Julian Cole

HERE is some advice should you be asked to attend a Sun outing. Don't go. It won't be a happy excursion but an excuse to accuse someone famous of being a homosexual. This week the tabloid newspaper highlighted what it suspects is the "gay Mafia" at the heart of the Government.

The headline, in print the size Moses must have used on those biblical paving stones, said: "Tell us the truth, Tony." A smaller headline squeaked: "Are we being run by a gay Mafia?"

The reason for all this twaddle was that at the weekend, The Sun's sister paper, the News Of The World, had "outed" the Agriculture Minister, Nick Brown. Rupert Murdoch's Sunday grub-sheet had its sights on Mr Brown for some time, having apparently gone to the trouble of tapping the politician on the telephone to his former lover.

Last weekend a spot of journalistic double-bluff went the paper's way and earned an official admission that Mr Brown is indeed a homosexual.

So the paper had its "story" - though why the sexuality of a Cabinet Minister should be considered notable is beyond me. The sexual proclivities of Mr Brown, or any other minister, should not alone interest us at all. It is only when politicians are sexually reckless that there is a danger to their career - and such a caution applies equally to straights and gays.

Mr Murdoch's tabloid newspapers seem to be in confusion over this non-issue. Two weeks ago, at the height of the admittedly mysterious Ron Davies affair, the Sun professed a new liberalism towards gays. It did so by robustly challenging Peter Mandelson, the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, to admit his homosexuality after being "outed" on Newsnight by journalist Matthew Parris.

In a leader, the newspaper said: "The British people will not turn on Mandelson because he is gay."

Yet now the same newspaper puffs up a tornado in a tea-cup on the same issue. The reasons for this contradictory behaviour remain unclear.

Does the paper believe its readers are homophobic witch-hunters who would love to turn on Peter Mandelson or anyone else advertised as gay?

Or does it bow to the new tolerance?

Fortunately, Mr Murdoch's vindictive newspapers seem to be out of synch with the times, as the British public is becoming tolerant of homosexuality - or, at least, not fussed enough to join in such a ridiculous hue and cry.

Apparently, the political editor of The Sun harbours fears of a network of homosexuals at Westminster, and other lofty places. Hence his coining of "gay Mafia" - a silly phrase which for me conjures up the ludicrous image of Danny La Rue in mirrored sun-glasses and a dark suit.

PETULANCE has always been the way with George Ivan Morrison. As a fan for more than half a lifetime, I accept his legendary grumpiness as the price for kindly providing me with a soundtrack for my life.

These matters are personal, but for me Van Morrison at his best provides music that is sublimely above everything else (has a better song ever been written than Listen To The Lion?).

So, yes, I was there last Saturday at the York Barbican Centre. And, yes, Van was in a strop to start with, and he did end the show too abruptly. But he grabbed the hem of brilliance two or three times, and that was worth a night out.

As to Van's stature, I like the idea of having as a hero a dumpy genius anointed in ill grace. Who needs heroic heroes?

On holiday I met a couple from Belfast who were such fans of Van that they bought a house on Cypress Avenue - a song from his first album. Mind you, even they admitted that their hero could at times play the curmudgeon.

Incidentally, the impudent spell-checker on this computer suggests replacing Van Morrison with Van Moron.

How disrespectful.

12/11/98

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.