Holly Johnson 'cancelled' by music industry after sharing diagnosis

Frankie Goes To Hollywood’s lead vocalist Holly Johnson has recalled how he was “cancelled” after sharing his HIV diagnosis. The 64-year-old Wavertree singer said he felt like he was “living in a desert” for a decade after he told others in the music industry.

The Liverpool musician made his health condition public during an interview in 1993, and following this, he claims only a handful of friends including Kirsty MacColl and David Bowie reached out. He told the BBC: “It was a bit like living in a desert for about 10 years. The gay community supported me, I did some performances at (clubs), but jobs were hard to come by at that time. I was sort of cancelled by the music industry.”

Holly said being openly gay at the time didn’t help either as it was “isolating”. He reckons this is why a lot of others from the community “had been advised to stay in the closet.”

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He said: "It was considered dangerous and it did affect the band's profile in middle America. It was great in New York and LA and San Francisco, so we were at the forefront of that and it wasn't easy. Everything that was written about us was 'gay this and gay that'.”

The band’s frontman was speaking ahead of a new exhibition coming to the Museum of Liverpool. Opening to the public on Saturday, September 14 at the Pier Head, the showcase documents Holly’s rise to fame and features unique items from his 40-year career, including costumes, band memorabilia, and paintings by Holly himself.

Holly previously said: “The opportunity to mount this exhibition is actually like winning the National Lottery for me. As a teenager, music and art were my passion. Reading Jean Genet, and William Burroughs and listening to the music of The Beatles, Marc Bolan, David Bowie and The Velvet Underground, seeing the films of Derek Jarman and Andy Warhol along with his super-charged colour paintings.

“Pondering over Peter Blake’s Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band artwork as a child led me ultimately to Hollywood and back again. Everything I was ever drawn to, through the lens of queerness and controversy, I have brought with me into the future we live in now.”

National Museum Liverpool partnered with arts organisations Homotopia and DuoVision to deliver the “landmark exhibition that will take visitors on a journey through Holly’s outstanding career, from his early years in Liverpool to international stardom”.

The story charts Holly’s early personal life and career, from a young musician to a renowned, openly gay star, living in the public eye. Dealing with the price of fame, coping with an HIV+ diagnosis and the unwanted negative press, whilst going it alone as a monumental LGBTQ+ icon.

James Lawler, curator at DuoVision, added: “To see a performer be so open and positive about their sexuality was an affirming and influential experience at a time when homophobia was endemic. In the 80s, Holly was one of the musicians whose unapologetic approach to their sexuality helped shift mainstream understanding and acceptance."