Watching 1. Bronski Beat - Smalltown boy
A song written like a film script: the story of the daily life of a young gay man who has to leave his town to escape ostracism and violence.
2. Charles Trenet - The Extraordinary Garden
Legendary French singer Charles Trenet’s song uses poetic imagery to depict the Jardin des Tuileries, a gay cruising area in Paris.
3. Conchita Wurst - Rise Like a Phoenix
In 2014 Conchita Wurst became the first bearded drag queen to win the Eurovision Song Contest with an affirming anthem of queer identity.
4. Eddy de Pretto - Kid
French singer Eddy de Pretto talks about homophobia and unrealistic expectations of masculinity in a very personal song.
5. Girl in Red - I Wanna Be Your Girlfriend
Straight to the point, Girl In Red sings of her same-sex desire and her love for another woman. I Wanna Be Your Girlfriend went viral and became an anthem for a generation of lesbians.
6. Gloria Gaynor - I will survive
The classic breakup song by Gloria Gayner is a feminist song that was adopted by the gay community as a anthem against adversity.
7. Indochine - Le 3eme Sexe
1985. In an atmosphere of rising homophobia and moral panic around AIDS, French rock group sing about non-binary identities.
8. Jean-Claude Pascal - Nous Les Amoureux
The first queer song to win Eurovision was a crooner’s calling out of discrimination against homosexuals.
9. Judy Garland - Over the Rainbow
"Somewhere Over The Rainbow" from The Wizard of Oz is a song of hope and a symbol of a better world for the queer community.
10. Juliette Greco - Les Pingouins
In an era when female homosexuality was invisible, Juliette Gréco sings about lesbians with animal metaphors and mischievous humour.
11. Klaus Nomi - The Cold Song
With his countertenor voice and synthesisers, Klaus Nomi created an alien persona that blurred the lines between genres and challenged conventions.
12. Lil Nas X Montero - Call Me By Your Name
How can you be black, gay and believe in God in America in 2021? Lil Nas X has the answer.
13. Little Richard -Tutti Frutti
What if one of the most famous songs from early rock and roll was about gay desire? Consummate entertainer Little Richard was a queer presence in the early fifties.
14. Ma Rainey - Prove It On Me
Ma Rainey sang candidly and confidently about her relationships with women in the 1920s. As a black and bisexual woman, she turned the blues into a space of queer freedom.
15. Pomme - Grandiose
One of the first songs in French to deal with a young lesbian’s desire to have children. It was written in the wake of the major anti-gay rights protests in France in 2013.
16. Sexy sushi - Sex Appeal
Sexy Sushi celebrate lesbian desire with racy lyrics as part of a queer scene that’s all about humour and fun.
17. Sylvester - You Make Me Feel
In 1978 a high-energy disco track burns up the dancefloors of San Francisco in a frenzy of fulfilment, power and authenticity.
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18. Troye Sivan - One of Your Girls
Troye Sivan plays with drag, desire and gender roles in his pop songs which are steeped in queer tradition.
19. Village People - YMCA
What’s the link between Christianity and queer club culture? In 1978 the answer was Village People’s YMCA.
20. Frankie Goes to Hollywood - Relax
In the 1980s, one song celebrating gay sexual climax became a worldwide hit.
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