EofUs is exploring HU3’s important working class gay and drag performance scene of the 1980s and 90s. We are calling this work Scene but not heard.
Over time we have unearthed a body of photographs documenting people, performers and venues. It’s an important record of LGBTQ+ heritage and working-class venues as safe spaces. The photos are in separate and dispersed private collections of photographers including Russell Boyce, Ross Williams, George Norris, Tony Ward. Many are in HU3 locals personal albums too. We began by gathering the images and using them to stimulate discussion about whether a project like this was needed. The older LGBTQ+ community fear that the younger generation do not know of this history and of the battles fought. The younger generation want to hear stories and share their experiences too. Both felt the project was important.
We have identified some of the musicians and artists in the images. People like Bobby Mandrell/Kandy de Barry, The GiGi Girls, Lips and Lashes and The Dream Girls… in fact some are still performing. Working with them and the wider community, this project is reanimating the scene. Creating a contemporary archive of gathered images, oral histories and wider historical context. All collected materials will be archived in Hull History Centre and the Bishopgate Institute. We are revealing what was hidden.
Central to the Scene But not Heard project is a collaboration with individuals and groups from Hulls young LGBTQ+ community. Individuals and groups are being invited to respond to the archive. Resulting in a broad range of outcomes such as new music, exhibitions, short films and theatre which will be showcased in the future. Our specially created Advisory Group works alongside us and the project to help shape what these new artworks will be.
“I’ve been doing this a long time, people say I paved a way for others. I’m not sure. I just put a frock on and tried to entertain people. All I‘ve ever wanted to do is make people laugh.” Bobby Mandrell
Scene But Not Heard is made possible with The National Lottery Heritage Fund. Thanks to National Lottery players, we have been able to discover and showcase this important archive.
Scene But not Heard is funded by Historic England as part of Historic England’s Everyday Heritage grant programme. The programme celebrates working class histories and seeks to explore untold stories and celebrate the people and places at the heart of our history. This funding has supported over 100 projects across England, which seek to tell the stories of our nation’s working-class heritage projects are all community-led and people-focused and aim to further the nation’s collective understanding of the past; the grant programme was launched in 2022.
Photo credit: Ross Williams and Russell Boyce
