Writer Elizabeth Chakrabarty remembers 80s London as an amazing time with so many things going on, from political activism to women only bars and clubs. She recalls her experiences of racism on the queer club scene.

From an interview recorded by Rosie Oliver for Bijou Stories, September 2021.

Writer Elizabeth Chakrabarty on activism and the London queer scene in the 80s

Recorded by Rosie Oliver for Bijou Stories, September 2021.

Squatting in Brixton in the 1980s

Wild Woman Weekend at Brixton's 121 Centre

Dressing as a Butch in the 1970s

Gateways lesbian club in the 1970s

Artist and painter Sadie Lee talks about the impact of section 28. She reflects on the allyship of galleries that displayed images by queer artists that could have been in breach of the law.

From an interview recorded by Rosie Oliver at the Rebel Dykes Art and Archive Show at gallery Space Station 65 in August 2021.

Artist Sadie Lee on section 28, censorship and galleries

80 year old Val tells the story of how she came out aged 35. Val was a visitor to the Rebel Dykes Art and Archive show in September, but not herself a Rebel Dyke.

Recorded by Rosie Oliver in September 2021.

Coming out in the 1970s

The Rebel Dykes were groups of outsider lesbians in London in the 1980s. This podcast is about their remarkable story, and the people who made it their mission to present it to the world in an award-winning documentary film and art and archive show. We also hear from those who so needed to hear those stories and see that imagery. The podcast features Siobhan Fahey (film producer), Sian A Williams and Harri Shanahan (film directors), Atalanta Kernick and Kat Hudson (exhibition curators), original '80s Rebels', and visitors and artists featured in the art and archive show. For more about the Rebel Dykes visit https://www.rebeldykeshistoryproject.com

'Rebel Dykes: the podcast' is a Bijou Stories and Rebel Dykes production. 

It was produced and presented by Rosie Oliver, December 2021.

It has been made with support from the London Community Foundation, Heritage Lottery Fund, Royal Borough of Greenwich and Gallery Space Station 65. 

It features:
‘Riot In My Mind’ written, composed and performed by The Poison Girls © by XNTRIX 1985
‘News Bong’ written, composed and performed by John Tatlock, 2017 © John Tatlock 2017
‘The Bell’ composed and performed by Ellyott © Ellyott 2021
‘Greenham Heist’ composed and performed by Ellyott © Ellyott 2021

Rebel Dykes: the podcast

Where to, now the sequins have gone? tells the story of the LGBT bars in the London Borough of Lewisham in the 1980s and 90s: what they were like, how they supported people through tough times, and the impact of them closing on the LGBT community. 

Part 1:
In the 1980s and 90s Lewisham in South-East London was a destination for a big gay night out. All the LGBT pubs from those days have since closed. In this episode, we hear from people who remember them about what they were like and how they changed their lives.

The podcast is a Bijou Stories/ Avant Gardening Production. It has been made as part of In Living Memory: A People’s History of Lewisham with support from: We Are Lewisham, London Borough of Culture 2022; Untold Stories, an initiative from The Mayor of London; London Borough of Lewisham; The Heritage Fund and Goldsmiths, University of London.

It was produced and presented by Rosie Oliver.

Where to, now the sequins have gone? Part 1

Where to, now the sequins have gone? tells the story of the LGBT bars in the London Borough of Lewisham in the 1980s and 90s: what they were like, how they supported people through tough times, and the impact of them closing on the LGBT community.

Part 2: 
In the 80s and 90s Lewisham's many LGBT pubs were real community hubs. All those bars have since closed. For this second and final episode of Where to, now the sequins have gone? we hear about how the bars supported people through the AIDS crisis and how they offered an escape from wider homophobia. We also hear reflections on their closures and the impact this has had on the LGBT community.

The podcast is a Bijou Stories/ Avant Gardening Production. It has been made as part of In Living Memory: A People’s History of Lewisham with support from: We Are Lewisham, London Borough of Culture 2022; Untold Stories, an initiative from The Mayor of London; London Borough of Lewisham; The Heritage Fund; and Goldsmiths, University of London.

It was produced and presented by Rosie Oliver.

Where to, now the sequins have gone? Part 2

Collecting and sharing stories from the LGBTQ+ community

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