8 minute read
Loud & Proud
IQ is placing LGBTIQ+ executives at the forefront of our annual Pride issue with the second-ever LGBTIQ+ List.
The list celebrates the LGBTIQ+ professionals making an impact in the international live music business and beyond.
This year’s top 20, as nominated by our readers and verified by our esteemed steering committee, have gone above and beyond to wave the flag for a more diverse and inclusive industry – one that we can all be proud of. Without further ado...
Troy Suda
GEORGIE LANFRANCHI
Tour manager/production coordinator, Only Helix Ltd (UK) Pronouns: she/her/hers georgie@onlyhelix.com
Tell us about a personal triumph in your career My journey with Years&Years, from being their production coordinator to their tour manager, has been by far the most rewarding of my career. Being queer and working for one of the biggest gay icons of our time is a true honour.
What advice could you give to young queer professionals? Try your best not to hide who you are. This can often be instinctive for queer people, but the industry is changing, opinions are changing, and the best way to help drive that forward is to be visible.
What’s the best mistake you’ve ever made? Every mistake I’ve made – it’s the best way to learn. Those cringy, stomach-dropping, mortifying moments that stick with you when you realise you’ve messed up, stick with you for a reason. You don’t make those mistakes again!
Tell us about a professional challenge you’ve come across as a queer person in the industry I actually feel that being a woman is more of a hindrance in this industry. Don’t get me wrong, I still get a lot of ignorant questions from people that perhaps don’t (knowingly) have queer people in their life, but you’d be hard pressed to find a queer person that doesn’t!
Causes you support Music Support, CALM, The Trevor Project, David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation, WWF, Rainforest Alliance.
Your favourite queer space Flamingos Nightclub in Bristol – which is sadly no more. I felt a real absence of queer spaces growing up, from the countryside towns I grew up in and even the cities I frequented in my university years. It’s so important to keep these spaces going so queer folk have a safe space to go and a place to find and express themselves. Support your local queer spaces!
DAVID JONES
Chief information officer, AEG (UK) Pronouns: he/him/his linkedin.com/in/davidjones99/
Tell us about a personal triumph in your career I’ve recently been promoted to the role of global chief information officer. In my new role I am leading a new division – AEG Global Technology – which brings together AEG’s talented technology staff in the US and Europe. I am proud to say that this will be the first time that someone in the UK will head up a global team in our company.
What advice could you give to young queer professionals? Seek out other LGBTQ+ people in your organisation or industry; build friendships and provide support to each other. Being part of the Pride employee network group at AEG has been a wonderful experience. I have made new friends right across the organisation, and our group has been a force for positive change in our company.
Name one thing the live industry could do to be a more inclusive place Empower and support your LGBTQ+ colleagues. And that means more than simply ‘rainbowing’ your logos, venues and events in Pride month. If your organisation doesn’t have an employee network group then help your LGBTQ+ colleagues to establish one and support them to drive positive change.
The queer act you’re itching to see live this year Steps at Birmingham Pride. Even though they are performing on Sunday evening; I’m too old for such giddiness on a school night…
Your favourite queer space In 2018, the Isle of Wight hosted UK Pride. Peter Tatchell spoke about how ‘local’ Prides were so much more important than those traditionally held in big cities, because it was important for LGBTQ+ people to be visible, embraced and happy everywhere, not just in places like London or Manchester.
I witnessed an enormous Pride flag paraded down the main street of my hometown, enjoyed drag queens in the cabaret tent on the esplanade, and then sang along with Conchita Wurst on the beach stage. My favourite queer space was the Isle of Wight on Saturday, 21 July 2018.
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CLOE GREGSON
Senior events manager, Manchester Pride (UK) Pronouns: she/her/hers cloe.gregson@hotmail.co.uk
Tell us about a personal triumph in your career A big personal triumph for me was curating the line-up for the Gay Village Party in 2021. It was my first year leading on the programme, and it ended up being the most queer and diverse line-up Manchester Pride had seen to date. The pool of talent in Manchester is incredible, and I created the programme by working with some of the absolute powerhouses that reside here. Co-designing with Fat Pride, Trans Filth & Joy, Black Pride MCR, and some of the best queer females and femmes.
