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British gay rights activist (1960–1987)
Mark Christian Ashton ((1960-05-19 ) 19 May 1960 – (1987-02-11 ) 11 February 1987) was a British gay rights activist and co-founder of the Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners (LGSM) support group. He was a member of the Communist Party of Great Britain and general secretary of the Young Communist League .
Biography [ edit ]
Ashton was born in Oldham , and moved to Portrush , County Antrim , Northern Ireland , where he grew up. He studied at the former Northern Ireland Hotel and Catering College in Portrush, before moving to London in 1978. Richard Coles wrote about this period: "Mark also worked for a while as a barman at the Conservative Club in King’s Cross , or, rather, as a barmaid , in drag, with a blonde beehive wig. I was never sure if the patrons worked out that he was really a man".
In 1982, Ashton spent three months in Bangladesh visiting his parents, where his father was working for the textile machinery industry. The experience of his sojourn had a profound effect on him. Upon his return, he volunteered with the London Lesbian and Gay Switchboard , supported the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament and joined the Young Communist League (YCL). In 1983 he featured in the Lesbian and Gay Youth Video Project film Framed Youth: The Revenge of the Teenage Perverts [7] Grierson Award 1984 for Best Documentary.[8]
He formed, with his friend Mike Jackson, the Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners (LGSM) support group after the two men collected donations for the miners on strike at the 1984 Lesbian and Gay Pride march in London. The group was formed in Ashton's flat in Claydon House on the Heygate Estate , Elephant and Castle .[10]
After LGSM, he became involved in the Red Wedge collective and became the General Secretary of the Young Communist League from 1985 to 1986.
Diagnosed with HIV/AIDS , Ashton was admitted to Guy's Hospital on 30 January 1987 and died 12 days later of Pneumocystis pneumoniaLambeth Cemetery .
Personal life [ edit ]
A friend of Ashton, Chris Birch, described him in 2014 as "a lapsed Catholic who still went to mass very occasionally."
Blue plaque commemorating Mark Ashton
In his memory, the Mark Ashton Trust was created to raise money for individuals living with HIV , and as of 2007[update] Terrence Higgins Trust has included the Mark Ashton Red Ribbon Fund, which had collected more than £38,000 as of 2017[update] [14] NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt .[16] blue plaque was unveiled in his honour above the Gay's The Word bookshop in Marchmont Street, London, the site where LGSM met and held meetings during the miners' strike .[17] [18]
The ballad "For a Friend " in the album Red synth-pop duo The Communards was written in his memory. Mark Hooper of The Rough Guide to Rock wrote that the cut may have been Jimmy Somerville 's "most impassioned moment". Ashton was a friend of both Somerville and Richard Coles .[20]
The Constantine Giannaris film Jean Genet Is Dead (1989)[22]
The LGSM 's activities were dramatised in Pride Ben Schnetzer as Ashton. Ashton's role in the Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners group was recalled in a series of interviews with some of its other members prior to the film's release. However, Ashton's membership in the Young Communist League was not explicitly mentioned in the film, possibly to avoid alienating American audiences. Fellow communist activist and a close friend of Mark Ashton, Lorraine Douglas, accused the film of having "glossed over Mark's politics and said nothing about the fact he subsequently became General Secretary of the YCL."[24] British Independent Film Awards for his performance.[25]
On 25 September 2018, the Council of Paris awarded the garden adjoining the Hôtel d'Angoulême Lamoignon Jardin de l'Hôtel-Lamoignon - Mark-Ashton Hôtel-Lamoignon - Mark Ashton Garden ), in his memory.[26] [27]
On 2 June 2021, the Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council approved the erection of a memorial blue plaque in his hometown of Portrush.[28]
On 28 August 2022, a tree was planted in St Columbs park in memory of Mark Ashton, as part of the 2022 Foyle pride events. His former LGSM member Mike Jackson and civil rights activist Bernadette McAliskey were in attendance.[29]
On 5 August 2023, Mark Ashton's hometown, Portrush, held its inaugural pride in honour of him.[30]
See also [ edit ]
References [ edit ]
^ Framed Youth: Revenge of the Teenage Perverts at IMDb
^ Framed Youth Revenge of the Teenage Perverts (1983) at the British Film Institute [better source needed
^ "Lesbians and Gays support the Miners looks back on the strikes 35 years ago" . Islington Now . 5 March 2020. Retrieved 8 June 2021 .
^ Birch, Chris. "The Mark Ashton Red Ribbon Fund" .
^ "HIV Quilt Comes Out in May" . George House Trust . 21 February 2007. Archived from the original on 21 June 2008.
^ "Mark Ashton memorial plaque" . Crowdfunder . Retrieved 18 August 2017 .
^ "See LGBT activist Mark Ashton's plaque" . Gasholder . Retrieved 18 August 2017 .
