{"id":44387,"date":"2018-12-31T13:05:56","date_gmt":"2018-12-31T13:05:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/?p=44387"},"modified":"2019-01-01T15:58:19","modified_gmt":"2019-01-01T15:58:19","slug":"its-queerfearrrrrrr-looking-back-on-an-lgbt-trailblazer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/2018\/12\/its-queerfearrrrrrr-looking-back-on-an-lgbt-trailblazer\/","title":{"rendered":"It’s QueerFearrrrrrr! Looking Back On An LGBT Trailblazer"},"content":{"rendered":"

QueerFear was a social moment. It was a movement. A social awakening. A comedy. A parody. Never before in the history of pop music had there been an out gay boyband. Five members. They could dance. They could sing. Well, they could perform and they definitely had big personalities.<\/strong><\/h4>\n
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\u201cI personally believe we were ahead of our time\u201d, Eddie comments, \u201cwith an actual camera and proper videos who knows where we could be now, so many people use YouTube now to excel, whereas when we were doing it, it was for comedians and the like, and hadn’t hit its true prime. Now it’s even a part of who gets the number 1 on the charts, which just boggles my mind. When we did it, YouTube was just this place for people who had a camera and wanted an outlet for their talents.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

This was long before the likes of ‘RuPaul\u2019s Drag Race<\/a>‘, and ‘Lip Sync Battle<\/a>‘, became super popular. The idea came about one night after watching too many Miranda Sings<\/a> videos on YouTube, and hitting upon the idea of a deluded Musical Theatre star who actually had no talent. This expanded further, and became, “what if they were these awful personalities but were actually talented? The ultimate divas\u201d, Dan recalls fondly.<\/p>\n

It started with long shoots in black rooms, and storyboarding back and forth. Even though the group were easily put together, it would often be Dan and Eddie who helmed the projects (showing that it wasn’t just ego that has them everywhere).<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe would spend hours laughing and talking about what situation to put these guys in. We\u2019d film a bunch of random stuff then I would edit and put it together, send to Eddie for his final approval and then we\u2019d go live. I decided super last minute we needed a jingle, and no-one was around to record one, so I loaded up the autotune and recorded it but I hated it. Eddie loved it but I made him record the jingles going forward\u201d, Dan laughs.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

It was a cult hit, a small one, but it made enough of an impact for people on Buzzjack to call it \u201cridiculous\u201d and \u201ca waste of time\u201d. The missed the point though: that\u2019s what it was all about. It wasn\u2019t serious. It was a satire. It received acclaim from popstar Claire Maguire, not that she\u2019d remember. It was a look into the LGBT behaviour, the diva, the camp, the character…<\/p>\n

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\u201cI had to make myself seem weird cause the character was super dark and weird, for one of the films, I put a creamy pasta sauce on my lips and filmed with it on. It was utterly bonkers\u201d, Dan remembers. Character was one of the most important factors in the show as it gave more scope to narrative, like, the episode where Eddie has a monologue about a Grammy win, even though the group never released any music and never showed any signs that they would. \u201cthat wasn\u2019t an idea we ever even discussed. A QueerFear single. I don\u2019t even know how that would sound\u201d.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

But they did do a performance. The one. It was camp and slightly explicit as one of the members stripped down to his underwear \u201cI didn\u2019t even know he was going to do that. Honestly you cant tell from the video but I was really surprised by that but it was great because Antony was like the one who featured the less in the videos so for him to do that was super fun and cool\u201d, Dan laughs.<\/p>\n

Sadly QueerFear terminated after that and went into permanent hiatus, with the videos moved to a private status and over the years a forgotten memory.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI was so embarrassed about it all if I\u2019m honest. I\u2019d watch them back and cringe so hard. I\u2019d be like, \u201cwho the fuck do we think we are? Zoella?\u201d I guess I missed the point about them all\u201d, Dan sighs.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

But what happened? Why the resurgence?<\/p>\n

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\u201cI think you have to look at something like that differently. It’s like when you have an amazing photo taken on a bad day. Everytime you look at the photo you\u2019re like \u201caww I look good but damn that was a shit day\u201d. In context, the fun and sheer novelty of QueerFear exceeds any personal attributes about the whole thing and I think there\u2019s a new audience in 2018 that would get it. I\u2019m sure Buzzjack will still hate it\u201d, said Dan.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

And what are the future plans for QueerFear? Eddie remains hopeful:<\/p>\n

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\u201cas for 2019 and the future, I’d love to see the boys again! Cackle about what we think we were, what’s going on now, and finally just to see each other again in our new lived and roles in life.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Watch this space…that QueerFear reign might just restart. In the meantime, you can watch QueerFear on YouTube:<\/p>\n

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\"Queerfear\"