Willis Chimano is a singer-songwriter, author, and performer from Kenya. 

A member of one of Kenya's most successful musical acts ever, Sauti Sol, Chimano has branched out in recent years to create his own solo musical ventures informed by his experience as Kenya's first, and only, openly gay popstar.

Outed in 2018 by the press, Chimano was supported by his bandmates who went to release the most successful work of their career. His EP, Heavy is the Crown, tells the story of his journey, as does his recent memoir of the same name.

Sydney listeners: Chimano arrives with his one-man show, from 24-28 March, at Qtopia in Darlinghurst. Get your tickets here.

Support the show

• Follow the pod on Insta at @tracksofourqueers, or email me at [email protected]
• Help keep the show ad-free by shouting me a coffee right here
• Enjoy the Selections from Tracks of Our Queers Spotify playlist

Thanks besties.

Over 600,000 queers and non-queers alike follow content creator and activist Mardi P for her gripping testimonials on a long, and fabulous, life lived trans.

Born to a Polish-Canadian Catholic family, Mardi escaped across the Rockies in the 1970s to the bright lights of Calgary and Vancouver, where she began shaping her life as a trans woman.

Decades later and outraged by the tsunami of misinformation online regarding trans people, Mardi decided to pick up her phone and start sharing her testimonials to TikTok. Her intention: To document a fascinating, challenging, fulfilling life lived for many years.

Mardi presents and produces her own podcast, A Life Lived Trans, with her fellow presenter Lenny Z. I follow her on Instagram here.

In Canada, creators cannot make ad revenue from their videos. You can support Mardi's testimony and work through donating to her on PayPal here, or celebrating her birthday by covering some of her bills on Gofundme. Worth every penny.

Tracks of Our Queers is produced and presented by Andy Gott on Ngarigo land.

Support the show

• Follow the pod on Insta at @tracksofourqueers, or email me at [email protected]
• Help keep the show ad-free by shouting me a coffee right here
• Enjoy the Selections from Tracks of Our Queers Spotify playlist

Thanks besties.

Mitch Brown is an advocate, father, and a former AFL player. 

Last August, Mitch came out publicly as bisexual in an interview with The Daily Aus, sparking a tsunami of conversations in Australia around queerness and masculinity in sport. Mitch is the only player in the AFL's 130 year history to come out. 

Mitch is also my first sportsperson on the pod, and we have so much fun!

Follow Mitch online here, and watch his coming out interview here. It's beautiful.

Tracks of Our Queers is produced and presented by Andy Gott on Ngarigo land.

Support the show

• Follow the pod on Insta at @tracksofourqueers, or email me at [email protected]
• Help keep the show ad-free by shouting me a coffee right here
• Enjoy the Selections from Tracks of Our Queers Spotify playlist

Thanks besties.

Peter Tatchell is an activist and human rights campaigner.

Not long after leaving Australia for the UK, Peter joined the Gay Liberation Front and became one of the co-organisers of the UK's first Pride march. He hasn't missed a London Pride since.

After a brief but violently homophobic parliamentary career in the 80s, Peter co-founded OutRage! in 1990 and helped spearhead the campaign for same-sex marriage.

Today, he's the director of the Peter Tatchell Foundation, and shares a weekly newsletter with updates on human rights campaigns around the world.

Follow Peter online here.

Tracks of Our Queers is produced and presented by Andy Gott on Ngarigo land.

Support the show

• Follow the pod on Insta at @tracksofourqueers, or email me at [email protected]
• Help keep the show ad-free by shouting me a coffee right here
• Enjoy the Selections from Tracks of Our Queers Spotify playlist

Thanks besties.

Welcome back to Tracks of Our Queers.

Travis Alabanza is an award-winning writer, playwright, and theatre maker from Bristol. They've sold out the Southbank Centre, toured their writing globally, and their Edinburgh Fringe-award-winning play BURGERZ is currently on it's return visit to Australia.

You can catch Travis performing BURGERZ in:

• Sydney at the Carriageworks from January 7-18
• Melbourne at the Malthouse Theatre from January 21-31

We recorded this episode live in Sydney – and it was so good! Travis came with some brilliant musical selections, and I hope you enjoy hearing about them.

Follow Travis on Instagram, or at their website.

Tracks of Our Queers is produced and presented by Andy Gott on Ngarigo land.

Support the show

• Follow the pod on Insta at @tracksofourqueers, or email me at [email protected]
• Help keep the show ad-free by shouting me a coffee right here
• Enjoy the Selections from Tracks of Our Queers Spotify playlist

Thanks besties.

Trailblazers, queeroes, and fascinating folk feature in Season 6, launching in early January.

Support the show

• Follow the pod on Insta at @tracksofourqueers, or email me at [email protected]
• Help keep the show ad-free by shouting me a coffee right here
• Enjoy the Selections from Tracks of Our Queers Spotify playlist

Thanks besties.

Tony Award-winning actor and director John Benjamin Hickey joins me on Tracks of Our Queers.

From his breakout role in Terrence McNally's Love! Valour! Compassion! to his devastating turn in Larry Kramer's The Normal Heart, John has been at the heart of some of theatre's most important queer work. Far from being typecast, John has appeared in hundreds of roles across TV, film, and theatre (I loved him in The Big C, and of course, the dad in Pitch Perfect).

