Jobriath A.D. Trailer – A gay rock ‘n’ roll star before his time

I have to admit I’d never heard of Jobriath, but perhaps that’s not that surprising. He was a flash in the pan before my birth, but as the new documentary Jobriath A.D. attempts to show, he was a very important and groundbreaking flash in terms of LGBT history.

Jobriath, born Bruce Wayne Campbell, was the first openly gay artist ever signed to a major record label, which almost amazingly happened back in 1972, when David Geffen (who is himself gay) signed him for the then astronomical $500,000. While he was given huge publicity and his debut album garnered generally positive reviews, the public wasn’t ready for a flamboyant star who actually admitted he was gay. The disc bombed amidst a hard backlash.

As many have commented, he was not the first camp, flamboyant, glam, seemingly ‘gay’ artist – it was, after all, a time when Bowie and Queen rode high in the charts – but actually saying the word publicly made a big difference at the time. Not long afterwards Jobriath’s music career was over, although he left a lasting legacy for acts that came after him, such as Soft Cell, Morrissey and Culture Club.

Tragically he became one of first celebrities to die of AIDS in 1983. Take a look at the trailer for what seems like it’ll be a fascinating documentary above, and find out more at the film’s website.