Did you say “The Gay National Anthem”? We turned to Pop App Radio to get the top 10 gay anthems of all time.
10. Diva – Dana International
The 1998 Israeli Eurovision winner was the first transgender to ever win the contest. At the time, it was a win for Israel, but it felt like a bigger win for the LGBT community. Dana has become a truly international icon, and was named that year in the top most influential people by Time Magazine
9. All American Boy – Steve Grand
Probably known as the first gay country song, Steve Grand made history by releasing this song in 2013 as his debut single, accompanied by a steamy sexy video in which Grand is falling in love with his straight friend (both extremely hot, by the way!). The video almost immediately went viral. Just eight days later, “All-American Boy” had more than 1 million views.
8. You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real) – Jimmy Sommerville Version
Originally a 1978 single by American disco/R&B singer Sylvester, You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real) was then dubbed by critic “disco’s great gift to pop music.” It was Jimmy Sommerville, formerly of the bands Bronski Beat and Communards, who took this tune to the gay extreme in 1989 with his high-pitched voice and flamboyant image, it was given a gay anthem’s final stamp.
7. Born This Way – Lady Gaga
Gaga calls “Born This Way” her freedom song. Inspired by 1990s music which empowered women, minorities and the LGBT community, the song, which ended up being the title track for her second album, was released in 2011, and music critics still see that as the soundtrack for LGBTQ+ rights in the Obama era.
6. Your Disco Needs You – Kylie Minogue
When this song first released in Kylie’s 2000 album Light Years, one of the album reviews in the papers noted that if you caught your kid listening to this song in his room, he’s probably gay. Later it was revealed that the song did not become a UK single because it was “too gay” and “too camp.”
5. Relax – Frankie Goes to Hollywood
This song is one of the most controversial in pop history, was released in the midst of the AIDS pandemic, supposedly warning guys from performing anal sex (“Relax, don’t do it / When you want to suck it, chew it/ Relax, don’t do it / When you want to come / but shoot it in the right direction…”) the song was banned by BBC at the time but charted 5 weeks at the top of the singles sales chart.
4. Legendary Children (All of them Queer) – Holly Johnson
The Franky Goes to Hollywood lead singer left the group for a solo career in 1987, and has been very outspoken about being gay and living with HIV. In 1994 he released this controversial single, which lists historic figures, celebrities and characters who are supposedly gay – from Michaelangelo and Shakespeare to Andy Warhol and supposedly Mickey Mouse.
3. Vogue – Madonna
Named after a dance routine performed mostly in bars and disco of New York City on the underground gay scene, this 1990 hit is everything gay: the lyrics, the style, the dance routine, the video, and above all – the Madonna. Wikipedia says that she literally recorded this in a closet. Need we say more?
2. It’s Raining Men – The Weather Girls
The Rolling Stone magazine included this song on their 25 Essential LGBTQ Pride Songs list. In 2014, the song headed a campaign calling for marriage equality in the UK. Why sing about hanging out with a limited number of boys in a club when you can sing about endless men coming from the sky?? keep on rainin’!
1. Go West – Pet Shop Boys Version
First a hit for the “Original Gay Anthem” Band The Village People in 1979, “Go West” was covered in 1992 by the Pet Shop Boys and became even more iconic. ‘Go West’ is attributed to the 19th-century quote “Go West, young man” commonly attributed to Horace Greeley, a rallying cry for the colonization of the American West, but also an invitation to pursue one’s own dreams and individuality, which is basically being gay.