OutRage!: An Oral History

©1993 Steve Mayes

Review of Ian Lucas’s book on the history of OutRage! from 1990 to 1996

“The world looks different from this end of the telescope and this is what it looks like.” (Steve Mayes)

Ian Lucas’s “OutRage! An Oral History” chronicles the rise of queer direct action in nineties Britain in the words of the activists themselves. Lucas traces OutRage!’s origins in the sporadic protests against homophobia of the eighties, paying homage to its short-lived predecessors and sketching the hostile atmosphere which were the inspiration and reason for its birth. Individual accounts do not flinch from articulating the disputes over priorities and tactics, aims and methods, which were nonetheless to produce the most original and highest profile gay rights organisation ever.

A pandemonium of noise is what OutRage! have created in the straight media and the queer communities over the past decade. From the high-profile outing of MP’s and bishops to their attacks on hypocrisy in the Catholic Church or homophobia within the Labour Party, OutRage! campaigns have sparked bitter controversy and debate, massively increasing the public visibility of queer issues. Blowing whistles, banging drums and sporting T-shirts with in-yer-face slogans, these self-styled “Queers with Attitude” have had a profound effect on the culture and politics of the lesbian and gay communities and straight society.

Fierce, funny, camp, sexy, embarrassing but ultimately inspiring, here is the definitive account of the politics and personalities behind this notorious group.

“OutRage! has always sought to articulate a post-equality agenda which seeks to renegotiate the values, institutions and laws of straight culture, challenging not just homophobia but the authoritarian and puritanical nature of social institutions — our agenda is about transforming society, not conforming to it.” (Peter Tatchell)

“OutRage! An Oral History” by Ian Lucas is published by Cassell, London and New York, 1998; 244pp; ISBN=0304333581 (paperback); ISBN=0304333573 (hardback).

1990

April 30th
Gay actor Michael Booth is murdered in Ealing
 
May 1st
OutRage’s first meeting
 
May 31st
Fund-raising group formed – bank balance £16
 
June 7th
First demo at Hyde Park toilets against police entrapment
 
June 21st
OutRage vote to take over Organisation for Lesbian and Gay Action offices at the London Lesbian & Gay Centre
 
June 30th
Action against Revolutionary Communist Party stall at Gay Pride over their stance on AIDS
Laying of wreath at Cenotaph in memory of gays killed during the Holocaust
 
July 10th
March with Ealing Lesbian & Gay Forum at protest of murder of gay actor Michael Booth
 
July 12th
Demo by Brighton activists at Princess Diana’s speech at the right-wing International
Congress Of The Family, Brighton – they get onstage behind her with pro-gay placards
 
July 17th
OutRage demo against International Congress of the Family – disruption of meeting
 
July 19th
OutRage vote to buy whistles for fund-raising – Blow The Whistle on Queerbashing
 
July 27th
First OutRage Whistle Patrol
 
August 16th
Demo outside Scotland Yard calling on police to stop entrapment, and work harder on solving gay related murders
 
August 30th
Zap on Paradise Club, Islington, after man beaten up outside and refused re-entry
 
September 5th
Kiss In at the Eros statue, Piccadilly Circus, to demonstrate against police harassment of public displays of gay affection
 
September 10th
OutRage outreach trip to Manchester
 
September 22nd
OutRage support Black Lesbian and Gay Group picket of Brixton Police Station
OutRage deliver first protest letter to gay pub Brief Encounter over their ban on same sex kissing
 
September 28th
Leafleting of punters outside Brief Encounter
 
September 30th
Meeting with other gay groups to discuss setting up a London Policing Initiative
 
October 1st
Support ACT-UP demo against compulsory HIV testing for employees at TEXACO HQ
 
October 2nd
First Policing Initiative meeting with the Metropolitan Police
 
September 4th
Steve Stannard ousted as treasurer – bitter discussion of sectarian interests within OutRage
 
September 10th
Kiss-In at Brief Encounter pub
 
September 19th
Demo against Ealing MP Harry Greenway over comments he allegedly made over Michael Booth’s death
 
November 5th
OutRage support Gay Rights In Prison demo at Wandsworth Prison calling for free condoms to be made available in British prisons
 
Novemmber 27th
Market Tavern benefit for OutRage, hosted by popular DJ Jeremy Joseph

