The early 80s was a turbulent period for London’s Lesbian and Gay Pride Week (the only Lesbian and Gay Pride event in the entire country).

It began in 1980, with police arresting men in drag on the absurd charge of ‘possessing an offensive weapon’ (see here for more details.) In 1981, the march was moved to the northern town of Huddersfield to show solidarity with the owner of a gay nightclub subjected to police harrassment. In 1982 marchers were drenched in a thunderstorm. Even in 1983, in bright sunshine, the march could only muster 2,000 participants.

And then, in February 1984, London’s Capital Gay newspaper reported a “palace coup to rescue Gay Pride Week”:

“With plans for this year’s Gay Pride Week at a standstill, a group of young enthusiasts have moved in to seize control – in a bid to save the now traditional June celebrations culminating in Gay Pride Week.”

This all seemed to be very positive until, the following month, they reported that “Gays drop Pride for parade”:

“Monday’s meeting of the 1984 Pride Committee, which last week decided to change the title of the June celebrations from ‘Lesbian and Gay Pride Week’ to ‘Gay Pride Week’ has gone one step further.

The committee has voted to scrap the title Gay Pride altogther and now proposes calling the event ‘It’s Not Just A Phase’.”

Clearly (and understandably) Capital Gay were not impressed with the decision, referring to the new title later in the report as “the apologetic It’s Not Just A Phase”.

One can only speculate on the dynamics of that meeting but, thankfully, the title ‘Lesbian and Gay Pride’ had been restored by the time of the event. Again, Capital Gay reported that:

“Attempts by the three people on the organising collective to change the name of the annual march to ‘The It’s Not Just A Phase Week March’ met with an icy response. They even had difficulty giving away badges bearing that name.”

But the name change wasn’t the only issue that year. Other organisational issues became evident on the day. The march was delayed because police couldn’t contact the organisers. And when it finally did reach its destination – the University of London Union (ULU) – there were other organisational shortcomings. These included the absence of the traditional women-only space, little information about the events taking place and a shortage of stewards for the swimming area.

It came as little surprise then that, only a few days later, a new group announced a public meeting on July 29th to discuss the future of Lesbian and Gay Pride week. Their Press release began:

“Coming after a year which saw a change of name, few official events and minimal publicity, members of London Lesbian and Gay Centre Committee, Gay’s the Word Defence Committee, Icebreakers, London Gay Switchboard and previous Lesbian and Gay Pride Commitees have got together to call a meeting of all lesbians and gay men interested in ensuring the survival of what has come to be regarded as an institution of the London gay scene.”

You can read about the outome of their work here.