05/01/2023
Gay singers Holly Johnson and Boy George have been amongst those to pay tribute to Dame Vivienne Westwood, the punk rock designer, who has passed on at the age of eighty. Westwood played an important role in the pheonomenal success of punk rock as a movement of politics, music and fashion, from 1976. Although radical movements for gay liberation and women’s liberation existed long before punk, the late seventies movement characterised by DIY music and publishing, helped give voice to many young women, and LGBT+ people. For example, a lively scene of self published queer fanzines exists to this day, and aspects of the movements of community radio and independent podcasting can be said to have a punk influence. Despite recognition from the British establishment who conferred various titles on her, Westwood did retain a progressive edge throughout her career. She was a supporter of civil rights group Liberty, the Campaign For Nuclear Disarmament, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals and at times endorsed the Labour Party and the Green Party in elections. She was a keen gardener and a vegetarian. Holly Johnson, whose band Frankie Goes to Hollywood emerged from the punk scene, said “Goodbye Vivienne Westwood - you were a one off that helped change the world and the way we dressed, you made Britain less boring . A climate change activist despite the consumer culture you thrived within”.
