"Jon Savage's The Secret Public: How The LGBTQ+ Aesthetic Shaped Pop Culture 1955-1979" by VARIOUS ARTISTS - Featuring Little Richard, Esquerita, Billy Fury, Frank D'rone, The Dovells, John Leyton, Joey Dee & The Starliters, The Jaynetts, Lesley Gore, The Velvelettes, Bobby Marchan, The Velvet Underground & Nico, The Elgins, Big Brother & The Holding Company (featuring Janis Joplin), Norma Tanega, Al Stewart, The Kinks, Sly & The Family Stone, Abaco Dream, Lou Reed, Polly Perkins, Jobriath, Manu DiBango, The Temptations, The Miracles, Labelle, Grace Jones, Patrick Cowley, Jayne County & The Electric Chairs, Buzzcocks, Space, Tom Robinson Band, Sylvester, Michele and more (May 2024 UK Ace Records 2CD 41-Track Compilation In A Three-Way Fold-Out Card Digipak with Duncan Cowell Remasters – a Companion Audio Set to The Book of the Same Name by Faber & Faber) - A Review by Mark Barry...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Savages-Secret-Aesthetic-Culture-1955-1979/dp/B000008F2X?crid=4MAQHY6WHJ6C&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.ZcteweekzeTE8MwuNT6QRQ.54o79nxVXnWtJH-bJSurBD8l1vCXnbQAnPmUx08ImGs&dib_tag=se&keywords=029667110723&qid=1719852812&sprefix=029667110723%2Caps%2C84&sr=8-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=mabasreofcdbl-21&linkId=d5ee7712084c6a170226742fe629b453&language=en_GB&ref_=as_li_ss_tl

"...Shaved Her Legs And He Was A She..."

Having annotated and compiled nine 2CD sets for Ace Records in their Year-on-Year Single Series (I have reviewed four or five) – author and music-nut Jon Savage is no stranger to the art of how it plays. But with such a huge subject matter to cover and licencing restrictions shutting out obvious choices and gamechanger artists like Queen, David Bowie and Marc Bolan in T.Rex – both has kind of done for this brave and smart 2CD 41-Song attempt at chronicling secret-lifestyles that up until the mid-Seventies were still real-world taboo and probably even dangerous.

You can understand the song choices (CD1 covers 1955 to 1973, CD2 moves on with 1974 to 1979) and the chunky three-way fold-out Digipak Presentation with a 32-page booklet is both classy and substantial, but the listen only half works because some of the music just isn't up to snuff. CD2 suffers from tedious Extended Disco Mixes least not of all being the near 14-minutes of Michele remixed and involving leading light Patrick Cowley. But Savage would argue that left-of-field adventure is key and bold choices very much part of the ethos the LGBTQ community had to employ to just be - albeit under wigs and makeup and nights at the Club or Disco. Still, there is an awful lot to like here, and his journalistic annotation is quietly free of virtual-signalling but big on respect - which is something of a minor miracle in 2024. To the no-longer secret details...

UK released Friday, 31 May 2024 - "Jon Savage's The Secret Public: How The LGBTQ+ Aesthetic Shaped Pop Culture 1955-1979" by VARIOUS ARTISTS on Ace Records CDTOP2 1647 (Barcode 029667110723) is a 2CD 41-Track Companion Audio Compilation to a book of the same name – and it plays out as follows (most tracks are US/UK 45s unless otherwise stated):

