Gay rights were hard fought for and hard won. Male homosexuality was not decriminalised in England until 1967. In many countries Lesbianism and Homosexuality remain illegal, and Lesbians are persecuted, sometimes murdered. Even though the fight for rights in this country was ultimately successful, that success is incredibly recent, and cannot be taken for granted. New rock opera concept album ‘Sandy and Jean’, created by musician Rosemary Schonfeld and set in the 1980s against the backdrop of the homophobic legislation introduced by the Tories: Section 28, tells an important story of the kind of discrimination and pressures experienced by lesbians due to Section 28 during the 1980s and 90s, in particular lesbian mothers, which should never be forgotten.

Beginning in the 1980s and covering a period of 15 years (apart from the final number which takes place in 2025), Sandy and Jean are two young married mothers who meet at a toddlers group and fall in love with each other. Sandy is from a working-class background and is married to an upper middle-class man, Jon. They have two children. Jean is a divorcee and a teacher, also with two children. From the initial euphoria of falling in love, problems soon start to manifest. At first Jon is happy to go along with a ‘progressive’ kind of relationship but begins to find it unsatisfactory. Sandy will not leave Jon for Jean, and as the years pass, Jean becomes increasingly dissatisfied. All this takes place against the backdrop of Section 28, where women lost custody of their children if they left their husband for a lesbian relationship. Teachers such as Jean, were also at risk of being fired if they ‘came out’.

In the 1980s, (and the 1990s, and into the 2000s) there were still no Gay Rights. For example, up until the introduction of Civil Partnerships in 2004, if one of a gay couple fell ill, blood family members had the right to impose their choice of medical treatment and end of life care, disregarding the wishes of the partner. This sometimes extended to stopping the healthy partner having any contact with their ill partner. The insecurity and pressures on gays and lesbians caused by lack of rights, led some to remain in heterosexual relationships even when it was not their true sexuality. Whatever the sexual orientation, power dynamics within relationships are affected by, among other things, status, class, money, income. ‘Sandy and Jean’ tries to adopt a sympathetic approach towards some of these issues. The characterisation of the three main characters (one lesbian, one bi-sexual, one heterosexual) is nuanced, incorporating issues of power dynamics and class, as well as sexual orientation. Things do not work out, but not simply because one character is ‘good’ and another ‘bad’. Relationships are complex, human beings are imperfect, and the heart rarely follows the head. However, the added pressures on a gay and lesbian relationship sometimes meant that it might falter, where a heterosexual relationship would survive.

And what of the music? The music is a blend of rock, rap, ballad and Sprechgesang (sung language). Orchestral brass, strings and percussion, electric guitar, bass, keyboard generated sounds including 80s type Casio keyboard patterns, and voice, combine with the underlying often a-typical (in Western music) rhythms to produce songs and memorable melodies which can sit comfortably alongside popular musicals and can’t help but draw the listener in for repeated play with the insightful lyrics. It’s impossible not to be charmed especially by the likes of tracks with titles like ‘Everybody Hates Lesbians’.

The first single release from the album is, however, ‘Chorus of Friends and Jean’, which is an important part in the story of Sandy and Jean. Lesbian or Bisexual mothers in the 80s were in grave danger of losing custody of their children were they to leave their husbands and gay teachers of any gender were at risk of being fired if they ‘came out’. As the years go by in the story, Jean becomes increasingly frustrated with the arrangement she finds herself in and her friends, represented here by a vocal ensemble, like a Greek Chorus at the side of the stage, try to persuade Jean she should simply leave Sandy.