December 3rd
March from Coleherne pub to Earls Court Police Station to protest Police harassment of gays in Earl’s Court
 
December 9th
Winter Pride – March, OutRage pantomime, headshaving & merchandise stall
 
December 17th
OutRage Christmas Celebration For London’s Extended Queer Family, Covent Garden – speakers, gay carols, giving of ‘presents’ to the gay community
 
December 20th
OutRage set up the Coalition For Lesbian And Gay Rights in protest against new legal attacks on SM sex, adoption rights, and increased sentences for consensual gay ‘crimes’ such as soliciting, importuning and procuring

1991

January 10th
US Queer Nation ‘Cell Structure’ adopted by OutRage
 
January 13th
Initial meeting of The Coalition For Lesbian And Gay Rights
 
January 14th
Scrubbing Parliament Clean Of Homophobia with mops and brushes
 
February 3rd
Screening of Derek Jarman’s The Garden benefit for OutRage at the Electric Cinema
 
February 6th
Mass Turn-in of OutRage ‘Sex Criminals’ at Bow Street
 
February 14th
Washing Union Jack Clean Of Homophobia – International Lesbian and Gay Association international actions against UK ‘Hat-trick of hatred’ anti-gay legislation
 
February 16th
Lesbian & Gay Rights Coalition National March & Benefit at Paradise Club
 
February 21st
Zap on Paradise Club over alleged mistreatment of two lesbians
 
March 11th
Filming of Derek Jarman’s Edward II; spontaneous zap against pop singer Cliff Richard at same studio
 
March 17th
Public meeting at the London Lesbian & Gay Centre on use of the word ‘queer’ after OutRage member threatens to set fire to himself over queer ‘abuse’
 
March 23rd
Zap on Annual General Meeting of National Viewers & Listeners Association – Tory MP Kenneth Baker’s speech disrupted
 
March 29th
Zap at Home Office against legal moves to prevent lesbian and gay couples fostering or adopting
 
April 4th
Affinity groups adopted after US Queer Nation model
 
April 13th
Liberation mass demo in Manchester
 
April 19th
Zap against Archbishops of Canterbury, George Carey and burning of ‘queer martyrs’
 
April 21st
New affinity group ‘Whores Of Babylon’ Zap of Rev Lister’s church in Tufnell Park over his homophobic newsletter
 
May 16th
Re-naming of Office Sub Group to Queer Accountants Never Go Out (QUANGO)
 
May 21st
Zap on Isle of Man stall at Shipping Exhibition, Barbican protesting Isle of Man’s continued criminalisation of homosexuality, and police operations on gay men on the island
 
May 23rd
Affinity group Perverts Undermining State Scrutiny (PUSSY) set up
 
June 12th
Queer Wedding festival at Nelson’s Column, Trafalgar Square
 
June 13th
OutRage South Kiss-In, Southampton Town Centre
 
June 21st
OutRage Whistle Patrol/ midnight performance of play TeaTrolley on Clapham Common
 
June 27th
Gay activist Alan Shea from the Isle Of Man attends an OutRage meeting
 
July 5th
Outrage invasion of Isle Of Man and zap on Opening of Tinwald (local parliament)
 
July 9th
Zap on Brief Encounter over their ‘Bring A Fish’ poster, claimed as misogynist
 
July 18th
OutRage Family Group picket of DSS HQ against the Family Support Bill
 
July 31st
Faggots Rooting Out Closeted Sexuality (FROCS) Press Conference claiming to show media hypocrisy over the FROCS ‘hoax’ to out prominent British public figures
 
August 1st
OutRage in-house magazine Queer Reality#1 produced
 
August 7th
Exorcism of the ‘demon of homophobia’ at Lambeth Palace
 
August 16th
OutRage merchandise & safer sex stall on Hampstead Heath cruising ground
 
August 17th
Work It Girl (WIG) ‘urban glamour assault’ on Oxford Street
 
August 21st
‘Queer Heritage’ zap at Epsom cruising ground over police entrapment campaign
 
August 22nd
Launch of Focus Groups to look at issues of race, youth, gender, disability
 
August 23rd
‘Big Nancy’ cabaret benefit for OutRage, London Lesbian & Gay Centre
 
August 26th
OutRage team wins Vauxhall Tavern Gay Sports Day
 
August 27th
Queers Underground Asserting the Right to Ride Every Line Safely (QUARRELS) action claiming queer space on London Underground tubes
 
