[Gavin Scott]

Paul actually wanted to lead a campaign to get a formal apology from London's Metropolitan Police when they raided the gay nightclub in where Paul had a residency for Lily Savage in the 1980's.

If Paul lead that campaign when he was still with us; I would imagine, considering all of the scandals that are ongoing with the London Metropolitan Police at the moment, that story would have a huge  liklihood that it would hit the front pages instantly right across the UK.

Of all the things that don’t generally matter to the public, how gay people were demonised at the height of the AIDS crisis by the Met would place near the top the list. That’s not a judgement call,  just the reality that it didn’t impact 90% of the population despite being so world-ending to gay people and intravenous drug users. 

A Met apology on the front page of the tabloids? No. They could resurrect Kenny Everett and it wouldn’t place higher than page 7. 

Having lived through it in Edinburgh (dubbed “the AIDS capital of Europe”) phrases like “gay plague” were common in all press stories. Bars and clubs referred to as “sleazy haunts” ‘til well into the new millennium. The public didn’t like it or care about it then. Things have moved on but societal acceptance behaves like a pendulum. Inclusivity and empathy of ‘others’  vacillates between extreme positions.  

Sincere apologies for taking this down a rabbit hole, it’s just that my friend and I actually chatted about this the night we saw Paul’s show. 

His demands for an apology were earnest and sincere and lots of old geezers like me were glad of it, but there would be no grandeur. Paul just did it because it was the right thing to do. 

Peace out. x