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[20.5.06] [Andrew Gallix]
PUNK WAS ALWAYS A LITTLE QUEER
 The first reviews of Bertie Marshall's fine punk memoir, Berlin Bromley are coming in. There's Michael Bracewell's rave review in today's Telegraph, as well as write-ups in gay magazine Attitude (Marshall writes with disarming honesty and bleak humour, and his nihilistic story is a cautionary tale of the times") and Time Out:
"...Punk was always a little queer, and Bertie was the boy who gave it a face (smeared in make-up, naturally). ...Unlike many of his punk contemporaries, Bertie neither rose to stardom (a la Siouxsie) nor faded to complete obscurity (a la Sue Catwoman). Instead he ploughed a peculiarly queer path, popping up as a performance artist in the 80s and as a novelist in the 90s. As alter-ego Kim, Bertie was one of the first performers to deconstruct the traditional drag act, back in the days before Kiki and Herb and The Divine David made gay cabaret terrorism an artform. Lauded by the likes of Dennis Cooper and Kathy Acker, his novel Psychoboys enjoyed cult success in 1997. ...His story is often sad and would seem painfully tragic if it weren't for the complete lack of self-pity". (Picture: Bertie Marshall and Jordan, 1977.)
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