Socialist Unity - Andy Newman Talks Trash About The '70s - And Turns The Comments Off!

We laughed like drains when we read this by Andy Newman at Socialist Unity:

The 1970s were a dangerous time, with a widespread culture of heavy drinking and violence, and the cross-dressing and androgony of glam rock bands was unsettling to a world with stultifying heterosexual conformity. This was before such statements would be considered as ironic, and were instead slightly regarded as uncomfortable and slightly threatening.

Andy Newman, do you REMEMBER the 1970s?!!

"Widespread heavy drinking and violence"? The "cross-dressing and androgony of glam rock bands was unsettling to a world with stultifying heterosexual conformity"?!!

Oh PURLEASE!

Bands like The Sweet made it absolutely plain that they were STRAIGHT, MATE at the time, these men did not dress up to make a statement about their sexuality! And they were embraced as heroes by the gobby council estate urchins where I lived, who thought it was a "right larf".

Also, we'd been quite comfortable with the likes of Danny La Rue cross-dressing well before the 1970s.

The '70s were a time of increasing violence, it's true, but there was an embedded culture of heavy drinking before that decade on the council estate where I lived, and I'm sure amongst other classes.

Boy George in the 1980s was really the first mainstream pop star to arouse feelings of discomfort amongst certain people. And that was because he wasn't heterosexual.

But THAT was in the 1980s! Musn't mention the 1980s, eh, Andy? No possibility of any move-on in attitudes in the Thatcher era in your revisionist little world?!!

If you're going to make revisionist comments about the 1970s, please do us one favour, matey - turn the comments ON!!

But we weren't so ignorant that a bit of glitter and lippy on male pop stars was going to freak us out.