John Howard’s latest single What God Is This? is like many of his recent tracks, full of nostalgia.
But this time the subject matter is particularly sombre and personal, as the 1970s singer songwriter turned independent artist recalls the horrors of the 1980s AIDS crisis.
Its beautiful, and sad. A track that can only have come from someone who, along with his husband Neil, “lost so many friends”, he recalls.
Howard adds: “Like a Tsunami, AIDS literally smashed thousands of lives, and destroyed what we’d built over the years.
“Once again, we were separated by ignorance and bigotry. I was more than once shouted at in the street as an ‘AIDS Victim!’ and was actually spat at on one occasion.”
It was a horrific time and one that Howard covers by remembering how friends on holiday during the 1970s in ‘gay Mecca’ Mykonos suddenly disappeared within a decade.
“Enjoying the golden ones smiling at me….’til the end came and took them on the wind,” is one of the opening, evocative images in What God Is This? for the listener to dwell on.
“Laughter replaced by silence, with just the sound of the sea filling the void,” adds Howard as he recalls this period in his life and the 1980s AIDS crisis.
Over the last two decades, Howard’s return to releasing albums and singles has offered a fascinating historical record for the listener, particularly of gay Britain. This single is no exception.
Among other Howard releases with this nostalgic ethos to check out is one of our favourite of his albums, 2022’s Look: The Unknown Story of Danielle Du Bois, in tribute to the late model and actress April Ashley, who was one of the UK’s first people to have sex reassignment surgery.
A video for What God Is This? is due to premier on Youtube on June 24.
By Joe Lepper
Related Posts
