Seduced and Abandoned

Smith examines the different ways in which gay men use pop music, both as producers and consumers, and how, in turn, pop uses gay men. He asks what role culture plays in shaping identity and why pop continues to thrill gay men. These 40 essays and interviews look at how performers, from The Kinks' Ray Davies to Gene's Martin Rossiter, have used pop as a platform to explore and articulate, conform to or contest notions of sexuality and gender. A defence of cultural differences and an attack on cultural elitism, Seduced and Abandoned is as passionate and provocative as pop itself.

Richard Smith writes about gay men and the media and is a former editor of Gay Times.

About the Author
Acknowledgements
Foreword by Andy Medhurst
1 Introduction
2 The Acid Queen: Mixmaster Morris
3 Ambisexuality
4 Baby Don't Apologize: Nirvana
5 Back in the YMCA: Village People
6 Bad?: Michael Jackson
7 Being Boring: Erasure
8 Blaming it on the Boogie: Stock, Aitken and Waterman
9 Cock Rock: The Secret History of the Penis in Pop
10 Dear Shaun: Happy Mondays
11 Dragged into the Future: Trannies With Attitude
12 Getting Away with It: Right Said Fred
13 The God that Failed?: Morrissey
14 Godfathers and Sugardaddies: Tom Watkins
15 The Happy Wanderer: Jimmy Somerville
16 Homo Psycho Sexy Burlesque: My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult
17 Hope I Get Old Before I Die: Pop and AIDS
18 The House That Frankie Built: Frankie Knuckles
19 Housewives' Choice: Female Fans and Unmanly Men
20 I'm Not Like Everybody Else: The Kinks
21 Just Good Friends?: Take That
22 Kerrang! The Sound of Confusion: Heavy Metal
23 Let's (Not) Talk About Sex: Sex, Pop and Censorship
24 Little Town Flirt: Suede
25 The London Boy: Colin Bell
26 Murmuring: REM
27 The Odd Couple: McAlmont (Thieves)
28 Out On Your Own: Kitchens of Distinction and Sugar
29 'Outrage and Boredom Just Go Hand in Hand': Manic Street Preachers
30 Pink Vinyl: Gay Dance Labels and Nu-NRG
31 Preaching to the Perverted: Homocore and Queercore
32 The Queen of New York: RuPaul
33 Relaxed: Holly Johnson
34 The Rhythm Divine: Jon Savage and Disco
35 Seriously: Pet Shop Boys
3 6 This Charming Man: Gene
37 Three Little Words: Pet Shop Boys
38 Us Boys Together Clinging: One Night in a Gay Club
39 What Do We Want?: 2wo Third3
40 A Year in the Death of Freddie Mercury: Queen
Afterwords
Selected Bibliography
Index