Glad To Be Gay singer marks history month

By Amy Bourke • February 20, 2007 - 15:32

He is now best known for presenting programmes on the BBC's national radio stations. photo: BBC

No Comments Yet on Glad To Be Gay singer marks history month

BBC Radio 6 presenter Tom Robinson will be speaking at the University of Manchester on Friday as part of a national celebration of gay history.

Robinson is expected to talk about his years as a musician and gay activist as part of LGBT History Month.

The event has been organised by the University's LGBT Staff Network.

The overtly political Robinson Band had a hit with (Sing if you're) Glad to be Gay in 1977.

Despite a BBC ban on the track it went to number 18 in the UK singles chart.

He is also expected to discuss how his private life became front-page news when he married a woman and started a family, a move that earned him many critics within the gay community.

Robinson has since become an advocate for a wider sexuality than his initial "gay campaigner" label allowed.

Some 20 years after the notoriety of Glad to be Gay, released the cheekily titled album, Having it Both Ways, in 1996.

He is now best known for presenting programmes on the BBC's national radio stations, currently fronting his own twice-weekly show on Radio 6 Music.

In January Education Secretary Alan Johnson caused controversy by saying he would be happy if Robinson's song (Sing If You're) Glad To Be Gay was included in a book of poetry for schoolchildren.

The event will take place on Friday, February 23, from 4.30pm to 6pm in the Roscoe Building on Brunswick Street.

Share this story with the world These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.