Rainbow Train

On Wednesday, 17 September Out In The City members took over the East Lancashire Railway to mark the end of the Pride season in Greater Manchester. We decorated our carriage with rainbow tablecloths and flags to make the “Rainbow Train”.

The train journey covers 12 miles through stunning scenery from Bury to Rawtenstall. We all enjoyed travelling on the “Rainbow Train” and visiting the town of Rawtenstall. During the journey we chatted with our steward – Maureen – who pointed out some of the sights such as the Peel Tower.

More photos can be seen here.

Brian Epstein

Brian Samuel Epstein (19 September 1934 – 27 August 1967) was an English music entrepreneur who managed the Beatles from 1961 until his death in 1967.

Epstein was born into a family of successful retailers in Liverpool, who put him in charge of their music shop, where he displayed a gift for talent-spotting. He first met the Beatles in 1961 at a lunchtime concert at Liverpool’s Cavern Club. Although he had no experience of artist management, Epstein put them under contract and insisted that they abandon their scruffy image in favour of a new clean-cut style. He also attempted to get the Beatles a recording contract, eventually securing a deal with EMI’s Parlophone label.

Within months, the Beatles were international stars. Some of Epstein’s other young discoveries had also prospered under his management. They included Gerry and the Pacemakers, Billy J Kramer and the Dakotas, Tommy Quickly, Cilla Black and The Big Three. In 1967, he died of a combined alcohol and barbiturate overdose, ruled as accidental, at the age of 32.

Epstein’s homosexuality was not publicly known until some years after his death, although it had been an open secret among his friends and business associates. While Epstein was in the British Army, he commissioned a tailor to make him an officer’s uniform. He wore the uniform when cruising the bars of London, but was arrested one night at the Army and Navy Club in Piccadilly by the military police for impersonating an officer. Epstein managed to avoid a court martial by agreeing to see an army psychiatrist, who learned of Epstein’s sexuality. After ten months he was discharged from the army on medical grounds for being “emotionally and mentally unfit”. Epstein later stated that his first homosexual experience was when he returned to Liverpool after being discharged.

Epstein spent a year studying acting at RADA, but dropped out shortly after his arrest for “persistent importuning” outside a men’s public toilet in Swiss Cottage, London. Cottaging, as it was called, was one of the few public ways that gay and bisexual men could meet, especially if they were closeted.

McCartney said that when Epstein started to manage the Beatles they knew that he was homosexual but did not care, because he encouraged them professionally and offered them access to previously “off-limits” social circles.

Although the group, Lennon in particular, often made sarcastic comments about Epstein’s homosexuality to friends and to Epstein personally, no one outside the group’s inner circle was allowed to comment. Epstein went on holiday to places such as Amsterdam, Torremolinos and Barcelona or Manchester at weekends, as the attitude towards homosexuals there was more tolerant than in Liverpool, even though Liverpool did have several gay bars.

There were reports of a brief sexual encounter between Lennon and Epstein during a four-day holiday in Barcelona in April 1963. Lennon admitted in a 1971 Rolling Stone interview that he knew Epstein was a “fag” and that he (Lennon) enjoyed “playing a bit faggy and all that”. Addressing the rumours again later, Lennon told Playboy in 1980, “Well, it was almost a love affair, but not quite. It was never consummated … but we did have a pretty intense relationship”.

Soni Wolf

Soni S H S Wolf (19 September 1948 – 25 April 2018) was an American lesbian activist. She described herself as a dyke, and was also a motorcycle enthusiast and former US Air Force Vietnam-era veteran.

She co-founded the Dykes on Bikes (DOB) after their 1976 San Francisco Pride parade debut, and rode with them each year from 1978 until her death in 2018.

The group is a highly visible symbol of empowerment and LGBTQ pride. Wolf nurtured DOB’s worldwide chapters and fought for their right to use the reclaimed term dyke, they fought and won two lawsuits against the US Patent and Trademark Office so they could trademark their name and logo.

DOB does philanthropic work for LGBTQ causes and organisations around the world. In June 2019, to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots, Wolf was one of fifty inaugural heroes to be named on the National LGBTQ Wall of Honour placed inside the Stonewall Inn, and within the Stonewall National Monument.

Dykes on Bikes

In June 1976, a group of 20 – 25 lesbians decided to ride their motorcycles in the San Francisco Gay Freedom Day Parade which had started in 1970. They led the parade to prevent their bikes from overheating due to idling behind the slower-moving walking contingents. Some motorcyclists had done the parade before then, but it wasn’t as organised.

One of the riders noted them as being “dykes on bikes” which was overheard, and reported in the city’s main newspaper, the San Francisco Chronicle. The Dykes on Bikes (DOB) formalised within a week of the parade. Although the name originator isn’t known, Wolf, who started riding with the group in 1978, embraced the name, and helped the new group become one of the most visible, and empowering symbols of the LGBTQ communities.

In 2016 she was sainted by the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence as someone who “dedicated their life to fundraising, activism and human rights”.