The extraordinary story of the ‘Bolton 7’ PLUS How the Buzzcocks formed AND Another winter health crisis
Hello,
They were ‘gay martyrs’ put on trial for an act none of them realised was a crime.
In February 1998 seven men stood in the dock at Bolton Crown Court accused of consensual gay sex in the privacy of their own homes.
Gary Abdie, David Godfrey, Mark Love, Norman Williams, Jonathan Moore, Craig Turner and Terry Connell were all either current or former lovers, friends or loose acquaintances aged between 17 and 53.
While homosexual activity was legal in this country at the time, a little-known aspect of the 1967 Sexual Offences Act ruled it was illegal when ‘more than two persons take part or are present’.
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As such, the so-called ‘Bolton 7’ became embroiled in a high-profile court case which led to them losing their jobs and their homes being firebombed. They were attacked in the street and ridiculed in an episode which had a ‘ruinous effect’ on all their lives.
Terry Connell (centre) and his supporters, defiant after their appeal(Image: John Hunt/OutRage! London)
“LGBTs, and even many straight people, were appalled that these men were being victimised 31 years after the supposed decriminalisation of homosexuality,” says human rights activist Peter Tatchell, who backed the group and publicly declared the case a “short-sighted, stupid waste of police time and public money”.
“I was outraged that gay men were still being arrested for behaviour that was not even a crime for heterosexual men and women,” he says now. “They were arrested as sex criminals, under little-known obscure legal clauses. None of the men realised they had committed a crime, until they were seized by the police.”
Various penalties were handed down – and later reduced – by the court and three of the men were even made to sign the sex offenders register. But it was said two had escaped prison by “the narrowest of margins”.
A Manchester Evening News article of the Bolton Seven case, printed on Saturday, 21 February 1998(Image: M.E.N)
“The prosecution was malicious and vindictive,” Mr Tatchell recalls. “No one complained or was harmed by what those seven men did. But they were demonised as hard-core sexual perverts. The police behaviour reeked of homophobia. The prosecution struck fear into the hearts of many gay and bisexual men. They wondered if they’d be next on a police hit-list.”
Despite the personal trauma involved in being hauled through the courts, the Bolton 7 case did make a difference for other LGBT+ people. The backlash against the prosecution triggered a campaign that led to the final, full decriminalisation of homosexuality in England and Wales.
As Peter Tatchell says, it was “the last great show trial of gay men in Britain”.
A profound failure
With reports of some patients waiting more than 50 hours for a bed, it’s clear Greater Manchester’s emergency departments are in the grip of another winter crisis.
Royal Oldham Hospital is particularly busy, according to our sources, with one staff member speaking of a “52-hour wait for a bed” on Tuesday night.
And as our Features Editor Rob Williams writes it points to “a profound failure of our health service”.
“The time when the government and health leaders got a grip on A&E is now long past. The winter crisis doesn’t have to be inevitable. This isn’t a weather problem. It’s a system problem. A planning problem. A political problem. A decades-long problem.”
Stronger than ever
Yoni Finlay(Image: Manchester Evening News)
Yoni Finlay – the brave dad who survived the Manchester synagogue terrorist attack after he was shot by police – says God chose to save him on the day.
Mr Finlay was hit by a police bullet at Heaton Park Hebrew Synagogue in Crumpsall, north Manchester, on October 2 as armed officers shot Jihad Al-Shamie dead.
The 39-year-old helped barricade the doors inside the synagogue and says “what happened to me was a miracle”.
Speaking on the Ready To Talk With Emma Barnett podcast, Mr Finlay said: “It’s incredibly difficult. People have asked me how my faith is now after what happened, and the only answer is it’s stronger than ever.”
We brought the Sex Pistols to Manchester
Steve Diggle(Image: Kenny Brown | Manchester Evening News)
I was lucky enough to interview Steve Diggle from the Buzzcocks recently and he told me a frankly astonishing story about how he came face to face with the Moors Murderers as a child living in east Manchester.
It was one of many fascinating and surprising insights into his life that cropped up during our chat. But as a Buzzcocks fan, I was most interested to hear about the ‘happy accident’ that led to Steve, Pete Shelley and Howard Devoto forming the band in the first place.
It all happened during that infamous Sex Pistols gig at the Lesser Free Trade Hall – the one every man and his dog claims they were at. Well Steve really was there and says a daft misunderstanding led to a “terrible beauty” being born.
You can read all about it here.
Genius George
Manchester United star George Best holding his Footballer of the Year trophy.
10th May 1968.
“You can keep your Cruyffs, Peles and Maradonas. He was the best ever.” Those at the words of Mark Longden, of the Independent Man Utd Supporters Association, following the death of George Best 20 years ago.
Manchester United’s Northern Irish football genius died on November 25, 2005, at the age of 59. Best suffered from alcoholism for most of his life. But he crammed a lot of life into his six decades.
He was discovered at the age of 15 by Manchester United scout Bob Bishop, who sent a telegram to Sir Matt Busby reading: “I think I’ve found you a genius”.
The rest, as they say, is history. And one well worth reading about.
Weather
Friday: Heavy rain and a moderate breeze. 8C.
Roads: A6 Chapel St westbound, Salford, closed for long-term roadworks between Blackfriars Rd and New Bailey St until January 19.
A56 Deansgate northbound closed due to new road layout from St Marys Gate to A6 Victoria Bridge Street, until November 14, 2026.
Manc trivia: Who was actually at the Sex Pistols gig at the Lesser Free Trade Hall in Manchester on June 4, 1976.
Headlines
Arrest: A man arrested in connection with the Manchester synagogue attack has been charged with four terrorism offences, police have said. Details here.
Busy: Manchester Piccadilly is the second busiest railway station outside of London – for the second year in a row. It clocked 27.4 million entries and exits in 2024/25. More here.
Quake: Neighbours in the sleepy Lancashire villages hit by a 3.3-magnitude earthquake have described the tremor as an ‘almighty bang’.
The answer to today’s trivia question is Steve Diggle, Howard Devoto, Pete Shelley, Morrissey, Mark E. Smith, Bernard Sumner and Peter Hook, among others. If you said Tony Wilson, it’s nil points.
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