Given the recent 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, we decided to put our spotlight on some of the many documents in our collections documenting LGBTQ+ history in Nottingham.
Please note we have now (August 2019) updated the list below with a number of additional resources, prominently the lesbian papers Lookout! and Diversion. We still have a long way to go before we can feature a comprehensive account of local LGBTQ+ papers, but we are getting closer!
Furthermore, as of March 2020 we are also looking after the archive of the Out House Project.
Many thanks to the Nottinghamshire's Rainbow Heritage for allowing us access to their archives to add to the materials already in our collection.
Technical stuff
All documents are pdfs files of various sizes, featuring OCR. If you spot any errors, unresponsive links etc., please do not hesitate to get in touch.
August 2019 update
Diversion #01 - Nottingham Lesbian Magazine (1986) INCOMPLETE
Diversion #02 - Nottingham Lesbian Magazine (1986)
Diversion #03 - Nottingham Lesbian Magazine (1986)
Diversion #04 - Nottingham & East Midlands Lesbian Magazine (1987)
Diversion #05 - Nottingham & East Midlands Lesbian Magazine (1987)
Diversion #06 - Nottingham & East Midlands Lesbian Magazine (1988)
Lookout! #01 - Information for Lesbians in Nottinghamshire (1996)
Lookout! #02 - Information for Lesbians in Nottinghamshire (1996)
Lookout! #03 - Information for Lesbians in Nottinghamshire (1997)
Lookout! #04 - Information for Lesbians in Nottinghamshire (1997)
Lookout! #06 - Out and About - Information for Lesbians in Nottinghamshire (1997)
Lookout! #07 - Out and About - Information for Lesbians in Nottinghamshire (1998)
Lookout! #08 - Out and About - Information for Lesbians in Nottinghamshire (1998)
Lookout! #09 - Out and About - Information for Lesbians in Nottinghamshire (1998)
Lookout! #10 - Out and About - Information for Lesbians in Nottinghamshire (1998)
Lookout! #11 - Out and About - Information for Lesbians in Nottinghamshire (1999)
Lookout! #12 - Out and About - Information for Lesbians in Nottinghamshire (1999)
Lookout! #13 - Out and About - Information for Lesbians in Nottinghamshire (1999)
Lookout! #14 - Out and About - Information for Lesbians in Nottinghamshire (1999)
Lookout! #15 - Out and About (2000)
Lookout! #24 - Out and About (2002)
Lookout! #25 - Out and About (2002)
Lookout! #26 - Out and About (2003)
Lookout! #27 - Out and About (2003)
Lookout! #28 - Out and About (2003)
I'm Free! #01 - Incorporating the Out House Newsletter and QB (2003)
I'm Free! #02 - Incorporating the Out House Newsletter and QB (2003)
I'm Free! #03 - Incorporating the Out House Newsletter and QB (2003)
I'm Free! #04 - Incorporating the Out House Newsletter and QB (2004)
I'm Free! #05 - Incorporating the Out House Newsletter and QB (2004)
I'm Free! #06 - Incorporating the Out House Newsletter and QB (2004)
I'm Free! #07 - Incorporating the Out House Newsletter and QB (2004)
I'm Free! #08 - Incorporating the Out House Newsletter and QB (2005)
From Chimera to Outright
The following contextual information was kindly contributed by Christopher Richardson and Richard McCance, who were crucially involved in the production of these publications. They also offered materials from their private archives to be digitised to fill a number of gaps in our collections. Many, many thanks! If you were involved in the production of any materials accessible in our Digital Library and would like to contribute a few words about them, we would love to hear from you.
Until the early 1980s there were no known local LGBTQ+ publications circulating in Nottinghamshire apart from membership magazines, such as Nottingham CHE's Chimaera.
Chimaera - Nottingham Campaign for Homosexual Equality Newsletter (1980)
Chimaera - Nottingham CHE Newsletter - Special Olympics Edition (1980)
The first regular publication was GEM – Gay East Midlands, initiated by Colin Clews in Nottingham in early 1983, which ran to nine editions from June 1983 to March 1984. This was a high-quality production of sixteen pages professionally typeset and printed, which circulated in Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire and Leicestershire, mainly to gay bars, clubs and friendly shops, and sold for 20p a copy.
G.E.M. #01 Gay East Midlands (Jun 1983)
G.E.M. #02 Gay East Midlands (Jul 1983)
G.E.M. #03 Gay East Midlands (Aug 1983)
G.E.M. #04 Gay East Midlands (Sep 1983)
G.E.M. #06 Gay East Midlands (Nov 1983)
G.E.M. #07 Gay East Midlands (Dec 1983-Jan 1984)
G.E.M. #08 Gay East Midlands (Feb 1984)
G.E.M. #09 Gay East Midlands (Mar 1984)
After its demise it was followed by GEM – Gay Freeby, a four page A4 duplicated freesheet also produced by the Gay East Midlands Collective in 1984 of which only two editions appear to have been published.
There followed a publication gap until February 1985 when Gay Nottingham #01 was produced as a single sheet, double sided A4, folded to A5, duplicated at 118 Workshop, Mansfield Road. This was put together by Richard McCance and continued in this format for six editions.