CD1 (78:53 minutes):
1. I Hear A New World – JOE MEEK & THE BLUE MEN (from the cancelled UK 1960 album "I Hear A New World" on Triumph TRX ST 9000 in Stereo – finally UK issued in 1991 on RPM Records RPM 103)
2. Tutti-Frutti – LITTLE RICHARD And His Band (US October 1955, Specialty SP-561, A-side; issued UK as the B-side of "Long Tall Sally" on London HLO 8366 in January 1957, credited as Little Richard and without a hyphen in the song title)
3. Esquerita And The Voola – ESQUERITA (US September 1958, Capitol F4058, B-side of his second US single "Rockin' The Joint")
4. Wondrous Place – BILLY FURY (UK September 1960, Decca F 11267, A-side)
5. Strawberry Blonde (The Band Rocked On) – FRANK D'RONE (US October 1960, Mercury Records 71720, A-side)
6. Foot Stompin' – THE DOVELLS (from the 1961 US Album "Bristol Stomp" on Parkway P 7006)
7. Johnny Remember Me – JOHN LEYTON (UK July 1961, Top Rank JAR 577, A-side)
8. Peppermint Twist - Part 1 – JOEY DEE And THE STARLITERS (October 1961, Roulette R-4401, A)
9. Sally, Go 'Round The Roses  – THE JAYNETTS (from the US 1963 Album "Sally, Go 'Round The Roses" on Tuff TU-5559)
10. You Don't Own Me – LESLEY GORE (from the US 1963 Album "Mixed-Up Hearts" on Mercury Records MG-20849)
11. Needle In A Haystack – THE VELVELETTES (US September 1964, V.I.P. Records V.I.P.-25007, A-side)
12. Get Down With It – BOBBY MARCHAN (US January 1965, Dial Records 45-4002, A-side)
13. I'll Be Your Mirror – THE VELVET UNDERGROUND featuring NICO (US July 1966, Verve Records VK-10472, B-side of "All Tomorrow's Parties")
14. Heaven Must Have Sent You – THE ELGINS (US August 1966, V.I.P. Records V.I.P.-25037, A-side)
15. Stand Up Straight And Tall – JACKIE SHANE (US April 1967, Modern 45xM 1031, B-side of "You Are My Sunshine")
16. Women Is Losers – BIG BROTHER & THE HOLDING COMPANY (US December 1967, Mainstream 675, A-side – featuring JANIS JOPLIN on Lead Vocals)
17. No Stranger Am I – NORMA TANEGA (US March 1967, New Voice 821, B-side of "Run, On The Run" – also on the US Album "Walkin' My Cat Named Dog" on New Voice 2001)
18. Pretty Golden Hair – AL STEWART (from the UK 1967 Album "Bed Sitter Images" on CBS Records S BPG 63087 in Stereo)
19. David Watts – THE KINKS (opening track on Side 1 of the April 1968 UK Extended Play 4-Track EP "The Kinks" on Pye Records NEP 24296)
20. Nothing But A Heartache – THE FLIRTATIONS (UK November 1968, Deram DM 216, A-side)
21. Stand! – SLY & THE FAMILY STONE (US March 1969, Epic 5-10450, A-side – see also Track 22 written by Sly Stone)
22.Life And Death In G & A – ABACO DREAM (US August 1969, A&M Records 1081, A-side, song written by Sylvester Stewart aka Sly Stone, he is not featured in this recoding by a US Rock Group from New York)
23.Nathan Jones – THE SUPREMES (US April 1971, Motown M 1182, A-side – Lead Vocalist Jean Tyrell, Diana Ross had left at this stage)
24. Walk On The Wild Side (Album Version) – LOU REED (from the November 1972 US and UK Album "Transformer" on RCA Victor LSP-4807. The LP version is 4:24 minutes with the verse censored for the US 45 at 3:57 minutes about Candy and giving head. The British UK 45 however had the full version with the naughty verse included and became a hit in April 1973 after it was re-promoted because David Bowie sang with the backing vocalists Thunderthighs as they sing Do De Do before the Ronnie Ross saxophone solo. Herbie Flowers on Double-Bass, Mick Ronson Strings, David Bowie Production)
25. Coochi-Coo – POLLY PERKINS (UK May 1973, Chapter One SCH-R 183, A-side)
26. I'maman – JOBRIATH (US May 1974, Elektra EK-45888, A-side – the title credit is run together as one word) 
27. Soul Makossa – MANU DIBANGO (French 1972 45, African Records 90.571 A, 4:24 minutes, B-side of "Hymne De La 8e Coupe D'Afrique Des Nation")
28. Law Of The Land – THE TEMPTATIONS (UK August 1973, Tamla Motown TMG 866, A-side, 4:45 minutes)

