Come Out Tonight: queer 90s nightlife
Stuart Linden Rhodes and Jon Shard
The photographs of Stuart Linden Rhodes and Jon Shard capture the queer scene of the early 1990s. These images show a thriving, dynamic and inclusive community, a world where people could express and be themselves. They document a scene growing in size and confidence with images reflecting joy, love and freedom.
Lindens’ images show nights across the country from Manchester to Wakefield, Liverpool to Birmingham, Derby to Blackpool. Jon Shard’s photographs focus on the legendary Flesh night at The Haçienda in Manchester. Monthly, and on a Wednesday, the night was a sell out and set a template for a new kind of queer night.
Jon Shard is renowned for his visually distinguished photography across advertising, sport and portraiture. His photographs of Flesh have become some of the most recognisable images of The Haçienda and have been exhibited globally. He has work in the permanent collection of The National Portrait Gallery.
Stuart Linden Rhodes was the roving reporter for All Points North and Gay Times during the early to mid-1990s, his columns for those magazines were entitled: Out & About with Linden. In November 2024, three of Stuart’s photographs were added to Manchester Art Gallery’s permanent collection. Stuart has 2 photo books, Out and About with Linden (a queer archive of the north and Linden Archives) both published by @PariahPress.
Work by both photographers forms part of the collection at The John Rylands Library.
Explore more queer stories in The Secret Public: LGBTQ pop 1955-1985, a free exhibition at The John Rylands Library. Open Wednesday-Saturday, 10am-5pm.
Exhibition runs from 18th August – 5th October 2025
New exhibition for Manchester, details in alt text. #manchesteruniversity #johnrylandslibrary @pariahpress.bsky.social