Ocean Colour Scene’s Simon Fowler opens up about being outed as gay by tabloids in the ’90s

nme.com:

Ocean Colour Scene frontman Simon Fowler has opened up about being outed as gay by the tabloids in the 1990s.Speaking in a new interview for NME’s Does Rock ‘N’ Roll Kill Braincells?!

when asked about The Sun revealing his sexuality in 1998, Fowler said: “I don’t think it was a big deal. It was noticeable that our third album [1997’s] ‘Marchin’ Already’ went to Number One and knocked Oasis’ ‘Be Here Now’ off the top spot – which is when Noel Gallagher sent us a plaque: ‘Congratulations to the second greatest band in the world’.“But the album didn’t end up selling anywhere near as much as its predecessor, ‘Moseley Shoals’, overall.

Whether that [The Sun’s outing] had anything to do with it, I don’t know. I suspect it didn’t. It certainly didn’t affect our concerts.”He continued: “Looking back now, it seems absurd – and I don’t think anybody gave a toss even then.

In fact, when it happened, the first thing Liam Gallagher did was come up and kiss me on the lips! [Laughs] Everybody knew – apart from my parents.