Can you introduce yourself and anything you want to share about how you identify?

Currently living far away from the gay scene, in leafy North Yorkshire, I am another retired gay man spending my time between working with charities and tinkering with my archive of photographs.

We are obsessed with The Linden Archive! For those unfamiliar with it could you tell us a bit more?

During the 1990’s I was a freelance photojournalist for Gay Times and All Points North magazines. Travelling all across the North of England from Birmingham to Newcastle with the occasional foray into London or Brighton. The photography was pre digital and shot on 35mm film of which I managed to salvage most of the negatives. These negatives formed what during covid lockdowns became the @linden_archives Instagram account. A place where after all these years I could share with today’s queer communities and the people who are in the photographs a glimpse of what the gay scene of the North used to be.

How did your interest in photography arise?

I developed an interest in photography as a boy, always catching people at their worst, enjoying life rather than be all stiff and posed.

What interests you about documenting people specifically?

I guess I have always been a people watcher so documenting life on film seemed a natural thing to do, I just stumbled into doing it. If you look at other documentary photography it’s those ‘capture the moment photographs’ that always stand out.

Why is it important to you that the archive represents northern queer culture?

When I created the ‘Out and About with Linden’ book, based on the archive, it was important to me that the book focused on the queer North. There are plenty of books exploring and documenting the London and Brighton scenes but precious little on our scene. This was my chance to, in a small way, take a stand and produce a book that is now out there as part of British queer history.

Do you think northern queer culture was different to that of the south at the time? And now?

Up until the late 1980’s London led the way in developing queer identity in the UK. It was the first to have major venues like Heaven and the gay district of Soho and Compton Street. The north was always a few years behind until 1991 when Manchester exploded as a northern gay capital with major club nights like Flesh and clubs like Cruz 101 and Paradise Factory. Today the northern scene stands out on its own as a major scene with Manchester and Birmingham holiding mega pride events and home to major gay scenes in their own right.

Do you have a favourite image from the archive you could share with us and tell us why you love it?

There are so many to choose from but if I have to choose one it’s Manchester 1993 when two lesbians threw themselves onto the bonnet of an unmarked police car after Lily Savage (Paul O’Grady) at a pride event had pointed the police out to the crowd. The expressions of the police sitting in their car unable to escape the cheering crowd always makes me smile.

How do you feel queer nightlife has changed since you started documenting it?

Over the decade of the 1990’s there was a huge change, it started with small bars, many in need of a brewery refurbishment, but it was only the gays so they got a ‘don’t matter’ attitude from the breweries.Then the mega club night, Flesh, RIM, Peach and others arrived. Big clubs such as Cruz 101, Powerhouse, Rockies, Nightingales established themselves. By the end of the 90’s breweries had coined the phrase ‘the pink pound’ and money was pouring in to refurbish and establish new glitzy venues. I always say it was like the Northern gay scenecameoutoftheclosetandtooktothestreets. Newcastle, Manchester, Liverpool, Blackpool, Sheffield and Birmingham were the queer centres spread across the North.

What do you miss about the 90s?

We are losing gay bars at an alarming rate, why do you think that is and does it worry you?

In the 1990’s it seemed like every small town had a gay bar. Bolton, Preston, Halifax but this was also a time when most people didn’t drive and travel to the big city meant either overnight or group piling into one car. Now we all seem to drive so the smaller towns have lost out. Also we have a new age of equality and with that comes a social acceptance especially amongst the younger generation, so the need to skulk away to a secret gay bar away from your school friends has whilst not gone totally has definitely diminished. So the socialneedforexclusivegaybarsisalsonotas great. I believe there will always be a need for the exclusive gay bar but not in the same numbers. In a way the bars are victims of equality.

Do / did you have favourite locations for taking

photos?

I loved Newcastle’s Powerhouse as a venue, there was always a party vibe and I got a few good photographs. Flesh in Manchester, Rim in Birmingham and Vague in Leeds were brilliant club nights for photographs but also the Pride events such Pink Picnic in Holmfirth were colourful and fun and it came across on the photographs.

I miss the innocence of the early 90’s when it was all HI-NRG music and Disco. By the late 90’s it was heavier club music and white powder and pills. I sort of disconnected from this new scene and eventually stopped doing the scene reviews as it was no longer my scene and a new generation took over.

We are losing gay bars at an alarming rate, why do you think that is and does it worry you?

In the 1990’s it seemed like every small town had a gay bar. Bolton, Preston, Halifax but this was also a time when most people didn’t drive and travel to the big city meant either overnight or group piling into one car. Now we all seem to drive so the smaller towns have lost out. Also we have a new age of equality and with that comes a social acceptance especially amongst the younger generation, so the need to skulk away to a secret gay bar away from your school friends has whilst not gone totally has definitely diminished. So the socialneedforexclusivegaybarsisalsonotas great. I believe there will always be a need for the exclusive gay bar but not in the same numbers. In a way the bars are victims of equality.

Do / did you have favourite locations for taking

photos?

I loved Newcastle’s Powerhouse as a venue, there was always a party vibe and I got a few good photographs. Flesh in Manchester, Rim in Birmingham and Vague in Leeds were brilliant club nights for photographs but also the Pride events such Pink Picnic in Holmfirth were colourful and fun and it came across on the photographs.

What are your favourite three gay anthems to sum up your work? Ultra Nate – If You Could Read My Mind, Donna Summer – I Feel Love 12″ mix and Rozalla – Everybody’s Free.

What makes queer nightlife magic?

I’m sure the answer would be different for every generation and individual. For me, coming from a very closeted background where it was still illegal to have sex under 21 years of age, gay bars and clubs were a safe haven.The disco lights, the dancing, the music and the men. They were a place I could be me and not worry that when someone called me queer it wasn’t going to be followed by a punch in the face.

What nuggets of wisdom would you pass onto today’s generation of queer youth?

Be kind to each other, the 90’s actually felt more inclusive and the community felt more as one. On one hand it’s great that each sub group is claiming its identity but at what cost? I worry we are heading into divide and conquer territory. Look at the angry debates on trans inclusion and how it’s dividing society. I remember sitting in Flamingos nightclub in a group of friends that was made up of just about all subgroups, older and younger, and we identified as one under the rainbow flag. We were all persecuted in our own ways and we found comfort and strength together.

Out and About with Linden is available from www.pariahpress.com, Waterstones or order it from your local independant queer bookshops! Follow @linden_archives.