I hosted this series for BBC Radio 2

Originally labelled "the gay plague" by the tabloid press, Aids (Acquired Immunodeficiency

Syndrome) became known to the British public first in the early-to-mid-1980s, just when the gay community was experiencing an explosive and liberating shift in its increasingly public lifestyle. This programme rewinds to the Thatcher years to recall that era's gay culture, which was characterised by social and sexual advances that were offset by a terrifying number of deaths among gay men and a nasty social backlash in response to what was then a visibly pronounced illness. Featuring interviews with survivors from a generation that suffered heavy lossses. Plus a look at the parts played by the media, the music industry, politicians, religious figures and the gay community itself.

Producer Graham Pass