LBGT Love

I’ve been working with the guys at FourFourTwo Magazine for some years now undertaking some amazing assignments in that time. They’ve got a real knack of sourcing fantastic feature stories & this shoot certainly was no exception.

We headed to Soho for a meet with the loyal supporters of Dulwich Hamlet FC; a small South London club in the lower professional leagues (The Ryman Premier to be exact). They arrived in the colourful pink & blue the club is known for (and gets a fair bit of stick for on the terraces) & explained their mission statement for the evening.

This tiny club in a quiet suburb of the capital were hosting a groundbreaking first; a friendly match with Stonewall FC, the world’s best gay football club (current Gay World Champions) & this was the promotion drive right through the heart of London’s alternative sexuality epicentre.

It’s hard to believe in this, the 21st century that such a public showing of support in the professional ranks for the LBGT (Lesbian, Bisexual, Gay & Transgender) community hasn’t happened before, but here we were on the eve of this historic match sat in a pub on the fringes of the famous Old Compton Street, sheltering from the biting February cold & staring at a provocative set of flyers over a pint. The Hamlet’s old guard in attendance; Mishi educating us on the history of the club whilst we waited for the rest of the canvassing team to arrive.

Then we headed out onto the cobbles for a bit of fun & games with the locals.

It didn’t take long before the guys pounced on a crowd sitting outside a restaurant.

Surprisingly,they were already well aware of the fixture & planning on attending! It just goes to show how important a gesture the fixture was in this community.

At the front of our march was Robert; a charismatic pink haired leopardprint coat wearing fella with a commanding voice. He barked out the Hamlet message from start to finish.

Even drawing in the lesser-spotted Heterosexual males (or ‘breeders’ as he affectionately labelled himself) over for a chat.

Meanwhile on the opposite side of the street, Mishi had pounced on a couple of bobbies on the beat, who seemed genuinely interested in the match.

We wrapped up outside the famous Raymond Revue Bar. For tonight, their job was done.

The following night, I found myself staring up at a giant Sainsbury’s superstore a stone’s throw from East Dulwich Station wondering where the hell their Champion Hill Stadium was (it was just behind it on a small service road beside a car wash!). There was a great turnout at the gates- hat’s off to the guys for all their efforts the previous night as a huge chunk of those supporters were carrying the flyers passed out.

Once inside, I bumped into a couple of familiar faces from the previous night enjoying a quick pint & ciggie before kick-off.

The stadium and club bar slowly filled up.

Then the game kicks off to a lovely round of applause…

The Rabble (Hamlet’s hardcore fans) behind the goal are in top form singing away like they’re at Mardi Gras.

So much so, that for a moment, I forget there’s a match to cover!

The final whistle sounds & the players head off down the tunnel to applause & chants of “We love you Stonewall, we do”. For those that are interested, Dulwich won the match 5-0, but that’s not really important, is it?