Paul Burston has made a name for himself amongst the country’s gay community as a leading novelist and critic on la vie gay. Having moved to London from South Wales in the 1980’s, Paul has seen the Capital’s gay population go through some pretty turbulent times; from the infamous AIDS epidemic to the introduction of Section 28. Recently married, Paul now lives with his partner in London and has been Gay Editor of Time Out for six years.
To celebrate 40 years of the magazine, Time Out has published London Calling - a book containing some of the best articles and interviews published in the London edition of the magazine. Paul’s article, ‘Pink Is The Colour – A Personal History of Gay London’, features in the book, providing a retrospective look at life growing up in London as an out gay man.
Our very own editor, Clint Garnier, caught up with Paul Burston to have a chat about the article, London life and the battles facing the LGBT community nowadays...
CG: Your article, Pink is the colour, is an enlighteningly personal account of your life as a young adult growing up in London during the 80’s. What was the reason behind writing the article?
PB: London has changed enormously during the 25 years I've lived here. 20 years ago, when I was a gay activist getting arrested on the streets, I never thought I'd see the day when I'd be getting 'married' at a major London landmark like Tower Bridge. It's been quite a journey.
CG: In your article, you talk about the onslaught of the notorious AIDS epidemic in the UK, particularly in London. Although the media, in more recent years, has been able to focus more attention on the illness, the number of newly-diagnosed cases amongst gay men continues to rise at an alarming rate. How do you think the situation has changed between the 80’s and now in regards to HIV awareness, prejudices and available treatment?
PB: There is a shocking lack of awareness of HIV among younger gay men. Partly this is due to schools, and the legacy of Section 28, but sad to say there's also far less sense of community and personal responsibility these days. In the early days of the epidemic, gay men pulled together to create organisations like The Terrence Higgins Trust to help fight the battle against AIDS. Now you look on gay dating sites and you find men actively looking for unsafe 'bareback' sex. There are even people who call themselves 'bug chasers', and other people willing to pass on the 'gift' of HIV to them. Why is this happening? Personally I think it's down to a combination of survivors' guilt, 'condom fatigue' and the fact that some gay men still don't like themselves very much.
CG: Having said that, the photo of you and your partner on the final page of the article is testament to just how far the gay community in London has come in the past few decades. What are the main problems that you would say face the gay community today?
PB: Homophobia hasn't gone away. The legal battles have been won, but the battle for hearts and minds is far from over. Homophobic attacks are rife - even in gay havens like Old Compton Street. There have been several high profile murders of gay men in recent years, and many more cases which weren't widely reported. We can't take our freedom or our safety for granted.
CG: On a more personal note, what are your plans for the next five years?
PB: I have a new novel called 'The Gay Divorcee' coming out in May. I'ts a gay comedy of manners about love, marriage and the lies that happen in between. I'm also busy with my gay literary salon night Polari, which runs once a month. Plus I'm curating gay events at the South Bank Centre, which takes up a lot of time. Somewhere down the line I hope to fit in another book, though it's too soon to say what it will be yet.
London Calling is available from all good bookshops and online retailers or from timeout.com/shop.
Written by Joshua Smith
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