NOTES on CD1: All Tracks MONO 

Except Tracks 1, 7, 10, 15, 16, 18, 20-21 and 23-28 which are in STEREO

CD2 (77:36 minutes):
1. Get Dancin' (Single Version) – DISCO TEX AND THE SEX-O-LETTES Featuring SIR MONTI ROCK III (US September 1974, Chelsea CH 3004, A-side, 3:56 minutes)
2. Lady Marmalade (Album Version, 3:57 minutes) – LABELLE (from the November 1974 US LP "Nightbirds" on Epic KE 33075 – Produced and Arranged by Allen Toussaint)
3. Nobody's Gonna Change Me – THE DYNAMIC SUPERIORS (US July 1975, Motown M 1359F, A-side – an Ashford & Simpson song)
4. Ain't Nobody Straight In L.A. – THE MIRACLES (from the September 1975 US LP "City Of Angels" on Tamla T6-339 S1)
5. I Need A Man (12" Disco Mix, 7:30 minutes) – GRACE JONES (US 1977 12" Single, Beam Junction 12-BJ 1004, A-side – Produced/Mixed by Tom Moulton)
6. I Feel Love – PATRICK COWLEY (cover version of the Donna Summer song recorded 1977 in New York and clocking in at 9:48 minutes; first issued October 2020 on the US Patrick Cowley CD Compilation "Some Funkettes" on Dark Entries DE-283CD – see also Tracks 12 and 13 for Patrick Cowley)
7. Orgasm Addict – BUZZCOCKS (UK November 1977, United Artists UP 36316, A-side)
8. F*** Off – ELECTRIC CHAIRS (UK November 1977, Sweet FA WC 1, A-side, featuring Jayne County as Lead Vocalist (credited as Wayne County), Jools Holland on keyboards)
9. Glad To Be Gay – TOM ROBINSON BAND aka TRB (from the UK January 1978 4-Track EP "Rising Free" on EMI Records EMI 2749, Track 2 on Side 1 as "Sing If You're Glad To Be Gay")
10. I Was Born This Way (12" Disco Mix, Vocal, 6:31 minutes) – CARL BEAN (US 1977 12" Single, Motown M 00008D1, A-side (Vocal))
11. Prison (12" Version, 6:25 minutes) – SPACE (Canada 1978 12" Single, Vogue VO-302, A-side)
12. Disco Dance (12" Mega Mix, Vocal, 13:40 minutes) – MICHELE (US 1978 12" Single, West End Records WES 12100, A-side – song written by Patrick Cowley, Remixed by Tom Moulton, Michele was a pseudonym for French Singer Chantal Curtis – for Patrick Cowley see also Tracks 6 and 13)
13. I Need To Love Somebody Tonight (12" Version) – SYLVESTER (US 1979 12" Single, Fantasy 12 XFTC 171, A-side - a co-write between Patrick Cowley and Sylvester James, for Patrick Cowley see also Tracks 6 and 12)

NOTES on CD2: All Tracks are STEREO

The three-flap fold-out Digipak uses every surface (including beneath the see-through CD trays) to show either rare picture sleeves or 45-single label repros and coupled with a chunky 32-page booklet makes for something of a looker. The opening 4-page preamble sets the historical scene – walking a tightrope between declared orientations and the biggest open-secret in Music and the Arts. The text is festooned with images – trade adverts for Little Richard and 'Smash Pop Hit' "Tutti-Frutti", Lesley Gore's '4th Hit In A Row' or a smiling Sly Stone as he and his gang make a "Stand!" with parapet-preaching paragraphs from Epic Records about setting yourself free. Inbetween are sheet music repros for Lou Reed, The Jaynetts and Labelle sided by rare Demo 60ts labels for The Elgins and Joey Dee abutting hard-to-find picture sleeves for The Velvet Underground, Space, The Flirtations and loads more.

