Tag Archives: 1998

PRIDE Anthem 1998 - "BELIEVE" by Cher.

PRIDE Anthem 1998 – “BELIEVE” by Cher.

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“Believe” debuted as the lead single on October 19, 1998. “Believe” was written by Brian Higgins, Stuart McLennen, Paul Barry, Steven Torch, Matthew Gray, Timothy Powell and Cher, and was produced by Mark Taylor and Brian Rawling. “Believe” departed from Cher’s pop rock style of the time, adopting an upbeat dance-pop style. It featured a pioneering use of the audio processing software Auto-Tune to distort Cher’s vocals, which was widely imitated and became known as the “Cher effect”. The lyrics describe empowerment and self-sufficiency after a painful breakup. Harkening back to an earlier PRIDE Anthem, by Gloria Gaynor: “I Will Survive.” 20 years earlier.

TRIVIA: The song, recorded and released in 1998, peaked at number one in 21 countries worldwide.[On January 23, 1999, it reached the Top 40 on the Billboard Hot 100 and reached number one on the chart on March 13, making Cher the oldest female artist (at the age of 52) to perform this feat.[Cher also set the record for the longest gap between number-one singles on the Hot 100; there was a gap of 33 years and 7 months between her singles “I Got You Babe” and “Believe” reaching number one.[

Ladies, Gentlemen, and Whoever you choose to be: Cher.

Gay History – August 13, 1998: For The First Time In 10 Years The Bay Area Reporter Prints No Obituaries For AIDS Victims

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Twenty-two years ago this day August 13th, 1998 for the first time in over a decade The Bay Area Reporter printed no obituaries.

Every week for 10 years BAR reported dozens of deaths for gay men who succumbed to AIDS. But on August 13th, 1998 three years after the release of the first effective HIV drugs for the first time The Bay Area Reporter had no AIDS related deaths to report.

AIDS deaths in New York City also plummeted by 48 percent accelerating earlier gains attributed to improved drug therapies.

By 1998, AIDS/HIV had already killed 14 million people, mostly gay men. But now also women, and children. 

Almost an entire generation of gay men were wiped out most of whom set the groundwork and fought for the many of the rights and visibility enjoy today.

#NeverForget