“Sexuality” by Billy Bragg

"Sexuality" sits ninth on Billy Bragg's 1991 album Don't Try This at Home, and it's the cheeriest protest song you'll ever hear: a bouncy, big-hearted anthem against homophobia and for pleasure in all its forms. Bragg wrote it with Johnny Marr, and Marr is all over the record, on acoustic and electric guitar, keyboard and backing vocals, and co-producing it with Grant Showbiz.

Marr's guitars jangle and shimmer, James Eller's bass and J.F.T. Hood's drums keep it moving at a brisk trot, and Cara Tivey and Amanda Vincent fill in the keyboards. Kirsty MacColl adds backing vocals, and Bragg sings it with a grin you can hear, all charm and not an ounce less conviction.

As a single it reached number 27 in the UK and number two on the US alternative chart. The comedian Phill Jupitus came up with and directed the video, which features MacColl as well as Jupitus himself. The song kept growing, too: in November 2021 Bragg reworked its words to back transgender rights.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.