In the early 70s Gay Liberation movement we used "gay" as an all-inclusive term, in the same way that "queer" is used today. Back then the "gay" in Gay News, Gay Switchboard and Gay Liberation Front embraced the entire LGBT spectrum - female, male, bisexual, homosexual and all points in between.
I wrote a song called Glad
To Be Gay to perform at the London 1976 Pride rally. It was later released on EMI Records by the Tom Robinson Band on an EP
called Rising Free in early 1978. It reached No.18 in the UK singles chart despite an
unofficial BBC ban. (John Peel was the only Radio One DJ who
ever played the song).
TRB played concerts in support of gay and women's rights as well as Rock Against Racism and Amnesty International. And while identifying as "gay" I always made clear that I liked both men and women.
"Everybody has the right to do what they want with their own body if nobody else is being hurt. However, I want it on record that I was with a woman the other night, and it would be a shame if in singing out about the rights of gay women and men I would be then regarded as a traitor if I then went to bed with whoever I wanted to.... As far as Joe Public is concerned, if you’re interested in other guys you’re a queer... to call ourselves bi-sexual is a cop-out. Some of the top musicians in rock make me laugh."
Melody Maker – October 22 1977
Some years later I fell head over heels in love
with - as it turned out - a woman. Capital Gay and The Pink Paper didn't think it was much of a story at the time. But a year later The Sunday People ran a sensationalist centre page spread about how I'd "turned straight". A brief period in tabloid hell followed.
Actually I still like both men and women... always have, always will. This site bothways.com was put together to promote my 1996 album Having It Both Ways but
Tom Robinson
London 2009