August 30th
Queer Planet zap against Amnesty International London HQ over refusal to adopt lesbian and gay prisoners as prisoners of conscience
 
August 31st
Outrage support Gay Rights In Prison demo at Pentonville Prison
 
September 1st
Queer Heritage zap at Hampstead men & women’s bathing ponds against refusal to allow nude sun-bathing
 
September 13th
Socialist Lesbians And Gays (SLAGS) action against The Guardian for allegedly homophobic article
OutRage stall on Hampstead Heath cruising ground at night
 
September 14th
Condom clear-up of Hampstead Heath
 
September 23rd
OutRage attempt boycott of The Guardian newspaper
 
September 25th
Lesbians Answer Back In Anger (LABIA) focus group first meeting
 
October 1st
Hampstead Heath litter cruise
 
October 13th
Queer Heritage demo at Epsom Crown Court in support of activist approaching cruisers to tell them of underclothes police performing entrapment operation
 
October 31st
First demo at State Opening Of Parliament
 
November 7th
LABIA Jennifer Saunders action
 
November 17th
1st zap against Living Waters ‘ex-gay’ movement at St Michael’s Church, Belgravia
 
November 24th
Open meeting on future of Coalition For Lesbian & Gay Rights
 
November 27th
Pro-gay leafleting of students at Havistock School, Kentish Town
 
December 1st
Zap at St Michael’s Church, Belgravia – 11 arrested
 
December 3rd
Zap at Church Of England as Press Release issued condemning homosexuality
 
December 6th
OutRage attend demo against French right winger Jean Marie Le Pen at Charing Cross Hotel
 
December 12th
Ivan Thoms, South African gay campaigner, attends OutRage meeting

1992

January 26th
Demo outside Evening Standard Awards Ceremony after alleged homophobic reporting
 
February 6th
EQUALITY NOW campaign for the General Election begins – March on Parliament – 45 arrests
 
February 15th
Demo against Benetton shops over advertising campaign involving the image of a man dying from AIDS, David Kirby
 
February 20th
EQUALITY NOW ‘Queering’ of military statues/demo at Ministry of Defence
 
March 5th
EQUALITY NOW Wink-In protest against procuring, importuning and soliciting laws at Piccadilly Circus
 
March 19th
EQUALITY NOW Application to register lesbian & gay partnerships
First zap against Conservative Family Protection Group
 
April 2nd
EQUALITY NOW Employment demos i) Pat Arrowsmith hands in letter to Dept. Of Employment protesting at employment discrimination ii) Demo in support of Alison Halford, allegedly harrassed because of her sexualit, at New Scotland Yard iii) Demo outside High Court during the Jason Donovan vs The Face libel trial
 
April 10th
OutRage demo outside 10 Downing Street after John Major wins general Election – 3 arrested
 
April 11th
Stickering zap against Guns ‘n’ Roses records over homophobic lyrics, Tower Records, Piccadilly Circus
 
April 16th
EQUALITY NOW Teenage Turn-In & ‘Bend Over For Your Member’ demo outside Parliament – OutRage members drop their trousers in an insult to Parliament
 
April 18th
Stickering zap against Guns ‘n’ Roses, Virgin Megastore
 
April 25th
LABIA attempt to set up a Lesbian Cruising ground on Hampstead Heath
 
April 30th
EQUALITY NOW zap on Tory HQ against anniversary of Section 28; free ‘sample’ of homosexuality made available
 
May 6th
Demo at State Opening Of Parliament
 
May 8th
OutRage demonstrate against the film Basic Instinct
 
May 18th
Double zap against Clerical & Medical at their Bristol HQ and registered offices in London, over alleged discrimination
 
May 29th
‘Safer Cruising’ action on Clapham Common cruising ground
 
June 25th
Abolition of focus groups after OutRage decide they are being used by leftist groups for ‘entryist’ tactics to disrupt meetings
 
July 8th
Demo against military queerbashing at Earls Court Royal Tournament
 
July 25th
End of EQUALITY NOW campaign – March on Downing Street
 
August 4th
Invasion of Vatican Embassy in London in protest against Church homophobia
 
August 8th
OutRage vigilante watch against British National Party attacks on gay bars in Soho
 
August 9th
Disruption of service at Westminster Cathedral to demonstrate against Church homophobia
 
