in 1980 and was later a featured character in the original London production of the Boy George penned musical Taboo. One of the queens on Drag Race should pay homage to more than a few of the looks in the video.

“Let’s Go Swimming” by Arthur Russell (1986)

A brilliant cellist and composer, Russell was a fixture of the late ’70s and ’80s music scene in New York. Incredibly prolific across many different genres (classical, disco, avant-garde) Russell never quite cracked the mainstream before his death by HIV/AIDS related illness in 1992. His legend continues to grow with over a dozen records of found recordings and live shows released to date. Russell’s work most recently appeared on an alternate version of “Psycho Killer” on the Talking Heads deluxe edition release of their first album. “Let’s Go Swimming” was a decade (or two!) ahead of its time.

“This Charming Man” by the Smiths (1983)

The second single from indie rock band the Smiths, this track describes a chance meeting between two men on a “hillside desolate” with barely concealed lyrics about homosexuality. Lead singer Morrissey had a penchant for gladiolas and loose-fitting shirts but was always cagey about his sexuality until his autobiography was released in 2013. John Hughes would later include the Smiths’ “Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want” on the Pretty in Pink soundtrack but the crackling homoerotic energy of “This Charming Man” still sizzles forty years later.

“You Think You’re a Man” by Divine (1984)

Best known as the star of John Waters’ most iconic films, Divine released a number of dance-pop singles in the mid-80s, none better than this one. Divine’s style of speak-singing didn’t win any prizes but her campy and sassy reading of the song sells it like no one else could. A kiss off to a former lover, Divine chastises a boy for thinking he was man enough to satisfy her. Can you imagine the man that is enough to satisfy Divine?

“High School Confidential” by Rough Trade (1980)

Rough Trade’s lead singer Carole Pope is an out lesbian who dated fellow queer icon Dusty Springfield in the early 80s. A song about one woman’s sexual obsession with a “cool blonde scheming bitch” the lyrics caused a major controversy when Pope sings about “creaming her jeans” when her sapphic love interest walks. The song made it to the top 20 in Canada but before she became a household name in her native land, she and Rough Trade created a musical with Divine called Restless Underwear that played in Toronto and New York. Remount please!

“You Don’t Own Me” by Klaus Nomi (1981)

Nomi was a performance artist and trained opera singer who David Bowie included in an unforgettable performance on SNL in 1979. The first single from Nomi’s debut album, a cover of Lesley Gore’s 1963 hit, was a real tour-de-force; a fun and campy twist on a classic, it demonstrates Nomi’s full range of talent and when he sings “Don’t tell me I can’t play with other boys,” a new queer classic was born. Nomi only released two albums before he died of complications from HIV/AIDS in 1983. Way ahead of his time, Nomi was gone way too soon.