These LGBTQ Artists Are Pioneers In The Music Industry

Sara Norris|Music|10 Jul 2018

The B-52s Played Music Geared Towards LGBTQ Listeners

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Photo credit: Patti Ouderkirk/WireImage via Getty Images

The B-52s hit the scene in the late ’70s and early ’80s with gender-bending songs such as “Quiche Lorraine” at a time when male-centered punk rock ruled the charts. For fans struggling with their sexuality, the band was a welcome, and much-needed, alternative. Four of the original members identified as LGBTQ.

Ricky Wilson died of AIDS-related cancer in 1985. The band took a two-year break and then reformed. “We started realizing we had something so precious together,” Kate Pierson told Billboard in June 2018. “Ricky’s spirit returned in a way. It was a real healing process.”