September 20th
Attempted crucifixion at Westminster Cathedral
 
September 21st
Zap against Supt Hames, head of Obscene Publications Squad, at National Women’s Council Meeting
 
October 9th
Hyde Park ‘Cruise-In’ – safer sex campaign
 
October 27th
OutRage attend launch of gay Christian prayer Daring To Speak Love’s Name, Westminster Central Hall, dropped by its original publisher
 
October 31st
Coalition For Lesbian & Gay Rights March, London
 
November 9th
Demo at Royal Mail HQ in support of worker Steven Watts after suffering homophobic abuse at work
 
November 30th
Zap on London Rubber Company HQ for World AIDS Day, demanding extra strong condoms be labelled suitable for anal sex
 
December 1st
World AIDS Day demo at Downing Street with ACT-UP
 
December 7th
Demo at Royal Mail HQ in Cambridge
 
December 8th
Demo against Buju Banton outside Hammersmith Palais, after his homophobic song Boom Bye Bye referred to shooting batty boys (homosexuals)
 
December 10th
Storming of Royal Mail HQ in Cambridge

1993

January 17th
Raid on South Oxley Community Church used to ‘cure’ homosexuality
 
February 13th
Queer Valentine Carnival, Soho, renaming of Old Compton Street as Queer Street
 
March 26th
OutRage ‘Spank-In’ protest against Operation Spanner SM Appeal outside Court of Appeal
Invasion of BBC Broadcasting House against Shabba Ranks’ appearance on Top Of The Pops after making anti-gay comments
 
March 28th
OutRage due to be evicted from London Lesbian & Gay Centre after Centre forced to close previous December
 
April 4th
Zap on Cardinal Basil Hume, Palm Day procession, Westminster Cathedral
 
April 15th
Phone Zap on Crimewatch, protesting BBC’s ‘incitement’ of crimes against homosexuals after allowing airplay and performance time for anti-gay artists
 
April 22nd
Invasion of BBC Broadcasting House
 
April 26th
Protest against John Birt, BBC Controller, Royal Television Society meeting, Whitehall
 
May 22nd
OutRage move into new offices at 5 Peter Street Soho
 
May 26th
Zap on John Major’s old school, Rutlish, in Wimbledon, to promote homosexuality and safer sex
 
June 3rd
OutRage starts meeting at Covent Garden Community Centre
 
July 1st
OutRage disrupt Haringey Council meeting after allegedly discriminatory dismissal of employee David Morgan
 
July 22nd
Zap against Crown Prosecution Service – headquarters invaded, major breach of security
 
August 26th
3rd Birthday Party & Relaunch
 
September
OutRage quits London Lesbian & Gay Policing Initiative after raising doubts over police investigation into ‘gay serial killer’ Colin Ireland
 
September 13th
OutRage & Act-Up zap Bromley Council meeting over alleged HIV discrimination
 
September 16th
Zap at Western Marble Arch Synagogue in protest at comments made by Rabbi Jakobowitz over ‘gay gene’
 
September 22nd
Zap with ACT-UP against Benetton HQ, resulting in the arrest of ‘The Benetton 9’. And subsequent court case in which all nine defendants were acquitted. The court case implied that OutRage had been under surveillance by the secret services
 
October 16th
OutRage attend Anti Nazi League/Anti Racist Alliance march against fascism in Plumstead
 
November 12th
Peter Tatchell confronts PM John Major in impromptu zap
 
November 18th
Demo at State Opening Of Parliament
 
November 30th
Demo with Welsh group Dicclon against Rabbi Jakobowitz at St David’s Hall, Cardiff
 
December 1st
Distribution of condoms and safer sex resources outside Christ The King Sixth Form College, Lewisham
 
December 18th
Urban Glamour Assault on London centre

1994

February 21st
Candlelit vigil, Age of Consent vote, Parliament. Age of consent lowered from 21 to 18
 
February 23rd
OutRage members confront John Major as he opens intensive care unit at Kings College Hospital, protesting against the vote on the age of consent
 
March 14th
Age Of Dissent March on Parliament
 
April
Demo outside the Danish Embassy, asking Danes to invade Britain
 
April 16th
OutRage Mersey demo against MP Bob Parry for voting against an equal age of consent
Zap on Labour’s National executive meeting in protest at their lack of involvement on lesbian and gay issues, and against the number of Labour MP’s who voted against an equal age of consent
 
