OUT AFRICA MAGAZINE Out Magazine ISSUU 33 | Page 11

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A new book, documenting some of the places, people and events
that shaped gay life in South Africa from the 1960”s to the 1990’s,
has recently been published and is available online – and what a
fascinating trip down memory-lane it is.
n LOST GAY SOUTH AFRICA, photographer
Herb Klein has compiled a mesmerising collection of
photographs together with Facebook comments from
people who were around at the time, the result makes for
compelling reading.
Author Herb Klein
For those who were around and out on the gay scene during
the apartheid years it is a chance to reconnect with many well-
known and famous faces. You will revisit some fabulous clubs
and bars and get nostalgic about what it was to be gay when you
were young.
For younger readers, the so-called millennials, it is a wonderful
opportunity to have a glimpse in to the past, a chance to sample
the gay life lived, enjoyed and suffered by people of your
parent’s and in some cases grandparents-generation - and to
discover that there once was an exciting, busy and diverse gay
scene. You’ll meet some of the people who paved the way for the
rights that you enjoy today.
The idiom, “A picture is worth a thousand words” is never
truer than in this book where so many pictures capture the feel
and atmosphere of the time. From the drag competitions at
the Dungeon Club to the street vibe of 70’s Hillbrow, and the
people who shaped the gay experience for many at the time.
You’ll get to meet some of the national celebrities of yester-year,
the effervescent Joan Brickhill and Alvin Collison to name just
two, as well as some who were celebrities in the gay community
and helped define the vibrant gay scene of the time like the
outrageous Granny Lee, who was loved and hated in equal
measure, but was never-the-less and iconic figure.
The book also includes a selection of images portraying the
dichotomy of life for black and white South Africans during the
apartheid era. However, the book is seen through the eyes of a
white-gay man’s perspective only and the apartheid black gay
experience is not visited.
Whilst the book is South African gay people and life in the
sphere of the author only it does provide us with a glimpse that
being gay was as exciting, alive and flamboyant as it is today - if
not more so.
Luiz De Barros of Mambaonline said it perfectly in the Foreword
to the book when he wrote: Lost Gay South Africa is by no
means a comprehensive overview of gay life in the country
(how could it ever be), but it’s a unique time capsule of the
personalities, places and moments that defined a portion of our
diverse gay South African tribe.
A great read and most definitely an important addition to your
library.
Get your copy of LOST GAY SOUTH AFRICA at Amazon.
com or Apple Itunes if you are outside of South Africa. The
cost is only US8.99 (about R100), a small price to pay for
a collection of amazing memories and window in to South
Africa’s gay past.
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