Beneath discography info, each paragraph ties in the song, artist or scene the tune featured in – some songs adopted by gay men and women because of lyrics that struck a chord or a perceived secret message. Details come thick and fast – Polly Perkins and her very Suzi Quatro 1973 woman-liberating camp-rocker "Coochi-Coo" entry tells us she was with Dusty Springfield's set and once compared 'Ready Steady Go!' Or the woman who got arrested in Liverpool for the heinous act of wearing a Promo Button on the  lapel of her jacket advertising the Jayne County & The Electric Chairs single. The US burlesque shock-rocker Jayne County from Atlanta had relocated to Blighty for the Punk Revolution and called her song the ever-so-slightly out-of-jointing "(If You Don't Want To Fuck Me) Fuck Off" - her Promo button simply stated, 'FUCK OFF'. But even now, closing in on 45-years after the event, the terribly-spiff British Bobby arresting her seems shockingly reactionary for all the wrong reasons. AUDIO is by long-standing Engineer DUNCAN COWELL and apart from the dreadful Joe Meek opener – songs like the magnificent duo of "Walk On The Wild Side" and "Lady Marmalade" are punching like a mule and sporting equal clarity as they do it. To the tunes and the overall listen…

Although arriving in from another planet (Savage argues that this is how gay men must have felt) – the withdrawn Joe Meek track "I Hear A New World" with its Pinky & Perky backing vocals and acetate production values is an awful start and it is painfully obvious that this compilation should have opened with the explosive Little Richard and his stunning "Tutti-Frutti". Flamboyant and considering himself beautiful – the photo on the front cover of the cool Digipak shows an adoring male fan staring in at Richard Penniman as he fixes his hair in his car with a brush – bare-chested of course. Nicking his style wholesale – Little Richard took liberally from the Esquerita look (Eskew Reeder) whose shrieking vocals and manic piano plinks on the B-side "Rockin' The Joint" is unfortunately another irritation rather than thrill. Far better is the sly world referred to in Billy Fury's Elvis-cool "Wondrous Place" – I want to stay and never go away. Lesbians in the Kings Road of London adopted the Frank D'rone big-band bopper "Strawberry Blond (And The Band Rocked On)" probably because of the lyrics "…waltz across the floor with the chick he adored…" – a very clever choice. 

The Andy Warhol-David Bowie connection to "Foot Stompin'" by The Dovells in 1961 is a longshot but still half a decent tune and I kind of agree with the hostile reaction given by the 1961 Juke Box Jury on John Leyton and his "Johnny Remember Me" – the public thought different though and with its galloping Joe Meek production leapt to No.1. A playlist regular in the Peppermint Lounge, a 45ft Street Gay Bar in New York, we can imagine one of its patrons Andy Warhol giving it some to "Peppermint Twist" by Joey Dee & The Starliters. A big fave for American gay men was the girl-group slink in "Sally, Go 'Round The Roses" where they won't tell your secret and you can let your hair down (and anything else for that matter). British Gay Men longing for love and a deeper connection in the La Duce Mod Club bopped to The Velvelettes connecting to the lyrics about how hard it is to find a good man – a "Needle In A Haystack". But much better for me is New Orleans veteran Bobby Marchan pointing his Jackie Wilson-type vocals at the fingersnappin' dancefloor – his superb dancer "Get Down With It" feeling like joy and not a bottled despair.

The arrival of the kick-the-walls-down changes of the mid 60ts are signalled by the lyrics and subtle subversion of Nico fronting The Velvet Underground. The B-side "I'll Be Your Mirror" is a tender Lou Reed love song that begs a different person to see themselves as beautiful too (Savage writes eloquently on this entry). But even that genius is whomped by the sheer in-yer-face bravery and cool in "Stand Up Straight And Tall" – Jackie Shane described as a Black American woman in a man's body – the song, an organ-grinding nightclub shuffler that is a fabulous choice for CD1. Fronting Big Brother & The Holding Company on Columbia Records and a short-stop from Woodstock fame, Janis Joplin hid her bisexuality but not her anger in "Women Is Losers" – even now it is an uncomfortable listen but Savage wants to show a full emotional-landscape. Although not very well recorded (more's the pity), the Joni Mitchell-influenced acoustic of Norma Tanega feels like the first genuine I'm-In-Love-With-You moment on the 2CD set – one woman blown away by another – it is lovely and almost naked in its intensity (I'll leave the Norma Tanega and Dusty Springfield story unfolded in the liner notes for your enjoyment).