May 7th
Teenage Turn-In, Charing Cross Police Station
 
May 29th
Zap on Cardinal Basil Hume’s blessing of the new Catechism, Westminster Cathedral
 
June 5th
Demo against Benetton at Quilts Of Love exhibition, Hyde Park
 
July 10th
Nude Zap at Hampstead Heath bathing pond
 
July 26th
OutRage join march against Criminal Justice Bill, Trafalgar Square
Inaugural Lesbian Avengers meeting
 
August 7th
Queers Against Fundamentalism demo against Wembley Fundamentalist Muslim rally, subsequently adopted as an OutRage action
 
August 19th
Zap against Sgt Paul Canneaux, Parks Police, responsible for policing Hampstead Heath
 
September 5th
Handing out of cruising leaflets at Battersea Park
 
September 24th
Zap against The Courage Trust’s Open Day at Chorleywood aimed to recruit parents of lesbians and gays and persuade them of a Christian ‘cure’
 
October 9th
OutRage attend march against the Criminal Justice Bill
 
October 22nd
Zap of Bishop Michael Turnbull at his enthronement in Durham after it’s revealed he was arrested for cottaging offences
 
November 15th
Zap of Synod Press Conference and confrontation of Bishop Of Durham at Greenwich University Awards Ceremony
 
November 16th
OutRage zap on State Opening Of Parliament
 
November 18th
OutRage National Tour starts to develop gay activism throughout the country
 
November 27th
Zap at Westminster Cathedral, helium filled condoms released
 
November 30th
‘Outing’ of 10 Church of England bishops at General Synod – named bishops urged to ‘declare your sexuality’
 
December 18th
OutRage disrupt enthronement of John Gladwin as Bishop of Guildford

1995

January 10th
Letter written to 20 MPs urging them to come out, and outlining the benefits that would be achieved personally and politically
 
February 21st
Candlelit vigil, anniversary of Age of Consent vote
 
March 20th
Northern Ireland MP James Kilfeddor dies of a heartbreak – Press allege he was one of the 20 MP’s sent a letter by OutRage
 
July 21st
Zap of True Freedom Trust Turnabout meeting, Westbourne Park Baptist church
 
July 22nd
OutRage disrupt farewell service for Bishop of St Albans
 
August 13th
Protest against Assembly For Islam, Trafalgar Square
 
August 18th
Demonstration against President Mugabe, Zimbabwe High Commission
 
August 23rd
Zap of ‘ex-gay’ movement Living Waters International Conference at St Michael’s, Belgravia
 
September 8th
‘Queer Jihad’ declared against Muslim fundamentalist Al-Muhajiroun at Speaker’s Corner, Hyde Park
 
October 1st
OutRage & Lesbian Avengers picket Sainsbury’s over funding anti-gay relidious movements
 
November 12th
Laying of wreath at Cenotaph for ‘Queer Remembrance Day’
 
November 27th
OutRage nail list of ‘queer demands’ to Westminster Abbey door OutRage join GLF 25th Anniversary, Highbury Fields
 
December 19th
OutRage zap Queen’s annual Royal Christmas Staff Ball after she allegedly forbids same sex partners to attend

1996

February 13th
OutRage launch ‘Queer Cupid’ campaign for equal age of consent of 14 outside House Of Commons
 
February 21st
OutRage join NUS for “Stamp Out Homophobia” rally, House Of Commons
 
March 2nd
Zap at Fulham Police Station after man who was queerbashed is charged with GBH for hitting his attacker over the head with a bottle of champagne- daubing of Queers Bash Back slogan on police wall
 
June 20th
OutRage message of support read out by Chrissie Hynde at “The March For Animals” Washington DC
 
July 2nd
OutRage comment on Home Office consultation paper on sex offenders
 
July 6th
OutRage billboard – “Portillo Screws Queer Soldiers” in Parliament Square during lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Pride March
 
July 9th
OutRage launch campaign for compensation for gay victims of aversion therapy
 
August 10th
Queer Political funeral of original OutRage member Martin Corbett & march through Soho
 
September 12th
OutRage launches “Queer The Vote” campaign to bring gay issues to the fore during the General Election
 
October 20th
OutRage zap Romanian National Opera at Royal Albert Hall in protest at discriminatory Romanian legislation