Paul O’Grady famously snapped back at police officers who conducted ‘homophobic’ raids at gay bars in London and Manchester during the AIDS epidemic.
The beloved comedian, who regularly performed in the 80s and 90s as drag queen Lily Savage, died unexpectedly on Tuesday (March 28) at the age of 67.
Elton John, Queen Consort Camilla, Lorraine Kelly and RuPaul’s Drag Race star Divina de Campo were just some of the many to lead tributes to the ‘much admired’ entertainer.
READ MORE: Paul O'Grady was 'laughing and so full of life' hours before sudden death, devastated friend says
O’Grady debuted the persona of Lily in the 1970s before rising to fame in the 1980s with a residency at London’s Royal Vauxhall Tavern. One evening in 1987 - during the height of the AIDS pandemic - police raided the venue just as the performer was about to take to the stage.
Wearing rubber gloves at the time - in a deeply misguided attempt to avoid getting ‘HIV by touching a gay person’ - 35 officers caused ‘pandemonium’ to a packed out crowd. Quick to respond, O’Grady tried to make light of the 'scary' situation.
“I was doing the late show and within seconds the place was heaving with coppers, all wearing rubber gloves,” O’Grady recalled. “I remember saying something like, ‘Well well, it looks like we’ve got help with the washing up."
O’Grady was later one of ten people to be arrested during the raid, before being released without charge. A week after the incident, he recalled visiting Manchester to perform in a club where yet another raid took place.
"Funnily enough, I went up to Manchester to work at another club and there was another raid in the same week,” he recalled to the Royal Vauxhall Tavern in 2001. “It seemed to be the fashion at the time.”
He added: “God knows to this day why they raided it. The only thing I can put it down to is that we had a Chief of Police at the time who was homophobic and, of course, it was at the height of the AIDS pandemic.
“This was the perfect excuse for them all to come in and cause trouble. There was no need for it. It was unnecessary, it was just a homophobic attack and that was it. I refuse to believe anything else."
Sir James Anderton, who was the chief constable of Greater Manchester Police at the time of both incidents, once said that those living with AIDS were in a 'human cesspool of their own making'. He regularly organised raids at gay bars and venues on Canal Street.
Peter Tatchell, LGBTQ+ rights campaigner and close friend of O’Grady’s, said the comedian was due to be at the forefront of a new campaign by the Peter Tatchell Foundation urging the police to publicly apologise for historical homophobia.
Recalling the London raid incident, Tatchell said: “At first, he thought they were strippers and were part of the show. He said the officers were rude and aggressive. When Paul came out on stage, the police were all wearing rubber gloves and manhandling the gay customers and staff.
“This was at the height of the Aids panic and hysteria. The police thought you could get HIV by touching a gay person. Hence the rubber gloves.”
Speaking in 2021, O’Grady said: “Police have apologised all around the world for their behaviour years ago, and I think it’s about time the British police did the same thing and came down here and said we’re so sorry for what happened because it was unnecessary and it was just a homophobic act.”
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