Pop icon gave his poor parents the shock of their lives when they found out he was thanks to his graphic flat decorations.
has been a legend in the community for many years, cemented by his androgynous outfits, oft-quoted ‘cup of tea’ analogy, and .
While the 62-year-old had known he was gay from the age of six, it was scarcely discussed at home other than his dad telling his brothers he was ‘funny’.
Before the height of his fame, George left his turbulent home life and upped sticks to a squat in , where he had decorated one wall with numerous X-rated pictures of men.
George, born George O’Dowd, revealed in his new book Karma: My Autobiography that his parents came to visit him unexpectedly in the city.
He had not been home when they arrived and came back to find a note left by his builder dad Jerry and which read: ‘Nice wallpaper. Love you, son.’
The moment ended up being an emotional point in their relationship but the LGBTQ+ community was still seen as taboo.
In the memoir, he wrote: ‘This was the 1970s and there was a sense that I should get on with my gay business over there in the corner and not talk about it.’
Gay marriage was not legalised in the UK for another four decades, with the Marriage Equality Act passing in 2013.
George continued: ‘That was never going to work for me. As a kid I went to Sunday School in one of Mum’s hats.
‘One of her friends called and said: “Do you know what he’s wearing?” “I do,” she said, defiantly. When I left the house, Mum would say to Dad: “Look at him, Jerry, look what he’s wearing.”
‘Dad would lower his newspaper and say: “Up to him if he wants to get beat up.” Being the (gay) middle child in a London Irish family was less of a big deal than you might think, though.’
The family were aware of George’s sexuality but hadn’t openly discussed it with their future pop sensation son.
The Do You Really Want to Hurt Me singer added: ‘My dad announced my “homosexuality” to my brothers, David and Richard, in his Bedford van. Turning down the radio, he said: “You know your brother’s a bit funny.”
‘David chipped in: “Funny peculiar or funny ha-ha?” Richard corrected Dad: “You mean he’s [gay].”
‘I think Dad turned the radio back up at that point. He could be brutal but he was also charismatic.’
