Jackie Kay on the throughline from Bessie Smith to Nina Simone and beyond

The other point that popped into my head when you were talking about the role of those specific songs for you is your poem, A Life in Protest, documents this very clearly.

But the through line of your life, this kind of political activism, which was a gift that your parents gave to you when you were very young, accompanying them on protests against things like the Polaris missiles in Scotland.

But right through to modern day, your life and the different causes that you've been an activist for, There's this song that you call out in these different chapters in this poem, like Glad to be Gay by Tom Robinson.

Sing

if you're glad to be gay.

Sing if you're happy that way.

I'm every woman, Shaka Khan.

I'm every woman, it's all in me.

Anything you want done, baby.

Nelson Mandela by The Specials.

And actually a song from an album that we'll be discussing shortly, Balm in Gilead by Nina Simone.

Your love for music is evident in all of your work.

But when you think about some of those songs in particular, those songs that soundtrack protests, what does that evoke for you now when you look back at some of the music that has soundtracked those protests?

Yeah, it's lovely you should say that, and thanks for noticing all the different songs in that way.

For me, songs tell the time, so songs are another way of, exactly another way of telling the time.

And songs tell the story of our lives, and they're another kind of autobiography.

And songs actually tell the story of our loves, and they're another way of telling about our broken hearts.

so the songs are just right there in our kind of deep and they make us up and without the songs that we've listened to and the music that we've loved we would be quite different people it's the same with that film about books you know without the books that we've read and loved we would be different people we are kind of cultural repositories and if we're open to open to the way in which music can accompany us comfort us rouse us anger us inform us then we're open to we've got a tiny little magic key that opens up everything

And all of those traits of music are universal to the human condition.

Anyone can really tap into those experiences.

But at the crux of this podcast is what I believe to be the particularly special relationship that queer people have with music.

So I'm curious, Jackie, I'd love to know, do you remember the first song or album that perhaps made you feel seen or understood as a queer person?

I think it was more that I actually put onto different songs feelings I had for other girls.

So, you know, if I was in love at 16 with a girl around the corner from me.

What was that song? I sing that Billy Ocean song, Love Really Hurts Without You.