k.d. lang and John Carlin Reflect on the AIDS Crisis

JOHN CARLIN, CO-FOUNDER, RED HOT ORGANIZATION: First, I want to make sure it is the brainchild of Lee Blake and me. Of course, I didn’t do this on my own. There were so many, many, many other people, artists in front and behind the screen. When we started this project, we were motivated by the aids pandemic in Manhattan and in major cities around the world, and as you alluded to, the eerie parallels between the viral pandemic that rages today. And that the was the motivation to re-issue this album, particularly on streaming platforms like Spotify where it hadn’t been available. But when we started out, we just were motivated by doing something because friends of ours were getting sick and dying and the stigma around LBGTQ people was so severe, it was sort of like a double whammy. So, we were so pleased that the record did quite well. The TV program was seen in 30 countries around the world, including ABC here in the U.S. and Channel 4 in the U.K.

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR: Yes. Let me ask k.d. lang. You were one of the — I think one of the originals. What about for you? You were not out at the time publicly anyway. It was a couple of years later. I just wonder whether for you it also had sort of a more than just, you know, sing and raising cash, whether it had a personal element for you.

K.D. LANG, SINGER-SONGWRITER: Absolutely. Of course, I was living in Hollywood at the time and West Hollywood was almost a ghost town at that time. There was no joy I guess or partying going on, and that was a void. Also, in my career, there was a lot of pressure and expectation from the gay community and also society in general to stand up and help stop the spread of homophobia, which was a really insidious by-product of the epidemic. And I really felt a tremendous responsibility to come out at that time. As you said, it was a couple of years later, but it was a tremendous responsibility to come out and help destigmatize the culture of homophobia.