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.

Some of the most interesting LGBT documentaries are about being queer in worlds that most of us know little about, whether that’s in a distant country with a very different culture, or still in the Western world, but in a subculture many people won’t have come into contact with. The latter certainly fits Dino Dinco’s Homeboy, a documentary about being gay and part of the LA gang world.

Here’s the synopsis: ‘Homeboy examines the lives of several gay Latino men living in and around the Los Angeles area who are either former gang members or who are currently active in gangs. These men range in age from their early-20’s to their mid-40’s, most of whom entered gangs while in their early teenage years. This is a story of their individual journeys. Through a series of interviews, Homeboy aims to provide a voice for a unique intersection of cultures until now previously unheard: contemporary Latino culture, gay culture and the world of gangs. These personal accounts weave together, illuminating both parallels and differences amongst the subjects’ experiences. We explore the transformation that these men have undergone, from membership within a gang – a world that is hyper-masculine and outwardly heterosexual – to the acceptance of being gay and how their lives have evolved.’

It’s not clear when the movie might get a release, but the trailer certainly makes it look intriguing.