From October, 1985 it appeared as an A3 folded, four page format, doubling in size to eight pages from #23, in February 1987. The final edition, #28, appeared in July 1987.
In August 1987, Gay Nottingham reappeared as the first edition of Metro Gay, the renaming taking account of the expanded circulation area in Leicestershire. The final edition of Metro Gay, #26, was published in December, 1989.
East Midlands Metro Gay #01 (Aug 1987)
East Midlands Metro Gay #02 (Sep 1987)
East Midlands Metro Gay #04 (Nov 1987)
East Midlands Metro Gay #05 (Dec 1987)
East Midlands Metro Gay #06 (Jan 1988)
East Midlands Metro Gay #07 (Feb 1988)
East Midlands Metro Gay #08 (Mar 1988)
East Midlands Metro Gay #09 (Apr 1988)
East Midlands Metro Gay #10 (May 1988)
East Midlands Metro Gay #11 (Jun 1988)
East Midlands Metro Gay #12 (Aug 1988)
East Midlands Metro Gay #13 (Aug 1988)
East Midlands Metro Gay #14 (Oct 1988)
East Midlands Metro Gay #15 (Nov 1988)
East Midlands Metro Gay #16 (Dec 1988)
East Midlands Metro Gay #17 (Jan 1989)
East Midlands Metro Gay #18 (Feb 1989)
East Midlands Metro Gay #19 (Mar 1989)
East Midlands Metro Gay #20 (Apr 1989)
East Midlands Metro Gay #21 (May 1989)
East Midlands Metro Gay #22 (Jun 1989)
East Midlands Metro Gay #23 (Aug 1989)
East Midlands Metro Gay #24 (Sep 1989)
East Midlands Metro Gay #25 (Oct-Nov 1989)
East Midlands Metro Gay #26 (Dec 1989)
East Midlands Metro Gay #?? Special edition? (1989)
In February 1990, the first issue of Outright appeared. Richard McCance was now joined by Simon Wilkinson who became the founder members of Naff Co-operative Ltd, a worker co-op in which Richard and Simon were the unpaid worker volunteers. Outright was professionally printed by Anvil Press, a worker co-op in Derby. From September 1991 Simon Wilkinson retired from Outright and Chris Richardson joined. From April 1993 most issues of Outright expanded from eight to twelve pages. In 1995 Simon Smalley joined the Naff Co-operative. In December 1995 the largest edition to date ran to sixteen pages, which became the norm in 1996, rising to 20 pages in November 1996. By this time circulation had risen from the original 1,000 to 4,500 per month and reached outlets in Sheffield, Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire.
In early 1997 Richard, Chris and Simon, burned out by the time and work demands of Outright, wanted to retire and pass on the magazine to new people. From March 1997 it was produced by new co-op members, the final edition appearing in October 1997.
Outright #01 Gay Freesheet for the East Midlands (Feb 1990)
Outright #02 Gay Freesheet for the East Midlands (Mar 1990)
Outright #03 Gay Freesheet for the East Midlands (Apr 1990)
Outright #04 Gay Freesheet for the East Midlands (May 1990)
Outright #05 Gay Freesheet for the East Midlands (Jun 1990)
Outright #06 Gay Freesheet for the East Midlands (Jul 1990)
Outright #07 Gay Freesheet for the East Midlands (Sep 1990)
Outright #08 Gay Freesheet for the East Midlands (Oct 1990)
Outright #09 Gay Freesheet for the East Midlands (Dec 1990)
Outright #10 Gay Freesheet for the East Midlands (Feb 1991)
Outright #11 Gay Freesheet for the East Midlands (Mar 1991)
Outright #12 Gay Freesheet for the East Midlands (Apr 1991)
Outright #13 Gay Freesheet for the East Midlands (May 1991)
Outright #14 Gay Freesheet for the East Midlands (Jun 1991)
Outright #15 Gay Freesheet for the East Midlands (Jun 1991)
Outright #16 Gay Freesheet for the East Midlands (Aug 1991)
Outright #17 Gay Freesheet for the East Midlands (Sep 1991)
Outright #18 Gay Freesheet for the East Midlands (Nov 1991)
Outright #19 Gay Freesheet for the East Midlands (Nov 1991)
Outright #20 Gay Freesheet for the East Midlands (Dec 1991)
Outright #21 Gay Freesheet for the East Midlands (Jan 1992)
Outright #22 Gay Freesheet for the East Midlands (Feb 1992)
Outright #23 Gay Freesheet for the East Midlands (Mar 1992)
Outright #24 Gay Freesheet for the East Midlands (Apr 1992)
Outright #25 Gay Freesheet for the East Midlands (May 1992)
Outright #26 Gay Freesheet for the East Midlands (Jun 1992)
Outright #27 Gay Freesheet for the East Midlands (Jul 1992)
Outright #28 Gay Freesheet for the East Midlands (Aug 1992)
Outright #29 Gay Freesheet for the East Midlands (Sep 1992)
