Reply With QuoteBoth The Richie Family and Taana Gardner had gay-themed album covers but I can't offhand recall their titles. I think both were from 1979.
Chart Hit [Level 6]
HALLO!
i'm Francesco from Italy and i'm doing a strange collection....
disco album with gay subject on cover (macho, village people, boys town gang)
can you help me to find other album like this. i need only the title (if you know something like that).
THANK YOU.
Francesco
Advance Promo Copy [Level 3]
Both The Richie Family and Taana Gardner had gay-themed album covers but I can't offhand recall their titles. I think both were from 1979.
Triple Platinum Record [Level 10]
Definitely check out the cover of the Italian group Easy Going's Greatest Hits. It shows two guys "wrestling", wearing nothing but motorcyle caps, leather vests and boots; the picture is composed of a mosaic of tiles. Hard to describe, but very homoerotic.
Advance Promo Copy [Level 3]
What about the WILD FANTASY album from 1978 or so? Up to this date, i have never seen an album of that vintage that was more overtly gay themed than that one.
get back at me,
kelvy
ps -- speaking about gay-themed albums, i would like to hear input on how the general public reacted to these covers back in the late 70s. It's a topic that has been rarely touched yet facinating.
Advance Promo Copy [Level 3]
Interesting issue about the public reaction to these album covers. I can't say for sure but I strongly suspect that in the area where I lived at the time (Portsmouth UK), not many people (including my teenage self) actually realised these covers were gay-themed. I'd say it was a classic case of the covers meaning a lot to those "in the know" and very little to everyone else!
It sounds ludicrous to say this now, I realise, but outside a few major metropolitan areas, the type of gay sensibility we are used to now simply didn't exist back then and also, it simply wasn't considered very credible to like disco anyway, so people who might not have liked these covers maybe never got to see them ....
Lots of maybes and ifs there - what do other people think?
Acetate [Level 1]
other covers to check out are from Seventh Avenue, Den Harrow, Manefredi ,Man 2 Man, Sylvester, etc
Advance Promo Copy [Level 3]
On 2001-10-23 15:56, Move2This wrote:
Interesting issue about the public reaction to these album covers. I can't say for sure but I strongly suspect that in the area where I lived at the time (Portsmouth UK), not many people (including my teenage self) actually realised these covers were gay-themed. I'd say it was a classic case of the covers meaning a lot to those "in the know" and very little to everyone else!
It sounds ludicrous to say this now, I realise, but outside a few major metropolitan areas, the type of gay sensibility we are used to now simply didn't exist back then and also, it simply wasn't considered very credible to like disco anyway, so people who might not have liked these covers maybe never got to see them ....
Lots of maybes and ifs there - what do other people think?
Funny enough, i remember being a kid during the village people heyday and the gay-oriented themes they portrayed, well, i did not "get it". As a matter of fact, the concept of homosexuality did not even cross my mind back then, let alone the birds and the bees.
The coming about of these gay-themed album covers speaks volumes about the slowly-but-surely acceptance of gays & lesbians into the mainstream even if was within their shared spaces. Come to think of it, ever since the heyday of disco, i have not seen any prevalence of gay-themed album covers.
What about artists such as Theo Vaness & St. Tropez, they had gay-themed albums as well. And what about the album by Passion from 79/80 on Prelude? The album cover itself is not gay-themed (but certainly X-rated in heterosexual fashion). There's one song in there where the vocalist sings a lyric to extent of "...it doesen't matter if you're gay or straight. (paraphrasical form)". I think it may have been the song "In New York". And Theo Vaness had a song where he alluded to "gay man, straight man".
Also, we can not leave out Carl Bean's "I Was Born This Way", a catharic paean to unconditional love regardless of sexual preference. From what i've read, the song was written during the time when the word "gay" was still a covert way to classify homosexuals; it still had its original 'happy' definition. Could someone clarify this theory? Thanks.
get back at me,
kelvy
Chart Hit [Level 6]
On 2001-10-23 12:17, Move2This wrote:
Both The Richie Family and Taana Gardner had gay-themed album covers but I can't offhand recall their titles. I think both were from 1979.
The Ritchie Family would be the "Bad reputation" cover with leather dressed biker guys.
I also suggest the CD compilation series Gay Anthems and Club 69 (not disco but Peter Rauhofer is clearly a fan given his - excellent - remake of "Love is the message").
