Rosemary Schonfeld has today premiered her new single titled ‘Everyone Hates Lesbians’, from her upcoming rock opera concept album ‘Sandy and Jean’, dropping October 3rd.
With a distinct blend of quirkiness, political satire, and commentary, as well as a lucid fusion of music and operatic muse, ‘Everyone Hates Lesbians’ cuts to the bone of fear and un-knowledge with history and flair in such a way as to amuse and educate.
About Rosemary Schonfeld
Following recent single ‘Chorus of Friends and Jean’, Rosemary Schonfeld is set to release new single ‘Everyone Hates Lesbians’ as the next taster of her forthcoming rock opera concept album ‘Sandy and Jean’.
As track 7 out of the 12 on the album, which is set in the 1980s against the backdrop of the homophobic legislation introduced by the Tories: Section 28, the song follows the story of Sandy and Jean’s lesbian relationship and how Sandy cannot find the courage to leave her husband, Jon. Both Sandy and Jean have children, and Jean is a teacher. In the 1980s, Lesbian mothers could lose custody of their children when they left their husbands, and gay teachers were at risk of being sacked if they came out.
With a Dorothy Parker and Edith Sitwell-like acid-humor approach to homophobia, ‘Everyone Hates Lesbians’ charts the history of anti-gay and lesbian persecution over the past two thousand years, bringing us to Section 28 in the UK in the 1980s. Jean, a teacher who has recently come out and is over the moon about her new relationship with Sandy, has talked to a friend about how happy she is and how she wants to share her wonderful news with everyone. Jean’s friend is much more savvy and tries to explain to her the reasons why it is not safe for her to do so.
Musically, the track is an upbeat, bouncy number, with an accordion adding a Balkan-folk feel, as Rosemary expresses the intense back and forth of Sandy and Jean’s dilemma with tantalizing acerbic wit. Whilst having the feel of being part of a musical, with a fun novelty theatrical chaos abounding, the song ‘Everyone Hates Lesbians’ also stands forthrightly on its own as an important new anti-homophobic anthem with a serious message for 2025 and beyond.