Pat Karney has described the 1980s as “very dark times” for Manchester's LGBT community, when the Gay Village was under siege from a homophobic police force and a hostile culture. In the latest episode of the Mancunian Way podcast, he recalls how he and council leader Graham Stringer “put their arms around” the district despite religious groups calling it 'Satan's Square'.
A City Under Siege
Karney, who was deputy to Stringer from 1984, says there was a “low level of paranoia” among the community, with most fearing attacks and persecution. “You basically had to hide your sexuality,” he says. “The culture was anti-gay. You're always frightened about going out. There was no shiny gay village saying ‘gay bars’. They were all very secretive and hidden away. Windows were deliberately either curtained or clouded.”
At the time, Greater Manchester Police was led by Chief Constable James Anderton, a man who claimed to be “used by God” and who had the support of Margaret Thatcher. Anderton ordered brutal raids on gay venues, including a raid on the bookshop Clonezone on Sackville Street and a large-scale raid on Napoleons, the Village's oldest bar, under a Victorian law citing 'licentious dancing'.
Council's Fearless Stand
“They went upstairs in Napoleon's and said: 'men can't dance with men' and just closed it,” Karney says. “Then they came to the council and said ‘we’re going to revoke its licence, there’s men dancing with men’.” The council refused, with Karney recalling: “We said: ‘Why don't you catch some burglars or car thieves or something? Why are you stopping men dancing? Is that a priority?’”
“They'd convinced themselves of the culture - that this was the enemy. But we stood up to them and we said: ‘no, the license continues at Napoleons’.”
Despite the resistance, prejudice persisted. In December 1986, during a police seminar on AIDS, Anderton said drug addicts, prostitutes and gay people were “swirling about in a human cesspit of their own making”.
From Dark Times to Pride
That same year, Manchester Council gave Manchester Gay Pride a £1,700 grant for a two-week celebration. Karney describes the first parade as “very thinly attended” but notes its growth over time. He also recalls setting up the AIDS unit to counter “hysteria and misinformation”, including claims that AIDS could be caught from drinking cups or bed sheets.
Many of those living with HIV and AIDS were treated at Monsall Hospital, where staff wore “spacesuits”, adding to the bleak atmosphere. Karney recounts an incident where ambulance staff stopped and asked a patient to get out because they thought he had AIDS. “That kind of madness went on in those days because it was hysterical,” he says.
The first Manchester 'Pride' event was a small bring-and-buy sale outside the Rembrandt Hotel, organised by owner Peter Beswick to raise money for soft furnishings at Monsall Hospital. That event has evolved into the massive Village Pride celebrations held this weekend, which attracted tens of thousands of people and raised thousands for charities.