Francesco obviously was already aware of Village People, Boys Town Gang and Macho.
Do Sylvester and Divine count?
_________________
"ON THE BEAT"
<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: maarten on 2001-10-24 06:43 ]</font>
<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: maarten on 2001-10-24 06:44 ]</font>
Acetate [Level 1]
also look for Paul Lekakis, Klaus Nomi, Fancy, DC La Rue....interesting, but i can think of more "gay" covers from 79~early 80's vs earlier....probably because people were less "out" in the mid 70's
Triple Platinum Record [Level 10]
I also thought of the Skatt Brothers LP on Casablanca; sort of an early eighties attempt to create a new Village People minus the camp. I never saw them perform (if they ever did) but Trocadero in SF played the hell out of their "Walk The Night" tune.
"Lost inside adorable illusion...."
Double Platinum Record [Level 9]
On 2001-10-24 11:43, markydefad wrote:
I also thought of the Skatt Brothers LP on Casablanca; sort of an early eighties attempt to create a new Village People minus the camp.
Village People without the camp? Would there be anything left? :lol: Actually, I think the LP was from 1979, but I'll have to check on that.
I never saw them perform (if they ever did) but Trocadero in SF played the hell out of their "Walk The Night" tune.
Well, it was damn good and raunchy. Am I the only one who thinks that Queen's "Another One Bites The Dust" has a similar sound?...
<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Graham Start on 2001-10-24 12:29 ]</font>
Triple Platinum Record [Level 10]
Graham, I think you're right about the Skatt Brothers LP being released in 1979. The title was "Strange Spirits".
Double Platinum Record [Level 9]
Maarten mentioned some cd compilations with gay-themed covers. Here are some more:
Rhino's "GIVE YOUR BODY UP: CLUB CLASSICS AND HOUSE FOUNDATIONS."
Hot Productions' "GAY ANTHEMS: VOLUMES I thru XII."
Also, RuPaul's got it covered for illusion on all his covers.
Hey Kelvy --- Wild Fantasy was also one of my fave album covers. Too, too hot!
_________________
Dancin' All Over It!
Nicky
<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: NickNack on 2001-10-24 13:51 ]</font>
Advance Promo Copy [Level 3]
On 2001-10-24 13:50, NickNack wrote:
Hey Kelvy --- Wild Fantasy was also one of my fave album covers. Too, too hot!
_________________
Dancin' All Over It!
Nicky
<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: NickNack on 2001-10-24 13:51 ]</font>
Hey Nick! i caught a view of that album cover a few years ago when i was at a huge vinyl warehouse and getting my fingers dusty (vinyl excavation). THe "Wild Fantasy" album cover seems to be the most daring of its day (with the exception of St. Tropez). In regards to gay-themed album covers, did the sales & marketing groups for the record companies fear a homophobic backlash against them because of these covers? i think with the case of these albums, they knew their target market well yet they designed them with just enough sexually-neutral or hetrosexual nuances in order to avoid the stigma and heavy-handed homophobia. For isntance, what about one of the covers for Boystown Gang where Earline Bentley stands rather in haphazard fashion between two really close guys.
Someone must write a chapter on this phenoemon for the history books and i think this board is laying down a good foundation for said topic.
get back at me,
kelvy
Platinum Record [Level 8]
Have a look at the flipside of the first Macho sleeve. Now turn it upside down. What do you see? The image now seems to have changed shockingly. The neck is now something plunging into a ...well, see for yourself. - I used to go to record stores and place the album this way and then check out people's reactions.
Chart Hit [Level 6]
On 2001-10-25 02:06, JussiK wrote:
Have a look at the flipside of the first Macho sleeve. Now turn it upside down. What do you see? The image now seems to have changed shockingly. The neck is now something plunging into a ...well, see for yourself. - I used to go to record stores and place the album this way and then check out people's reactions.
I just did this and the result is eehmm... well, what's the word I'm looking for... (CENSURED)
What I want to know is who notices these things. Who finds these things out? And Jussi, I can not possibly believe that anybody in your native country would be shocked by such a thing. Jealous, maybe...
