FAITH HEALER
He’s the driving force behind queer collective Hercules & Love Affair and as the group return with a new album, ANDY BUTLER talks about getting clean as well as the power of belief
INTERVIEW
WORDS: ADAM DUXBURY
“YOU’VE GOTTA HAVE FAITH, FAITH, FAITH.” George Michael might have been singing about getting rid of a lover rather than religious devotion, but faith is something that has always been a contentious issue for queer people. When Andy Butler was 15 he realised that faith could be challenged after watching Sinéad O’Connor rip up a picture of the Pope on TV.
“I was looking at — in my mind — this lesbian woman, with a very radical look, tearing up the symbol of a patriarchal oppression in the name of God,” Andy says. “I realised I could resist. I could exist in opposition. That was a fearless moment and inspired a fearlessness in me.”