Outright #30 Gay Freesheet for the East Midlands (Oct 1992)
Outright #31 For Gays and Lesbians in Central England (Nov 1992)
Outright #32 For Gays and Lesbians in Central England (Dec 1992)
Outright #33 For Gays and Lesbians in Central England (Jan 1993)
Outright #34 For Gays and Lesbians in Central England (Feb 1993)
Outright #35 For Gays and Lesbians in Central England (Mar 1993)
Outright #36 For Gays and Lesbians in Central England (Apr 1993)
Outright #37 For Gays and Lesbians in Central England (May 1993)
Outright #38 For Gays and Lesbians in Central England (Jun 1993)
Outright #39 For Gays and Lesbians in Central England (Jul 1993)
Outright #40 For Gays and Lesbians in Central England (Aug 1993)
Outright #41 For Gays and Lesbians in Central England (Sep 1993)
Outright #42 For Gays and Lesbians in Central England (Oct 1993)
Outright #43 For Gays Lesbians and Bisexuals in Central England (Nov 1993)
Outright #44 For Gays Lesbians and Bisexuals in Central England (Dec 1993)
Outright #45 For Gays Lesbians and Bisexuals in Central England (Jan 1994)
Outright #46 For Gays Lesbians and Bisexuals in Central England (Feb 1994)
Outright #47 For Gays Lesbians and Bisexuals in Central England (Mar 1994)
Outright #48 For Gays Lesbians and Bisexuals in Central England (Apr 1994)
Outright #49 For Gays Lesbians and Bisexuals in Central England (May 1994)
Outright #50 For Gays Lesbians and Bisexuals in Central England (Jun 1994)
Outright #51 For Gays Lesbians and Bisexuals in Central England (Jul 1994)
Outright #52 For Gays Lesbians and Bisexuals in Central England (Aug 1994)
Outright #53 For Gays Lesbians and Bisexuals in Central England (Sep 1994)
Outright #54 For Gays Lesbians and Bisexuals in Central England (Oct 1994)
Outright #55 For Gays Lesbians and Bisexuals in Central England (Nov 1994)
Outright #56 For Gays Lesbians and Bisexuals in Central England (Dec 1994)
Outright #57 For Gays Lesbians and Bisexuals in Central England (Jan 1995)
Outright #58 For Gays Lesbians and Bisexuals in Central England (Feb 1995)
Outright #59 For Gays Lesbians and Bisexuals in Central England (Mar 1995)
Outright #60 For Gays Lesbians and Bisexuals in Central England (Apr 1995)
Outright #61 For Gays Lesbians and Bisexuals in Central England (May 1995)
Outright #62 For Gays Lesbians and Bisexuals in Central England (Jun 1995)
Outright #63 For Gays Lesbians and Bisexuals in Central England (Jul 1995)
Outright #64 For Gays Lesbians and Bisexuals in Central England (Aug 1995)
Outright #65 For Gays Lesbians and Bisexuals (Sep 1995)
Outright #66 For Gays Lesbians and Bisexuals (Oct 1995)
Outright #67 For Gays Lesbians and Bisexuals (Nov 1995)
Outright #68 For Gays Lesbians and Bisexuals (Dec 1995)
Outright #69 For Gays Lesbians and Bisexuals (Jan 1996)
Outright #70 For Gays Lesbians and Bisexuals (Feb 1996)
Outright #71 For Gays Lesbians and Bisexuals (Mar 1996)
Outright #72 For Gays Lesbians and Bisexuals (Apr 1996)
Outright #73 For Gays Lesbians and Bisexuals (May 1996)
Outright #74 For Gays Lesbians and Bisexuals (Jun 1996)
Outright #75 For Gays Lesbians and Bisexuals (Jul 1996)
Outright #76 For Gays Lesbians and Bisexuals (Aug 1996)
Outright #77 For Gays Lesbians and Bisexuals (Sep 1996)
Outright #78 For Gays Lesbians and Bisexuals (Oct 1996)
Outright #79 For Gays Lesbians and Bisexuals (Nov 1996)
Outright #80 For Gays Lesbians and Bisexuals (Dec 1996)
Outright #81 For Gays Lesbians and Bisexuals (Jan 1997)
Outright #82 For Gays Lesbians and Bisexuals (Feb 1997)
Outright #83 For Gays Lesbians and Bisexuals (Mar 1997)
Outright #84 For Gays Lesbians and Bisexuals (Apr 1997)
Outright #85 For Gays Lesbians and Bisexuals (May 1997)
Outright #86 For Gays Lesbians and Bisexuals (Jun-Jul 1997)
Outright #87 For Gays Lesbians and Bisexuals (Aug 1997)
Outright #88 For Gays Lesbians and Bisexuals (Sep 1997)
Outright #89 For Gays Lesbians and Bisexuals (Oct 1997)
Sadly there followed a gap in local LGBTQ+ publications but in 1998 the GAi Project and Nottingham Lesbian and Gay Switchboard began the production of QB – Queer Bulletin, which continues to this day in 2019 and is now the longest running LGBTQ+ publication in the East Midlands.
Richard McCance & Chris Richardson, 8th March 2019