The Velvet Mafia

Darryl W. Bullock’s 2022 Penderyn Music Book Prize winner, now in paperback. In the fifties and sixties, in the period leading up to the partial decriminalisation of homosexuality and the founding of the Gay Liberation movement, a group of gay men behind the scenes of rock’n’roll were changing pop, politics and society for good. Through a mix of interviews and contemporary reports, Darryl Bullock shines a light on the lives of the so-called ‘Velvet Mafia’, including impresario Larry Parnes, Beatles manager Brian Epstein, songwriter Lionel Bart, record producer Joe Meek, and Bee Gees and Cream manager Robert Stigwood. Compelling and enlightening, The Velvet Mafia explores how the LGBT professionals at the heart of the music industry were working together and supporting each other at a time when being homosexual could mean the end of your career – or much worse.