Things take a British turn with Al Stewart celebrating more than hair that is fair in colour, The Kinks waxing lyrical about the boy's own private-school hedonism in "David Watts" (The Jam would of course memorably cover it in 1978 on their fab "All Mod Cons" album on Polydor). The US meets the UK occurs when the girly trio The Flirtations from South Carolina found they had a monster Northern Soul and Gay Anthem in Blighty – sinful loving of bad boys in their lyrics appealing. We then enter US Soul Vs. Hard Funk when Sly Stone turns up twice – first with the Family Stone (admittedly over familiar but mightily relevant to the theme) and the superb inclusion of the Hard-Funkin Abaco Dream and their "Life And Death In G & A". Written by Stone, the Abaco Dream turned out to be a New York Rock act who managed two US 45s and this one is a nugget. CD1 now sails into the sublime - "Nathan Jones" by The Supremes (Jean Tyrell fronting) flanging its way into our hearts and wiggle-butts while "Walk On The Wild Side" is just straight up genius and along with say "Green Onions" by Booker T. & The MGs practically owns the word cool and then some. But Savage goes out with a foursome bang – the Pink-and-Proud of it Polly Perkins and Jobriath songs raised their heads in 1973 above the sanctimonious media pulpits, aided by sexy gyrations from Manu DiBango and a socially-aware Temptations - Soul and Funk dominating but with African Rhythms and Norman Whitfield arrangements ("Law Of The Land" by The Temps has long been a fave-rave of mine and is a total winner). 

If I am truthful, I struggled a little with CD2. As I remember, even back in 1974, I found the Disco Tex track gimmicky and too in yer face for comfort. Far better to have opened with a genuine blast – Patti LaBelle and her band Labelle giving it some "…Voulez-vous coucher aver moi!" in the lyrics (French for I want to crochet, or should that be a word ending in k). Nona Hendryx and Sarah Dash benefit from great Allen Toussaint production in "Lady Marmalade" and the Bob Crewe/Kenny Nolan song is still a huge radio play a full 50 years on, when everyone I know would rather forget the embarrassing Sex-O-Lettes crud. Motown in 1975 were supporting Gay Acts – the defiant lyrics to The Dynamic Superiors song (supplied by Ashford & Simpson) screaming about convictions and feeling strong in the face of another morning facing the detractors. Clever choice comes in the shape of The Miracles engaging in Miami Latino Rhythms with their lyrically unambiguous "Ain't Nobody Straight In L.A." (homosexuality is a part of society). More relentless Disco beats comes in the guise of ex-model Grace Jones hamming it up with "I Need A Man" – jugular-chasing a marketplace that she knows loves her. The next is an outtake of "I Feel Love" – a 10-minute cover of the Donna Summer anthem that again overstays its synth welcome. 

Although, it still packs a kick-in-the-teeth quality, "Orgasm Addict" feels weird following such a 10-minute Disco bopper, but it does line up the truly brilliant Electric Chairs "F*** Off" – a down and dirty piece of Rock & Roll with lyrics that still make me laugh (hot shit and cold turd). Wayne County sounding like he/she means it! I still find the Tom Robinson depressing – a well-meaning effort that somehow alienates its listeners – and of course the prig BBC banned it. The Carn Bean twelve-inch "I Was Born This Way" is joyous stuff – holding his head high to a lush Philly-based arrangement. Madeline Bell lays into the Vocals for Space on their slow burner "Prison" – a tune that soon gets dancefloor-bootalicious as the synths solos and bass plucks build. The near 14-minutes of Michele giving it orgasmic "Disco Dance" would test the patience of a saint - the final CD2 track "I Need Somebody To Love Tonight" by Sylvester as least feeling honest in his personal pride as the backbeats drive on and on. 

"Jon Savage's The Secret Public: How The LGBTQ+ Aesthetic Shaped Pop Culture 1955-1979" will delight some (great choices) but bore others (too many long-winded Disco workouts on CD2). 

But whatever way you take your sugar in a tee-pee, Savage has done enough to open our eyes and ears and maybe even on occasion, our hearts, and minds. I liked this compilation a whole bunch. And for that I salute him and his Tutti-Frutti on a Rooty…