Day: August 26, 2019

A brand new podcast – When We Were Out – aims to uncover Manchester’s rich and largely forgotten LGBT+ history and its queer pioneers.

THE first episode, available from Friday, August 23, features Jackie Crozier, former Festival Director of Manchester Pride (2005-2011), who talks about her time at the helm of one of the countries biggest Pride celebrations.

Future guests include television writer and creator of Queer As Folk, Russell T Davies; Poptastic club promoter John Hamilton; and founder of Healthy Gay Manchester Paul Martin OBE. 

The podcast will also celebrate lesser-known names and faces from Manchester’s LGBT+ history – the people who made a huge difference, but who’s contribution may not be known, and who’s stories haven’t been told.

The weekly podcast – which is available from Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Podbean – is presented by Grahame Robertson and Annie Emery.

Grahame is the former editor of outnorthwest magazine which marks its 20th anniversary next year.

He said: “The idea for When We Were Out came from my increasing frustration that nobody seemed to be marking or celebrating the amazing LGBT+ history of Manchester, and if felt like there was a real risk that people’s stories and experiences were going to be forgotten.”

He continued: “I’m from a generation of gay men who lost too many friends to HIV and AIDS. These are people that we have lost within living memory. I was inspired to keep their memories alive and to start documenting the amazing contribution Manchester has made to the LGBT landscape in this country.  There are no shortage of inspiring LGBT people and allies to speak to in this city. I want to make sure When We Were Out talks to all of them.”

Annie Emery, former Production Manager at outnortwest, and current CEO of MASH Manchester, said: “We forget our history at our peril. We are living in a time when LGBT equality seems to be complete. Big name businesses rainbow-up their logos and it can feel like as a community we are now fully able to be ourselves. But the reality is different. Homophobic and transphobic hate crime is on the rise in the UK, and globally previously hard-won equality continues to be stripped away. It is vital that we hear and learn from the stories of the past to understand how to maintain and grow our rights in the future. It’s such a pleasure to be involved in liberating and sharing these incredible stories.”

New episodes of When We Were Out will be available every Friday from: 

Apple Podcasts: https://tinyurl.com/y5lzag9m
Podbean: https://tinyurl.com/y35se829

When We Were Out can also be followed on Twitter @WhenWeWereOut1 and Instagram whenwewereout