[88/365] Lily Veronica Mae Savage

[cosmolinguist]

I knew Paul O'Grady as an older radio personality, not so different from some others not so different to the voices I heard from people I might eavesdrop on or tangentially chat to on a night out in the Village. Here's some of a thread I saw on Mastodon.

So it's nice to hear some more stories and get some context, even if it is on the sad occasion of his death.

In 1987, The Metropolitan Police are waging an intimidation campaign against queer people.

Wearing rubber gloves to "protect from AIDS" they raid the Royal Vauxhall Tavern.

"Well well," says Lily Savage (Paul O'Grady) from the stage as the police pile into the venue. "It looks like we’ve got help with the washing up."

Arrested with many others, when she was booked in and ordered to give her name, the answer was "Lily Savage." When a REAL name was demanded, the reply was: "Lily Veronica Mae Savage."

On release, Lily was back on stage the next night.

I don't think it can be overstated just how HUGE an impact Paul O'Grady had on people like my parents. As the press, police and politicians waged a war on the LGBTQ+ community and stoked AIDS fear, Lily Savage was on TV making them laugh, and showing them that these were real people. People they didn't need to fear.

in the 80s and 90s the LGBTQ+ community was fighting a war on multiple fronts - against violence AND public perception. There are few people who can claim they fought on both. Paul O'Grady was one of them.

Comments

[davidgillon]

"It looks like we’ve got help with the washing up."

Now that's a class line!

[otter]

More people like Lily please.

[silveradept]

That's the kind of courage that makes it easier for others to be the people they are in their own lives. Which we are probably going to need again, because the violence and the public perception wars are back once again.