Outside of acting and directing, John once presented his own music interview series on SiriusXM, My Favorite Song. It's a thrill to turn the interviewing tables on him and hear about some of his most cherished music, through a queer lense. 

The other bits:

• Tracks of Our Queers is recorded and edited between Gadigal and Ngarigo land in Australia, by me, Andy Gott
• Listen to all of the music discussed in the pod with the Selections from Tracks of Our Queers playlist
• You can email me your own queer tracks or guest recommendations at [email protected]
• Our beautiful artwork is illustrated by Luke Tribe.

Support the show

• Follow the pod on Insta at @tracksofourqueers, or email me at [email protected]
• Help keep the show ad-free by shouting me a coffee right here
• Enjoy the Selections from Tracks of Our Queers Spotify playlist

Thanks besties.

William Yang is one of Australia’s most vital storytellers. For over five decades, he's documented queer life in Sydney -- its parades, parties, politics, and people -- through photography, performance, and prose. 

Born in 1943 in Far North Queensland, William came out as gay in the early 1970s during the wave of gay liberation, and later came out again -- this time as Chinese -- after reconnecting with his heritage through Taoism and travel. His landmark exhibitions and live slide shows, like Sydneyphiles, Sadness, and Friends of Dorothy, have cemented his place as a queer cultural archivist.

I've wanted to interview William since beginning Tracks of Our Queers, and have  to thank Benjamin Law for connecting us. This is a special episode, recorded in-person at Forbes Street Studios in Sydney, and William shares five songs that resonate with him, and his life as a queer person.

The other bits:

• Tracks of Our Queers is recorded and edited between Gadigal and Ngarigo land in Australia, by me, Andy Gott
• Listen to all of the music discussed in the pod with the Selections from Tracks of Our Queers playlist
• You can email me your own queer tracks or guest recommendations at [email protected]
• Our beautiful artwork is illustrated by Luke Tribe.

Support the show

• Follow the pod on Insta at @tracksofourqueers, or email me at [email protected]
• Help keep the show ad-free by shouting me a coffee right here
• Enjoy the Selections from Tracks of Our Queers Spotify playlist

Thanks besties.

Kate Pierson is a founding member of the B-52s: The World's Greatest Party Band, and a beacon for weirdos and queer-does since the late 70s. 

After decades of collaborating with the likes of Iggy Pop, R.E.M., and her Japanese side-band NiNa (more on that in the episode), Kate began writing and recording her entirely solo output in 2015. Last year, her second album Radios and Rainbows was released, and at the age of 77, Kate is bubbling with inspiration and drive to create. 

Between the B-52s' legendary back catalogue (which I've only recently started discovering myself), Kate's solo work, and her reflections on her own queer legacy, there's a lot to get through in this conversation. Strap in.

The other bits:

• Tracks of Our Queers is recorded and edited between Gadigal and Ngarigo land in Australia, by me, Andy Gott
• Listen to all of the music discussed in the pod with the Selections from Tracks of Our Queers playlist
• You can email me your own queer tracks or guest recommendations at [email protected]
• Our beautiful artwork is illustrated by Luke Tribe.

Support the show

• Follow the pod on Insta at @tracksofourqueers, or email me at [email protected]
• Help keep the show ad-free by shouting me a coffee right here
• Enjoy the Selections from Tracks of Our Queers Spotify playlist

Thanks besties.

I'm trying something new, and treating you, like I treat my long-suffering friends and family, to a quick voice note. 

If you can't be bothered to listen, the summary is... please email or DM me your thoughts on:

• As a listener, how much do you care about interviews with 'known' figures, or for want of a better word, celebrities? Would you rather listen to people you weren't aware of? Or do you like a balance?
• As a listener, how important to you is my use of music in the episode? Would you miss the clips of music if they were gone, or would you be fine?

You can write or voicenote me back at [email protected], or @tracksofourqueers on Instagram.

New episodes soon!

Support the show

• Follow the pod on Insta at @tracksofourqueers, or email me at [email protected]
• Help keep the show ad-free by shouting me a coffee right here
• Enjoy the Selections from Tracks of Our Queers Spotify playlist

Thanks besties.

Sabah Choudrey is an award-winning, reluctant activist. He's also an author, youth worker, Pride organiser, Saturday morning Fun Run participant – the list is exhausting, but they somehow found time for me and Tracks of Our Queers.

Sabah has also featured on the Diversity Power List 24/25, serves as the Vice Chair of Trustees for the Inclusive Mosque Initiative, a Gay Times Future Fighters Honouree, and the writer of the book Supporting Trans People of Colour. 

We discuss music by Planningtorock, Linkin Park, and Dr Zeus.

Follow Sabah online.

The other bits:

• Tracks of Our Queers is recorded and edited between Gadigal and Ngarigo land in Australia, by me, Andy Gott
• Listen to all of the music discussed in the pod with the Selections from Tracks of Our Queers playlist
• You can email me with your own queer tracks or guest recommendations at [email protected]
• Our beautiful artwork is illustrated by Luke Tribe

Support the show

• Follow the pod on Insta at @tracksofourqueers, or email me at [email protected]
• Help keep the show ad-free by shouting me a coffee right here
• Enjoy the Selections from Tracks of Our Queers Spotify playlist

Thanks besties.