Gay's the Word (bookshop)

Gay's the Word is the oldest surviving LGBTQ bookshop in the United Kingdom. It opened in 1979 after founders from the socialist group Gay Icebreakers struggled to find a permanent home. They initially had trouble securing a lease from Camden Council, partly because officials dismissed their application as a prank due to the surname of one of the founders, Ernest Hole. They eventually succeeded only after receiving support from local councillor Ken Livingstone, who later became the Mayor of London. The shop takes its name from a 1951 musical by the composer Ivor Novello, whose own homosexuality was an open secret in British theater circles during his lifetime.