^ Kellman, Andy. "Review: Red " . AllMusic .
^ Jean Genet Is Dead at IMDb
^ Meddick, Simon; Payne, Liz; Katz, Phil (2020). Red Lives: Communists and the Struggle for Socialism . UK: Manifesto Press Cooperative Limited. p. 7. ISBN 978-1-907464-45-4
^ Barraclough, Leo (7 December 2014). "Matthew Warchus' 'Pride' Wins Top Prize at British Independent Film Awards" . Variety
^ Volfson, Olga (27 September 2018). "Mark Ashton, militant queer fondateur de Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners, honoré par la ville de Paris" . Komitid (in French).
^ "2018 DAC 389. Attribution de la dénomination Jardin de l'Hôtel Lamoignon - Mark Ashton, au jardin de l'Hôtel Lamoignon (4e)" (in French). Archived from the original on 27 September 2018. Retrieved 8 October 2018 .
^ McCann, Maria. "Mark Ashton: Council approves Portrush memorial for gay activist" .
^ @LGSMpride (28 August 2022). "Just planted this tree in memory of Mark in St Columbs garden, Derry City" (Tweet ) – via Twitter .
^ "Mark Ashton:Hometown embraces first pride rally" .
Bibliography [ edit ]
Birch, Chris (April 1994). "Mark Ashton - Panel No: 69" . AIDSquilt.org.uk . Archived from the original on 10 February 2012.
Birch, Chris (28 January 2007). "Mark Ashton" . Gone Too Soon . All Points North. Archived from the original on 10 October 2017. Retrieved 10 October 2017 .
Birch, Chris (2010). My Life: The Caribbean, Communism, Budapest 1956, journalism, HIV/Aids, London Lighthouse, Diana's funeral, Westminster Abbey, Chelsea and Westminster Hospital and much more . St Christopher Press. ISBN 978-0-9545721-1-2
Birch, Chris (2014). "The Mark Ashton Red Ribbon Fund". Red Ribbon Fund Newsletter (5 ). Terrence Higgins Trust .
Birch, Chris (28 January 2016). "Memories of a class fighter". Morning Star
Coles, Richard (2014). Fathomless Riches: Or How I Went From Pop to Pulpit . Hachette UK . ISBN 978-0-297-87031-9
Doward, Jamie (21 September 2014). "The real-life triumphs of the gay communist behind hit movie Pride" . The Observer ISSN 0029-7712 . Retrieved 26 November 2023 .
Fischer, Mark (25 September 2014). "Moving and inspiring. Matthew Warchus (director) Pride general release" . Weekly Worker
Frost, Peter (11 September 2014). " . Morning Star
Frost, Peter (1 June 2016). "Honouring Irish LGBT heroes – a century ago and today" . Morning Star
Hall–Carpenter Archives (1989). "Mark Ashton: Five Friends Remember". Walking After Midnight: Gay Men's Life Stories Routledge . pp. 205 –223. ISBN 978-0-415-02957-5 OL 15164674W .
Hooper, Mark (2003). Buckley, Peter (ed.). The Rough Guide to Rock Rough Guides . ISBN 978-1-84353-105-0 OL 9016361W .
Kellaway, Kate (31 August 2014). "When miners and gay activists united: the real story of the film Pride" . The Guardian
Kelliher, Diarmaid (2014). "Solidarity and Sexuality: Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners 1984–5" (PDF) . History Workshop Journal 77 1 ). Oxford Journals: 240–262. doi :10.1093/hwj/dbt012 .
Kutner, Jon (28 October 2012). "For A Friend (Communards)" .
Leeworthy, Daryl (2018). "Ashton, Mark Christian". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography doi :10.1093/odnb/9780198614128.013.111326 .
Massillon, Julien (18 February 2015). "L'émotion de Jimmy Somerville: "Le héros de "Pride" était mon meilleur ami" . Yagg (in French).
Murray, Raymond (1998). Images in the Dark: An Encyclopedia of Gay and Lesbian Film and Video . Titan Books . ISBN 978-1-84023-033-8 OL 647635W .
Robinson, Lucy (2007). Gay men and the left in post-war Britain: how the personal got political Manchester University Press . ISBN 978-0-7190-7434-9 OL 21837097M .
Taylor, David G; Keay, Jon (June 2006). "Mark Ashton remembered" . Positive Nation . Archived from the original on 7 October 2008.
Wallace, Bruce (20 March 1987). "Obituary – Mark Ashton" . The Leninist
Warwick, Neil; Kutner, Jon; Brown, Tony (2004). The Complete Book of the British charts: Singles & Albums ISBN 978-1-84449-058-5 OL 8955386M .
Wilson, Colin (21 September 2014). "Dear Love of Comrades: The politics of Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners" . rs21 .
" . Coleraine Times the original on 6 December 2014. Retrieved 27 November 2014 .
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