"ON THE BEAT" at http://littlemacho.tripod.com/
Triple Platinum Record [Level 10]
The liner notes to the 4 CD box set, "The Casablanca Records Story" state:
"But there was a generous variety of other artists on Casablanca...existing on all sides of the conventional. The gay-oriented part of the roster alone had some diversity. Dennis Parker was the hunky model-waiter character somehow left out of the Village People records; Skatt Brothers, A MORE DANGEROUSLY GAY CONCEPT ACT ORIGINATING IN TORONTO, RELEASED THE THINLY-VEILED "WALK THE NIGHT" AT THE TIME WHEN THE WORD FROM CASABLANCA WAS THAT THEY COULD NO LONGER PLAY MIND GAMES WITH THE PUBLIC IMAGE OF THE VILLAGE PEOPLE. D.C. Larue, an art student-turned-social commentator, made a string of club hits documenting the sexual and social mores on the nightclub circuit beginning with the morning-after metaphor "Cathedrals" in 1976. Paul Jabara, an Oscar-winner for writing Donna Summer's "Last Dance" had a mile-wide stripe of Tin Pan Alley running through his disco songs, and was affectionately called Irving Beirut by his song-publishing patrons, but his own albums had the vibe of a camped-up Marx Brothers movie. "Pleasure Island" was a travelogue for the hedonistic retreats of New York's Fire Island."
"Lost inside adorable illusion...."
Double Platinum Record [Level 9]
On 2001-10-25 02:06, JussiK wrote:
Have a look at the flipside of the first Macho sleeve. Now turn it upside down. What do you see? The image now seems to have changed shockingly. The neck is now something plunging into a ...well, see for yourself. - I used to go to record stores and place the album this way and then check out people's reactions.
I just got the LP a week ago... I'm at work now, but I'll have to check this out.
And I thought they'd gone over the top when I noticed the reflection on the sunglasses on the front cover!
However, the cover of Macho II doesn't leave much to the imagination... but that's rather fitting, as there wasn't much imagination put into the music either. Macho II has to be the most disappointing sequel ever.
Platinum Record [Level 8]
On 2001-10-25 08:04, maarten wrote:
Who finds these things out? And Jussi, I can not possibly believe that anybody in your native country would be shocked by such a thing. Jealous, maybe...
Maarten - well, an apparent close up penetration shot is not something a suburban market dweller expects to see while sleepily browsing for a copy of the latest Richard Clayderman Goes Panpipes album, is it? I think the flipside of the Macho album upside down would even make an Amsterdam native bat an eyelid...
Jealous.. Sure! We all would love to have been immortalised on a disco album sleeve like THAT!
Indie Release [Level 4]
Originally Written by JussiK
Hi Guys
I mentioned that I am interested in old posts of this forum.Here,Jussik shows us a test with a fiirst Macho lp.I turned the lp upside down and......... :oops: Yes Jussik you are right.Remember all you have to do is to turn upside down the lp....very interesting....specially for the new members!!!!!!!
I still continue to search old posts
Double Platinum Record [Level 9]
JFP's Revanche is another example.
Indie Release [Level 4]
Other gay-themed lp sleeves include the overtly gay artists, especially Dynamic Superiors' eponymous album from '75, Keith Barrow's Physical Attraction, Sylvester's Living Proof, Paul Jababra's The Third Album. Gay references abound on the sleeves of other acts, like Giorgio's Knights In White Satin, and Grace Jones, especially the Fame and Muse lps. I always felt that several of the T-Connection sleeves traded on these messages (the self-titled lp from '78 and On Fire). Perhaps also Arpeggio's Let The Music Play.
Chart Hit [Level 6]
I'm sure most of you have never heard of a rock artist named Mike Watt (he was the leader of a well known band whose name escapes me at the moment) but the front cover of his solo debut, "Ball Hog or Tug Boat" is an abstract drawing that appears to be 2 men about to get VERY acquainted.
Advance Promo Copy [Level 3]
What was the name of that Rod McKuen disco album? Slide it in? Slip it in? Something like that. The cover had a big hairy arm with a fistful of crisco (although the can it was taken from was renamed "disco."
I've never heard anything from it - has anyone? Is it as awful as I think it might be? Rod McKuen? Disco?
Theo Vaness Bad Boy lp is pretty homoertoic. I just realized the other day that he's holding a tube of lipstick on the cover. How is it I never saw these things way back when?
If off to check my Macho lp!
Gold Record [Level 7]
I always have doubts about this one:
It don't mean a thing (if ain't got that swing)
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