Manchester’s LGBTQ+ community will be celebrated in a new exhibition focusing on two iconic moments of the city-region’s history.
The Kimpton Clocktower Hotel’s ‘Together As One – A celebration of Manchester’s LGBTQIA+’ exhibition at The Refuge will feature 90s pictures taken at legendary club night Flesh and photos from Manchester’s Section 28 protests in 1988.
As part of a collaboration with the British Culture Archive, the exhibition - which will launch on July 28 - will celebrate the two moments which have played a key role in the changing face of LGBTQ+ rights, culture and acceptance in the UK.
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Photographer Peter J Walsh, who worked at Manchester’s City Life Magazine in the late eighties, captured the anti-Clause 28 protest in the city centre on February 20, 1988. The event was held against Clause 28 of the Local Government Act 1988, which sought to make it illegal for bodies, such as councils, to ‘promote’ homosexuality, including a ban on schools teaching the ‘acceptability of homosexuality as a pretended family relationship’.
More than 20,000 people attended the rally, with the likes of Sir Ian McKellan, Michael Cashman, Sue Johnston and Graham Stringer, the then-leader of Manchester council, all taking to the stage.
"The Anti-Clause 28 demo was one of the largest demonstrations I had covered in Manchester during that period,” Peter says. “The starting point was on Oxford Road, by the Poly and the participants seemed to go on as far as the eye could see. Manchester City Council reckoned there were 20,000 people on the demo.
“It was loud, happy and vibrant. The country had been under Thatcher’s rule since 1979 and people were determined to fight back against this law. The left-wing council of Manchester welcomed the marchers and stood with them in solidarity against the divisive Tory Government.
“The LGBQTQIA+ communities civil liberties were under attack by Thatcher and we were prepared to stand shoulder to shoulder with them and say enough is enough."
Clause 28 was eventually revoked in 2003 and it was Manchester’s rally that was seen as many as one of the contributing factors towards a shift towards better LGBTQ+ rights in the UK.
Jon Shard’s imagery of The Haçienda’ s dancefloor club night Flesh will also be featured in the exhibition. Launched in October 1991, Flesh was the flamboyant mid-week night which quickly became a night of acceptance and fun. The club night was also responsible for helping launch DJ Paulette and Kath McDermott onto the scene.
Flesh came at a time where regular ‘Hac’ nights were starting to lose their appeal following a string of gang-related incidents and ‘laddish’ clientele putting off punters. But nights like Flesh brought in a much-needed cultural innovation, says photographer Jon Shard, which can still be seen today.
Speaking about Flesh, Jon, who has once the in-house photographer at the queer rave, said: “My friends and people around me, would be talking about it all month. People came from all over, you had people from Europe coming over for it – it was always packed and full of energy.
“It was one of the most important nights there – probably the biggest gay night in Europe. It was always special. I was there for every single one, it was the best night to shoot because of the carnival atmosphere. It was really colourful, everyone would spend two or three days working out what they were going to wear for it."
The ‘Together As One’ exhibition is the just one of the events the Kimpton Clocktower Hotel and The Refuge Bar and Restaurant have partnered together on for their ‘Summer of Pride’ celebration. Other activities include a bi-weekly music summer residency and a Come As You Are Weekender event at the end of August.
Johan Scheepers, General Manager of Kimpton Clocktower Hotel, said: “It is an honour to be welcoming British Culture Archive back to the Kimpton Clocktower Hotel in 2022 for an exhibition which holds so true to our Kimpton values - embracing the LGBTQIA+ community and welcoming everyone, guests and visitors alike to come to the hotel as they are”.
To find out more about the Kimpton Clocktower Hotel x British Culture Archive ‘Together As One – A Celebration Of Manchester’s LGBTQIA+ Community’, click here. The exhibition launches on Thursday, July 28 at 7pm.
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