LGBTQIA+ Icons Against Oppression – The Past, Present, and Future

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From Freddie Mercury to Elton John, when considering LGBTQIA+ music industry icons, there are obvious artists to start with. However, these famous performers are not the only artists standing up for the queer and trans community. 

Join me as we explore a range of artists that represent and stand up for this community, against oppression.

Freddie Mercury – Queen

Despite never publicly announcing his sexual orientation, it was and is popular opinion that Freddie Mercury was part of the LGBTQIA+ community. While we may never know the singer’s preferences (and really, do we even need to?), the music he wrote and performed as a member of Queen can still be seen as inspirational to this day. Consider the 1976 track ‘Somebody To Love‘, where lyrics beseech God for understanding, telling a tale of sorrow and loneliness. The song was released at a time when being Gay was legal, but Gay Marriage was not. Add to this the extreme stigmatisation and discrimination, and it is easy to see the hopelessness that led to the line, “But everybody wants to put me down.”. This song has become an anthem of the LGBTQIA+ community with the yearning for acceptance and recognition sadly still applicable today.

Although Freddie Mercury is no longer with us, his legacy lives on in Queen.

Elton John

Singer-songwriter Elton John is a Gay British icon who has written both subtly and openly LGBTQIA+-focused music and performances. It took the singer nearly twenty years to release what is widely accepted as his first overtly Gay piece, ‘Elton’s Song‘ in 1981. The accompanying music video depicts a young boy exploring his feelings for another, older boy. In 1992, he released ‘The Last Song‘ telling the story of a young man dying of AIDS, reconciling with his estranged father. The emotional lyrics highlight the effects of the disease and show the heartbreaking reality of the stigmatisation of Gay family members. Elton has since established the Elton John AIDS Foundation which aims to overcome the shame, discrimination, and neglect seen by HIV sufferers and the LGBTQIA+ community.

You can find information about the Elton John AIDS Foundation on their website.

Carl Bean

Carl Bean spent his younger years in turmoil; abused and hiding his sexuality before being outed at the age of fourteen. The young boy, who had turned to religion as a form of acceptance of his true self, found himself condemned by church leaders. After an unsuccessful suicide attempt, Bean moved back to a more supportive environment and worked with a psychiatrist to heal from what he had experienced.

Known always to be singing, Motown producers offered him a recording contract for ‘I Was Born This Way‘ in 1977. His rendition hit the U.S. dance charts and the song quickly became a Gay anthem. For Bean, it reignited his passion for religion and he publicly announced being Gay as a God-given gift. From then the singer worked to help the LGBTQIA+ community, founding a church branch that proclaims, “God is Love and Love is for Everyone”. While only contributing one chart-hitting song to the LGBTQIA+ community, Archbishop Carl Bean used his platform to promote acceptance and love.

Lady Gaga

Singer Lady Gaga came out as Bisexual only a year after her debut album. Having used her profile and fame to advocate for LGBTQIA+ rights, she has never shied away from her truth. Gaga’s writing highlights the difficulties she and other community members face due to discrimination and oppression. Despite the socio-political side of her music, it is well-received and has been since 2008, six years before Gay Marriage was legalised in the UK. Not just an advocate for the Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual side of the community, the singer also explicitly states her support for the Trans community. Gaining important recognition for the community, her song ‘Born This Way‘ (inspired by the above sung by Carl Bean) was named ‘Most Inspirational LGBTQ Song of All Time’ in 2023 by Rolling Stone.

Marc Almond – Soft Cell

The Soft Cell lead singer, Marc Almond, came out as Gay in 1987, six years after the band’s rise to fame. Even before this, his personality and androgynous style cemented him as an ally. He remains a member and subtle supporter of the LGBTQIA+ community but still aims to write music for everyone to enjoy, straight Cis people included. Most notable is likely the band’s cover of ‘Tainted Love‘, originally by Gloria Jones. Seen through the lens of the community and being sung by Almond, the Gay community has adopted the song as an anthem, the lyrics mimicking the struggles people can go through in coming to terms with their sexuality.

Chappell Roan

Blowing up in 2024, Chappell Roan has since reached the top 10 on the Billboard Top 100 chart. She is candid about her sexuality, openly discussing her Lesbian identity in interviews. Roan’s music normalises LGBTQIA+ relationships in popular earworm hits like ‘Red Wine Supernova‘ and ‘HOT TO GO!‘. Her music supports the community in epitomising what it is like to be young, Lesbian, and unapologetically yourself. While not having the long history of the artists above, this artist is making waves in the music industry and there is plenty of excitement about her future career.

All of the artists above have made great steps to advocate for the LGBTQIA+ community, working to end oppression and discrimination. Their impact can be seen across the industry. 

But what about the smaller artists that will help form the future of music? The artists below are those with smaller followings who are helping march the path to equality. These are singers and bands whose music I greatly enjoy and whose careers I am eager to follow.

Beth McCarthy

British artist Beth McCarthy’s music is firmly pop rock and inspired by the likes of Avril Lavigne and Miley Cyrus. It takes on the subtleties of dating as a Bisexual person and includes the controversy from both LGBTQIA+ and straight people: “And if I fall for a girl / The boys will call it a phase / If I fall for a boy / The girls are calling me fake.”. McCarthy’s music is bold, catchy, and most of all, it is honest. 

She is touring this year with tickets still available on their website.

girl in red

Mellow and dreamy songs like ‘two queens in a king sized bed‘ and ‘we fell in love in october‘ are popular examples from the artist girl in red. The Norwegian singer takes inspiration from Taylor Swift but describes herself as ‘genre-free’. With openly LGBTQIA+ themes, her music is unique and interesting, not to mention catchy.

While she is touring, girl in red is unfortunately not visiting the UK this year. However, you can still get tickets for her shows.

vivi rincon

For a rock style with the occasional ballad, I would recommend vivi rincon. While her lyrics are not all explicitly Gay, they do highlight yearning and strength. She purposefully writes about difficult topics in a personable way, quoting that she ‘sing[s] about the things I’m scared to talk about’. You can hear the hurt and judgement she has been through but challenges it and stands tall, in ‘Smaller‘ boldly claiming, “You would like me more if I was smaller.”.

The Last Dinner Party

If boldly and blatantly calling out the Homophobic and Patriarchal parts of society is your thing, The Last Dinner Party is absolutely for you. The group of women and Non-Binary musicians are masters of powerful storytelling, often adopting a dreamy feel to their indie rock genre to tone down the harsh reality of their lyrics. With similar musical styling to Florence + The Machine, the band has emphasised that their lyrics are heavily based on their experiences as members of the LGBTQIA+ community.

You can still get tickets for their 2025 world tour.

Find more pieces related to LGBTQIA+ History Month, including a celebration of SOPHIE, here.

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