If the journalist and music critic Jon Savage reflected in his book The Secret Public on the LGTBQ+ brand in British pop, it is now the Spanish journalist and critic Núria Martorell who does it in I want to be free! (Redbook Editions, 2024) a vindictive tale of the presence weird in modern and popular music of the 20th century, but it also testifies to the vitality of this non-binary identity in the early years of the 21st.
To do this, he relies on the illustrator Francina Cortés for the design, execution and subsequent publication of the work. Martorell writes his educational and revealing texts and Cortés illustrates them with his lively and joyful portraits, which show the faces of the main artists, most of them world-renowned. The originals can be seen in an exhibition that will remain at the Hotel Axel in Barcelona until September 27.
Its authors affirm in a conversation with this media that the initial idea came from the publisher, especially after seeing an article by Martorell about Madonna’s concert in 2023 in Barcelona. “Manuel Martínez read the report I had written for elDiario.es about Madonna’s last concert and a few days later I received an email from him asking if I wanted to write a book,” says Martorell. The proposal also included an illustrator, since the collection in which it would be published, Bio Rock, includes both text and illustrations. Given the previous good relationship between the journalist and the illustrator, both offered to carry out the assignment and the book was launched.
“The objective of I want to be free! is to reflect how music has served as a battle flag against sexual discrimination,” Martorell explains. He does so chronologically, with sociopolitical and economic touches. Even more strikingly, he explains what happened during each decade within the LGTBIQ+ collective. And this, “to better understand the struggles and vicissitudes of all the artists who appear, many of them with their respective biographies.”
A playful, graphic and revealing work
Thus, with a very pleasant and understandable graphic structure, the work takes a revealing tour of culture weird in the music industry, highlighting their struggles, their hidden messages in countless songs and the progress that allows the existence of both increasingly explicit lyrics and artists who today do not have to hide their orientation for the sake of what the fans will say.
The book begins by clarifying what it means to be weird, a remark that may be necessary given that this term implies not only an attitude towards sexuality, but also a philosophical current that covers all socio-economic areas. “We try to conceive and treat this term more broadly throughout the book, beyond being the bisexual, pansexual, homosexual, cisgender, non-binary artist…” specifies the illustrator Francina Cortés. “What makes us fall in love with the term weird “It encompasses all sexual dissidents,” adds Martorell, who continues: “It is an umbrella word that covers homosexuals, lesbians, transvestites, bisexuals and other identities.”
From this point of view, they appear in I want to be free! artists like Madonna or Prince, always at the forefront of the defense of sexual and identity freedom but vague about their position weird –something that, on the other hand, fits perfectly into the broad sense of the term–; also others like Ricky Martin, initially reluctant to acknowledge his homosexuality but ultimately positioned themselves more or less clearly.
There is also a section for David Bowie, who in the past openly recognized himself as gay, although his attitude was rather bisexual, but who later renounced everything he had said and declared himself heteronormative. There is even talk of Raphael, who has always denied his alleged preferences but has never stopped supporting the group.
There is also no shortage of rock figures like Janis Joplin or Rob Halford, the legendary singer of Judas Priest, gay and a true reference of heavy music who had to hide his orientation for years in a world as sexist as that of sound metal. “What he suffered hiding his sexuality was really brutal,” says Martorell: “He became addicted to alcohol and drugs and tried to commit suicide with pills when the representatives of Judas Priest and the record company convinced him not to reveal his homosexuality because “They thought it would destroy the band.” Fortunately, Halford returned in 2000, already out of the closet and having left Judas Priest, with the magnificent album Resurrectionwho returned heavy to Olympus.
“Tutti Frutti” and “The Violet Song”, pioneering anthems of the LGTBIQ+ claim
Others are better known for their bisexuality, such as pianist, composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein or Miguel Bosé, and there are also the great icons, such as Elton John or, of course, Freddy Mercury. It also tells dramatic stories like that of Whitney Houston or George Michael, whose suffering to hide their sexual identity led them to self-destruction. But there is also room in the book for pioneers of LGTBQ+ advocacy such as Little Richard and his All Fruits.
“Tutti Frutti is a word that, in slang, meant gay,” the author explains. Martorell adds that the song had original lyrics that Little Richard had to modify and which sounded like this: “Tutti Frutti, good, booty / If it doesn’t fit, don’t force it. / You can grease it, it’s easy“. Translated: “Tutti Frutti, beautiful ass / If it doesn’t fit, don’t force it / You can lube it, make it easier.” In other words, an ode to anal sex that was immediately censored, even though the song in its toned-down version was a huge hit and Elvis Presley made it his own for white audiences.
“The selection of artists began with a simple list of names, classified by decades, some according to their sexual orientation and others because their songs had made them icons.” weird even if they are heterosexual,” explains Martorell. “As I delved deeper into their lives, I saw that some deserved to be told in more detail, it was clear to me that they would be the ones who would have their corresponding biographies and that in the book they would appear printed in purple characters,” emphasizes the music critic.
The reason for the purple color is none other than the first song weird of which there is evidence: The purple songcomposed by Mischa Spoliansky and Kurt Schwabach, two Jewish gays from the Weimar Republic 100 years ago, who triumphed in the Berlin of those years with their cabaret songs. The theme was created in homage to Dr. Magnus Hirschfeld, a pioneer of the protest weird and the first doctor to perform gender reassignment surgery.
More women than men
“Without premeditation, at least consciously, there are more women than men,” Martorell acknowledges. And among these are pioneering figures who are little known to the general public, such as Josephine Baker, Ether Walters, the Spanish cuplet player Raquel Meller, Bessie Smith, Gladys Bentley and the great Ma Rainer, author of the first blues with openly LGTBQ+ themes.
Not all artists appreciate the illustrations made by Cortés, the page limit of the work was pre-established. “Núria gave me a small list of artists whose biography, in her opinion, deserved to be told in more detail and then, based on aesthetic criteria and what I thought their personality would bring to the book, I chose those I would illustrate. “, explains the illustrator.
“It was important visually that the characters convey this sense of humanity, of curiosity, of explaining something about their lives that, in most cases, had not been said too openly, much less collected in a book,” he emphasizes. He also acknowledges that “the use of saturated colors was essential to convey what I wanted to bring about these people-artists-stars of the scene.” The result is a book with attractive colors and warm and friendly illustrations.
The LGTBQ+ struggle today
Things have changed a lot, and for the better, for the LGTBQ+ community in the West. Nowadays, artists like Mushkaa, Lady Gaga, Miley Cyrus, Lil Nas
But this is not the case in the rest of the world. Martorell warns: “Even today, in 2024, a total of 64 countries prohibit private and consensual homosexual relations between men; and 40 also punish lesbian acts. The severity of the penalties ranges from less than a year in prison to life imprisonment and the death penalty. This is the case in Mauritania, Nigeria, Somalia, Afghanistan, Brunei, Iran, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen.
Finally, as a curiosity of the book, I want to be free! It is a work that allows you to interact and listen to the songs that the text refers to. It achieves this through a QR code located next to each illustration. However, for those who want to simplify listening, the authors have made a very complete list on Spotify with the songs.
