We Can Be Heroes: A Survivor's Story

Product Information

The writing is always clean and precise which makes it so compelling to read. (It is also formally textured too – take for example the present tense paragraphs that open Chapter 18 in which Burston recalls taking Ecstasy. So clever, beautifully realised). She also famously posed for Lucian Freud. The portrait, Benefits Supervisor Sleeping, became the most expensive painting by a living artist.

When men, women, nonbinary folx, and children are harassed and belittled, not just by the odd passerby, as has been deemed “acceptable” throughout most of the ‘00s, but by the very government of which we are supposedly a crucial part; when the so-called democratic republic no longer represents its constituents, that is a fight worth fighting.We Can Be Heroes is on one level a very personal insight into a man whom I’m honoured to call a dear friend. However, on another level it is an educational piece, it is the story which should have been shared during those less enlightened Section 28 days, it should be read by all those younger people who are still coming to terms with their sexuality or feeling the loneliness and shame of abuse or bullying. We Can Be Heroes is the story of hope, hard work and salvation. Juno Roche - ‘Paul Burston has been there through years of gay history and struggle, often right on the very front line fighting for space, fighting for others. I read this straight through - couldn ’ t put it down. It ’ s a gorgeous memoir. ’ Jonathan Harvey - ‘We stand on the shoulders of giants. One of those giants is Paul Burston, and his memoir about his life, his activism, the AIDS crisis, Bowie and much more is told in his own bold, smart, inimitable style. ’

Paul Burston has written a gutsy, gritty memoir overflowing with drama and heartbreak. Managing to survive a traumatic childhood, he moved from his small Welsh town to London, finally as an out gay man. We Can Be Heroes is a fascinating insight into what it was like to be gay in the 1980s in Britain, and the gay scene in London. For me it was also a trip down a musical memory lane. While I hardly recognised any of the celebrities, shows or magazines, he mentions, I do know and love the music. But his lifestyle hid a dark secret, and Paul’s demons—shame, trauma, grief—stalked him on every corner. In an attempt to silence them, he began to self-medicate. groundbreaking gay activism over many decades to the wild years of intoxication and compulsive sex, I so admired Burston ’s ruthless honesty and brave emotional vulner ability. ’When self-expression and love are crimes, repression and hate reign supreme. And that, my friends, is something we must fight “tooth and nail”, as wild beasts if we must. When children are encouraged to kill themselves by a world that not only doesn’t accept who they are, but has actively legislated that their identities are perverse, somehow wrong, that is a fight worth fighting. That is a “save the children” moment worthy of Jesus. Matt Cain - ‘I raced through this wonderful memoir by senior statesman of queer culture, Paul Burston. It ’s illuminating, engrossing and electrifying. ’ Sue's heroes include Bowery, actor Drew Barrymore, filmmaker Baillie Walsh and fellow artist Rui Miguel Leitao Ferriera. Their shows include Burgerz and Overflow. They also starred in a stage adaptation of Derek Jarman’s Jubilee.

It's only through that, and the power of social media that I've become more aware of just who Paul Burston really is, and of the kind of things he has achieved in his life, a far cry from the young boy who grew up on an estate in a small Welsh town. And achieved is probably underselling his story in all honesty as it was more of a fight in all senses of the word than a simple right of passage. Reading We Can Be Heroes has been a real eye opener, not just because of all of the things that Paul Burston has experienced, but also as a testament to the history of gay rights, and the fight for equality, within the UK. It's not a part of history that I know much about, it has no direct relevance to me or my life as such, but this is still a story which has moved me, enraged me and made me very glad that I chose to read it. I'd advocate for others to do so too, irrespective of sexual orientation or personal history. Of course there's no single answer. Women want many things. Different women want different things. And they’re not all represented by The Spice Girls, whose song Wannabe the author quotes in a witty epigraph. Part of the strength of this book lies in the diversity of its subjects, with different ages, ethnicities and sexual orientations represented. Bowie’s music followed Paul wherever he went: when he moved to London aged nineteen, when he attended his first Pride, when the AIDS pandemic was raging and homophobia was on the rise. Claire Allan - ‘Raw, honest, funny in places and incredibly moving... an unmatched look at into the life of a movement going through hell but never stopping, and of people fighting to be seen and to live their most authentic lives. ’NetGalley reviewer - ‘ Paul Burston seems to have lived at least six lives in one and each is worthy of its own biography. Maxine Mei-Fung Chung - ‘ We Can Be Heroes: A Survivor’s Story is a slamming tour de force that speaks to activism, recovery and everything in-between. Paul’s passion for storytelling is defiant and tender, his refusal to ignore bold topics (AIDS, addiction, shame, grief, trauma) that shroud marginalised voices beyond generous. Read it and step closer to understanding the resilience needed to survive and rise. Read it and be changed. ’ If you've enjoyed listening to this podcast, you might enjoy the Paul Burston newsletter, where you'll find the latest updates on my books, offers and competitions. Sign up here. At turns deeply moving, at turns hilarious, this is a poignant memoir of the man I know better for creating the Polari Prize and Salon, but whose life has had far more twists and turns than I had known. London's favourite salonniere comes of age towards the end of the book, having therapy for his substance use and traumatic past. Towards the end, as he mellows out very slightly, you also get a sense, though he doesn't blow his own trumpet (oo-er) of Burston's generosity, of which I have been a beneficiary as part of his Polari crew since about 2010.