Podcast
Every episode of Romp, the podcast about gay life in Britain before Grindr. Older gay men talk about how they actually lived — the cruising grounds, the contact ads, the saunas and bars, the loves and losses of decades when being gay meant making it up as you went with no map and no one to ask. Series one spans the 1950s to the 1990s. New episodes coming soon.
-
Mark – From Grimsby to Japan, One Gay Man’s Journey Through the 1980s and Beyond
Three special episodes with Mark covers the 1980's with Mark exploring his sexuality at 13, coming out and being thrown out of his Grimsby home at 16, moving to London and eventually Japan, Thailand and Australia.
-
Stewart – Faith, Section 28 and Finding Love — Being Gay with a Catholic Conscience in 1980s Manchester
In this episode, Stewart from Lancashire talks about coming out and dating against a backdrop of a strict catholic upbringing in Manchester, his ongoing christian faith and finding love amongst the trees. Listen out for the squirrel.
-
Tim – From Canada to Sleeping Rough in London — One Gay Man’s Journey Across Continents
Tim, 53 from London talks about coming out in Canada, living in Alaska, Florida and the UK. There's tears, wonder woman and homelessness where a gay man does what he can to get by. We talk about clubbing, cruising and clothes.
-
Maurice – Living with HIV Since 1984 — Cottaging Arrests, Theatre, and 40 Years a Survivor
In this episode, I'm talking to Maurice Greenhall. He's circa 83 and he's been living with HIV since 1984 and will talk about his early life and escapades in Macclesfield, Nottingham, Congleton, Durham, Amsterdam and more - this episode includes tales of working in theatre, teaching and an arrest for Cottaging due to a Police sting - Quite a common occurrence in this age.
-
Ron Gay in the 1950s — Cruising the Cheshire Lanes, 51 Years of Love and Starting Over at 80
Ron was born in 1943 and started meeting men by driving the lanes of Cheshire in the late 1950s, when it was still illegal. He talks about finding love on a country road the week Apollo 11 landed on the moon, fifty-one years with his partner Alan, navigating HIV in the 1980s, and — after Alan died at the start of the pandemic — getting himself on Grindr and PrEP at nearly eighty.
-
Colin – Gay Manchester in the 80s — Coming Out, the Moss Side Riots and 40 Years of Love
Colin talks about coming out in the 70’s and 80’s with stories of Moss Side Riots, ITV World in Action and Queer As Folk