Review: A Little Respect- LGBTQ Dance Music Documentary

Dance Music Archive have uploaded the LGBTQ dance music documentary ‘A Little Respect’ made for Virgin Radio UK and you can watch it here. The doc is in 3 parts starting with the 70s then progressing to the late 80s and the 00’s. I chose to focus on the 2nd part of the series focusing on the 80s. Erasure singer, Andy Bell hosts the series and interviews many of the icons of the early scene.

Between quotes from former PM, Margaret Thatcher, classic rave tunes and soundbites, we get the first interview with Vicky Edwards, a veteran DJ at club nights like Heaven and her own Venus Rising. Many will be familiar with the horror stories about Acid House raves. The Tory party imposed draconian rules on warehouse raves in an early version of today’s culture wars but DJs, promoters and ravers were able to adapt and keep the scene thriving.

We move on to Manchester’s iconic Hacienda club where music primarily played at Black Gay clubs crossed over into the wider rave scene. In fact many of the event promoters were gay themselves. In the early days there was still a lot of stigma around the gat community but the Hacienda became a safe space for LGBTQ ravers. The ‘Flesh’ event at the Hacienda became the most famous Gay club night in the North of England.

There’s some great interviews on ‘A Little Respect’ including one with Crystal Waters who tells the story behind ‘Gypsy Woman.’ A little known fact is before this dance classic broke the mainstream, it was a huge anthem in the LGBTQ clubs of the time. Other interviews include Sister Bliss that coincide with a brief history of LGBTQ sub genres like Handbag House, Hi NRG and Hard House. We also get to hear those big flamboyant Handbag House tunes of the mid 90s.

We learn about the track that got scene veteran, Boy George into House music and the legendary ‘Trade’ club in Turnmills, London that brought in a diverse crowd including A&R men, launching countless dance classic into the UK top 40.

In summary, this is a fascinating insight into the LGBTQ contribution to dance music. When our scene has been white washed as a straight, white male dominated scene, it’s important to know the truth and recognise the contributions of marginalised communities and ‘A Little Respect’ does a great job of redressing the balance and educating.