John Bull: In 1994 the Pet Shop Boys were invited to perform 'Go West' at the Brit Awards. They agreed and brought with them 3 separate choirs of miners. Some of those miners had marched with the gay and lesbian members of LGSM in the 1980s. It is one of the great, near-lost music moments vimeo.com/293437684

In 1994 the Pet Shop Boys were invited to perform 'Go West' at the Brit Awards. They agreed and brought with them 3 separate choirs of miners. Some of those miners had marched with the gay and lesbian members of LGSM in the 1980s. It is one of the great, near-lost music moments vimeo.com/293437684

Pet Shop Boys • Go West (Live At Brit Awards) • 1994vimeo.com Pet Shop Boys выступают вживую на Брит Эвордс 1994 с шахтерским хором.

Other members of the colliery choirs said that they didn't know who the Pet Shop Boys were when they performed, but after they had relatives and friends (and remember these guys were from small-town Wales and England) come out to them, and say seeing them on that stage meant the trusted them.

I know this, because in the early 2000s I wrote a piece for a magazine on it. Now sadly lost to time. I got to speak to some of those old miners who were legit in tears about how being on that stage meant friends told them they were gay. And how it changed their worldview. I cried writing it, too.

There used to be a better video on YouTube. It's gone now. I assume the actual footage exists in an archive somewhere, but it's probably been forgotten. It was a passing moment. But also one that I know changed a lot of lives, in a big way, in small towns. It really should be better known.

Anyway. This mini-thread brought to you because I saw @scalzi.com talking about how much he loved the Pet Shop Boys version of 'Go West' earlier. And it reminded me of a forgotten time when that version of the song turned out to really, really matter to a bunch of people who never expected it to.

(Should say that Pet Shop Boys Go West has been one of my favourite songs ever since just because of this performance. And i teared up even writing this stupid little thread about it at the memory of those convos. One of the life moments that shifted me away from a path to internet Edgelord-ness)

It's the song I kept playing during the successful run up to marriage equality becoming the law of the land. 🫡🥹

🥹🥹🥹🥹

Thank you for sharing this. It reminds me both of the film Pride (great film) and a recent Andi Oliver TV show in South Wales mining area, holding its first pride march. www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...

BBC Two - Andi Oliver’s Fabulous Feasts, Series 1, Merthyr Tydfilwww.bbc.co.uk Former Mr Gay Wales calls on Andi to help make Merthyr Tydfil Pride a roaring success.

I’m not crying, my eyes are wet. I’m also a USian who just learned about LSGM and leaving this link for others like me bc it made me not cry more. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lesbian...

Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org

This is just so fantastic! There have been so many retrospective pieces out with their new album and not one I’ve seen has mentioned this.

So hard to explain to my partner why I'm crying after watching a music clip.

Oh I teared up too - thank you for this.

The Pet Shop Boys are good people with bloody good songs. Go West is one of the great lost Number Ones.

I saw this post in passing and bookmarked the video to watch later because I just need to be in the right mood for Pet Shop Boys sometimes ya know. Now I’m sobbing, that was so wonderful, thanks for continuing to document that little flash in time.

Thanks for sharing this remarkable story

My favourite Pet Shop Boys Song

This is such a beautiful story; thank you for sharing it with us. Tears here, too.

oh i'm crying now....

This is beautiful. Thank you.

Thanks. That’s an incredible piece of history that I had no idea about before now.

Thank you. That was beautiful! 💜

this is giving me all the big feels. Worker solidarity and queer solidarity. It's the same fight. I hope Maggie Thatcher has to listen to this on endless repeat in whatever cursed afterlife she's stuck in 😹 Thanks so much for posting this!

Every time there's a mention of Thatcher I have to listen to "Tramp the Dirt Down".

I still tear up when I hear this song.

I thought I was the only one.

thank you for posting this i saw that performance when i lived in the UK in 1994 and had NO IDEA of the significance. but also Pet Shop Boys “Go West” is one of my fave songs thank you again

There's this which has been uploaded in the past two hours. Not sure if it's just an reupload of the Vimeo version: www.youtube.com/watch?v=UhiD...

Pet Shop Boys • Go West (Live At Brit Awards) • 1994www.youtube.com Taken from John Bull @garius.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/garius.bsky.social/post/3ktvmtqq4jd2nIn 1994 the Pet Shop Boys were invited to perform 'Go W...

I remember the much better version too, and I once spent a frustrating half hour trying to find it and wondering whether I'd imagined it. It's an amazing video.

Thanks for this ... Definitely brings the tears youtu.be/UhiDBExK1wI?...

Pet Shop Boys • Go West (Live At Brit Awards) • 1994youtu.be Taken from John Bull @garius.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/garius.bsky.social/post/3ktvmtqq4jd2nIn 1994 the Pet Shop Boys were invited to perform 'Go W...

all the more reason to rage against bigots who try to project their bigotry onto "the working class" (as if it were some kind of homogenous blob, but that's a different story), claiming that's the "natural" stance to take on these matters

What magazine? I'd love to try to find it thru a library collection.

I was about to ask the same question, for the same reason. This is a job for the internet!

My introduction to the miners choirs was through their album with test dept which is wonderful and eerie if you can find it and no collaboration they did would much surprise me after that. Thanks for sharing this! Nice to hear this morning.

Oh wow, i'm a big Test Dept. fan but somehow have not heard of this album, i'm gonna have to find it!

Looks like this is the whole thing. I had a dubbed cassette as was the fashion at the time so I guess I had side 2 1st. youtu.be/beLAt_fyaMY?...

Test Dept & South Wales Striking Miner's Choir - Myfanwyyoutu.be Shoulder to Shoulder, 1985

oh that cover is FANTASTIC. and yeah i think at least half my "record collection" back in the day was dubbed cassettes from friends! It was the done thing! *sob* i miss making and receiving mix tapes. Home burned CDs, MP3s on a memory stick, and streaming playlists JUST AIN'T THE SAME

Opening track. youtu.be/dAGckGijKE0?...

Test Dept - Shockwork (Shoulder To Shoulder LP)youtu.be From Shoulder To Shoulder, the split with The South Wales Striking Miners Choir released 1985. Intended to raise funds for the striking miners at the time.Th...

Oh man, I would desperately love to read that article

Fucking hell, I'm getting choked up just reading about it

I literally just saw a trailer for a Sky documentary that seems to be about just this. Going to see if I can track it down now!

You might be interested in the Durham Miners gala, held on the second Saturday each July. The miners haven't forgotten LGSM. LGBTQ+ groups and banners still take part each year

Durham Miners pay tribute to LGSM founder Dave Lewiswww.durhamminers.org Everyone at the DMA was saddened to learn of the passing of Dave Lewis. Dave was a founder of Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners (LGSM), campaigning and raising funds throughout and beyond the 1984...

I had forgotten just what a banger this song was, and how utterly brilliant Pet Shop Boys were. Also how dark the 80s were. Never forgotten what an absolute c@@t Margaret Thatcher was.

I've got good news for you. They're still brilliant. youtu.be/CHMk9WdoFHg?...

Pet Shop Boys - What are we going to do about the rich? (lyric video)youtu.be Pet Shop Boys' new four-track “Agenda” EP is out now via digital services: https://petshopboys.lnk.to/AgendaID“What are we going to do about the rich?", desc...

….and Tories are still c**ts.

True dat

This is beautiful, thank you. After my parents saw “Pride” when it came out, they told me how in the 80s they went to a fundraiser where they heard about LGSM — but they weren’t at the time sure how real it was & how much it was a fundraising hook for people like them.

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