Up until its demise in April 1983 the fortnightly newspaper Gay News was an essential lifeline to Britain’s gay and lesbian communities. Born from the radical politics of the early 70s Gay Liberation movement, it was regarded – by most people, at least – as a collective enterprise where the division between managers and mainstream staff was virtually non-existent.

But the seeds for the demise of this collectivism were set as early as 1973 – one year after Gay News was established – when editor Denis Lemon was allocated 46 out of 100 shares during a cash crisis. 33 of these shares were to be held, allegedly, only while he remained in post as Editor.

Fast forward, then, to 1979 when Lemon was allowed to buy a further 49 of the 100 shares. In addition, the Gay News directors waived the requirement for Lemon to hand back the 33 shares if he left the post of Editor. Then, in February 1982, Lemon sold all of his shares to a new player, Robert Palmer. The notion of collectivism and shared ownership was well and truly dead (and the staff were not at all happy about it).

But it seems that Robert Palmer did not uphold his end of the deal. He was due to pay a £10,000 installment on the deal by 31st December 1982 and this did not occur, thus throwing the future of Gay News open to speculation again. (At one point it was even rumoured that billionaire Richard Branson was considering buying it.)

The plot thickened when Denis Lemon announced that he and Palmer had come to a new arrangement, the terms of which were to be kept secret. One of the terms that did emerge, however, was that Denis Lemon was to be kept on as Editor-in-Chief, something the staff and other Gay News supporters protested vigorously.

Five days later Palmer announced that Lemon was not, in fact, Editor-in-Chief but had actually been retained as a consultant to Palmer’s company ‘Robert Palmer Marketing Ltd’. The mystery deepened – but the staff were still unhappy and called for Lemon’s dismissal. Two days later, on Monday, 7th February, Lemon’s appointment was withdrawn.

Clearly frustrated by the continuing delays in resolving the issue, Gay News staff came up with their own solution. On Friday, 11th February their agents sent a letter to Robert Palmer and Denis Lemon, seeking to begin negotiations to take the paper into some form of community ownership.

The following week, Gay News itself carried a statement by the staff explaining their actions. This declared:

“The intention is to put Gay News into a form of ownership whereby staff are in control of editorial and commercial policy but distribution of profits to individuals will be prevented. Just what form of ownership would best realise these intentions is being investigated now. Readers will be informed step by step. All comment and advice is welcome.

…We on the staff are NOT seeking to buy the paper for our own profit, other than our wages.

We plan simply to organise the means by which Gay News can truly be regarded as the communal possession of gay people – who we hope will entrust us, as a paid staff, to bring it out so that it will amuse, inform and campaign. “

In the end their efforts came to nought: Denis Lemon ended up selling the paper to a new buyer Nigel Ostrer. After a short-lived attempt to publish The New Gay News, Ostrer sold the title to Millivres Ltd who still own it today.

And so it was that Lemon’s disposal of Gay News not only marked a change of ownership, it also marked a fundamental shift away from the communal/collectivist ethos of the ‘Gay Liberation 70s’ to the individualist/commercial ethos of the Thatcherite 80s.