Introduction Before 1960 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s

1972: First National Gay Newspaper

Spring of 1972 saw the publication of 'Gay News'; which had the tag line of "The National Homosexual Paper". It ran until 1983 and in that time became famous after being taken to court by Mary Whitehouse for a poem it published that was deemed to be blasphemous.

Cover of Gay News, Issue 1, 1972 - click here to download PDF version

This first issue has the cheery face of Jimmy Saville on the front and relates to a radio program that Saville was hosting on the topic of "Homosexuality".

Cover of Gay News, Issue 1, 1972.
Click on the image to download a full, printable PDF version.

© Glasgow Women's Library 2006
Timeline designed by Helen MacDonald