What advice could you give to young queer professionals? Don’t be afraid to take up space and support each other!
One thing the live industry could do to be a more inclusive place? Making sure we are paying local performers and artists fairly.
A cause you support Supporting our trans community and being a loud ally.
The queer act you’re itching to see live this year NIMMO.
Your favourite queer space Fat Out Fest.
Joel Siviour
PETER TAYLOR
Founder, Cuffe & Taylor (UK) Pronouns: he/him/his peter.taylor@cuffeandtaylor.com
Tell us about a personal triumph in your career Taking the Lytham Festival in my hometown in Lancashire from a one-day, 4,000-capacity event to the 2022 festival, which ran over ten days with an overall attendance of 200,000 people. And if I’m allowed another: getting Britney Spears to play Scarborough Open Air Theatre!
What advice could you give to young queer professionals? Have courage and determination. Don’t ever be afraid to speak up, and remember to be kind.
What’s the best mistake you’ve ever made? Selling my bar contract in the early days at a stupidly low price was a mistake that taught me a lot, very quickly.
One thing the live industry could do to be a more inclusive place Keep educating ourselves and each other. To be honest, having just finished the RuPaul Drag Race UK Tour, I actually learnt a lot myself about gender and how people identify. I also think music and show business have always been good industries for people to feel inclusive and safe.
A cause you support Pride Nation. It’s an initiative across our parent company, Live Nation, to promote inclusivity among our LGBTQ+ colleagues. It’s a good channel for education and learning, plus it supports some amazing organisations.
The queer act you’re itching to see live this year Well… I’d say the Christina Aguilera show I’m promoting in Scarborough this year. She is an iconic LGBTQ+ act, and we’ve just finished our 2022 tour with Lea Salonga – a massive gay icon, not least because she’s a real Disney princess!
Your favourite queer space In Lytham, where I live, we’re next door to Blackpool, so anyone visiting me always has a trip to Funny Girls! I also went to Wilderness Festival last year and that felt really inclusive and welcoming.
DAVID DAVIES
Founder and head of live, Double D Live (UK, IE) Head of experience, Catapult Pronouns: he/him/his david@doubledlive.com david@thisiscatapult.com
Your favourite queer space I’m involved with a night called Buttmitzvah, which is a Queer Jewish party we’ve grown from The Glory to The Troxy via Bethnal Green Working Men’s Club, Brooklyn, NYC and a few others. It takes the form of a bar mitzvah party and has a whole range of interesting moments you wouldn’t expect to find at a nightclub: Jewish dancing, speeches, bubbas (grannies) trying to get you married off to a doctor and a serious obsession with fish balls. I play the MC (think red tailcoat and heels) and host the night from the stage. It’s one of the few places where I’m able to celebrate both my Jewish and my queer identities.
What advice could you give to young queer professionals? It’s painfully basic but… be yourself. You don’t need to hide who you are. Being queer is a core part of your identity, but it does not define you. You are more than the sum of your amazing parts. Your queerness is a massive piece of you and helps inform the whole puzzle. Live music is an industry where we are asking an audience to have a real emotional response to our work, so we owe it to them to be real and honest about who we are.
One thing the live industry could do to be a more inclusive place? I think transgender rights are the next battleground in society and the workplace – regardless of industry. We need to support our trans colleagues, siblings, performers, artists and network. Obvious but easy things we can do include having company-wide policies like placing pronouns on email signatures that remove the stigma around the choice to include.
The queer act you’re itching to see live this year I don’t often get to see shows when I’m not working, but I would love to go and stand in the audience at a Becky Hill gig and sing (tunelessly) at the top of my voice. Becky’s current show includes four incredible performers from the scene: Margo Marshall, Prinx Chiyo, Dosa Cat – and my absolute fave Freida Slaves. Her show is amazing – it’s the perfect mix of pop and dance bangers with one of the most incredible voices in the UK. Thousands of
