Kris Kirk, full name Christopher Pius Mary Kirk, (1950, in Carlisle, England – 27 April 1993) was a gay[1] activist, journalist and author who became well known as a pop music journalist in the 1980s.
He was brought up in Carlisle by Catholic parents. From 1970 until 1973 he studied American Literature at the University of Nottingham, where he first came out as an openly gay man and founded the University’s first Gay Liberation Society. When he arrived in Nottingham he was already Kris. He performed in several student drama productions, (on one notable occasion appearing as the Devil in Christopher Marlowe’s Dr Faustus, completely naked apart from a large leather phallus), and after graduating he obtained a number of theatre jobs, including working as a theatrical dresser for Tommy Steele and Benny Hill.
In the early 1980s he moved to London, and changed the spelling of his name to "Kristopher", writing under the byline of "Kris Kirk". He worked as a journalist for Gay News and Gay Times and in 1984 he also began writing about the pop scene for Melody Maker, becoming the first openly gay music journalist in the UK. He also wrote numerous freelance articles for music publications, including Smash Hits and The Face and for other publications such as The Guardian, New York Rocker and City Limits.
In 1988, Kris Kirk moved to rural Wales to open a secondhand book shop with his boyfriend, photographer Ed Heath. In 1991 he was diagnosed with AIDS and reluctantly returned to London for treatment. He went blind the following year. With equipment supplied by the RNIB, he was able to carry on writing, and in June 1992, he wrote an article on his condition for Gay Times, 'Descent Into Darkness'; becoming one of the first people with AIDS to come out publicly.
"As long as I have my friends, my family, my fags, my coffee, my opera tapes and my writing I guess I shall tootle along, even though I may not have all my coat buttons done up properly. Life is for living and I am trying to live it as well as I can. But I suppose that I feel that when death finally comes I shall be ready for it. Perhaps that is what life is all about."
Published worksedit
Kris Kirk collaborated with Ed Heath, to write Men In Frocks (pub 1984), an illustrated survey of the history of British crossdressing, ranging from Army camp shows during World War II to 1980s rock musicians. Another book about gay men and pop, provisionally titled The Vinyl Closet was commissioned but never finished.
"The confluence of his pink socialist politics with the emerging likes of Boy George, Bronski Beat and The Pet Shop Boys makes for fascinating and historic reading, but he wasn't only interested in those involved in perverting the Top Ten. Sitting alongside the pieces on those acts are encounters with artists who moved away from a pop starting point towards less mainstream zones (Marc Almond, Marianne Faithfull) and still further offshore from the pop coastline, the likes of Diamanda Galás, Momus and the musically and sexually hardcore dance collective Tongueman."
In 1986, Channel 4 broadcast a drama documentary by Paul Oremland about Kris Kirk's life, titled A Boy Called Mary.
kris, kirk, american, golfer, chris, kirk, zealand, cricketer, christopher, kirk, american, football, player, christian, kirk, full, name, christopher, pius, mary, kirk, 1950, carlisle, england, april, 1993, activist, journalist, author, became, well, known, m. For the American golfer see Chris Kirk For the New Zealand cricketer see Christopher Kirk For the American football player see Christian Kirk Kris Kirk full name Christopher Pius Mary Kirk 1950 in Carlisle England 27 April 1993 was a gay 1 activist journalist and author who became well known as a pop music journalist in the 1980s He was brought up in Carlisle by Catholic parents From 1970 until 1973 he studied American Literature at the University of Nottingham where he first came out as an openly gay man and founded the University s first Gay Liberation Society When he arrived in Nottingham he was already Kris He performed in several student drama productions on one notable occasion appearing as the Devil in Christopher Marlowe s Dr Faustus completely naked apart from a large leather phallus and after graduating he obtained a number of theatre jobs including working as a theatrical dresser for Tommy Steele and Benny Hill In the early 1980s he moved to London and changed the spelling of his name to Kristopher writing under the byline of Kris Kirk He worked as a journalist for Gay News and Gay Times and in 1984 he also began writing about the pop scene for Melody Maker becoming the first openly gay music journalist in the UK He also wrote numerous freelance articles for music publications including Smash Hits and The Face and for other publications such as The Guardian New York Rocker and City Limits In 1988 Kris Kirk moved to rural Wales to open a secondhand book shop with his boyfriend photographer Ed Heath In 1991 he was diagnosed with AIDS and reluctantly returned to London for treatment He went blind the following year With equipment supplied by the RNIB he was able to carry on writing and in June 1992 he wrote an article on his condition for Gay Times Descent Into Darkness becoming one of the first people with AIDS to come out publicly As long as I have my friends my family my fags my coffee my opera tapes and my writing I guess I shall tootle along even though I may not have all my coat buttons done up properly Life is for living and I am trying to live it as well as I can But I suppose that I feel that when death finally comes I shall be ready for it Perhaps that is what life is all about Published works editKris Kirk collaborated with Ed Heath to write Men In Frocks pub 1984 an illustrated survey of the history of British crossdressing ranging from Army camp shows during World War II to 1980s rock musicians Another book about gay men and pop provisionally titled The Vinyl Closet was commissioned but never finished A collection of Kris Kirk s journalism entitled A Boy Called Mary Kris Kirk s Greatest Hits was published in 1999 by Millivres Books ISBN 1 873741 33 2 with a foreword by Boy George and an introduction by Gay Times editor Richard Smith It contains thirty four articles and essays on pop music on personalities including Little Richard Brian Epstein Dusty Springfield Jayne County Sylvester Village People Tom Robinson Culture Club Frankie Goes to Hollywood Bronski Beat Divine The Communards Erasure Pet Shop Boys Marc Almond Kenny Everett Morrissey and Boy George A review in The Wire in August 1999 stated that The confluence of his pink socialist politics with the emerging likes of Boy George Bronski Beat and The Pet Shop Boys makes for fascinating and historic reading but he wasn t only interested in those involved in perverting the Top Ten Sitting alongside the pieces on those acts are encounters with artists who moved away from a pop starting point towards less mainstream zones Marc Almond Marianne Faithfull and still further offshore from the pop coastline the likes of Diamanda Galas Momus and the musically and sexually hardcore dance collective Tongueman In 1986 Channel 4 broadcast a drama documentary by Paul Oremland about Kris Kirk s life titled A Boy Called Mary References and external links edit Griffiths Robin 2006 British Queer Cinema Routledge p 24 ISBN 0 415 30778 3 Kris Kirk in The Knitting Circle Going Back Kris Kirk interviews Dusty Springfield Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Kris Kirk amp oldid 1181015690, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
