Christ, I Need a Piss at the Little Buildings

By S Rob

There are some moments in one’s life that are iconic. We all remember where we were when the twin towers collapsed, for those old enough when Elvis Presley died and when President Kennedy was assassinated. However for me, one of these events occurred in the Little Buildings in Newcastle Upon Tyne in Britain, UK. It was the moment I heard Gaydar. I went dressed in my kilt: a Buchanan tartan kilt, a type of Scottish unisex traditional skirt, a white leather jacket and the rest black. It was an odd look even for me but I had found that wearing too much black was depressing me. So, I opted for white leather even though the event commanded we all wear yellow and the Buchanan tartan, one of the brightest, has yellow in it. But to my surprise two others were wearing kilts too. One I talked to had 50 kilts, apparently many skull sporrans, a handing pocket that hangs at the front of a kilt, of various colours, some side belt bags and a black leather jacket. It made my collection of approximately 5 traditional kilts and 3 utility kilts look very small.

Gaydar are a socially aware gay trans punk band. Musically tight and interesting, an expansive punk sound, a set of people the world is better off with. Gaydar is made up of singer and vocalist Riley (he/him), a trans man, Jamy (he/her/they), bassist who joined in 2025, and Rachel (she/her), who is queer/cis. Riley knew Rachel  for 7/8 years: Rachel and Riley are the founder members of Gaydar: founded in 2023. I talked to Riley and he said “Trans people are being villainised, scapegoated: it’s been this way from the dawn of time, it’s one of those things. But it doesn’t mean that it’s right, and there are things we can do about it.” Talking further about trans people, “It’s a marginalised group just like any other group, it’s hard like this sometimes.” I asked about the state of the uk political movement against trans people, and Riley replied, “ I think I’ve said this before, but you know when the buildings come crumbling down, it is just up to you guys (people like you and I) and teamwork and stuff and helping each other out and fundraising.” I asked about their new record. It’s called “Christ I need a Piss”, it’s a protest song about the trans bathroom debate. It’s kind of like a tongue-in-cheek, that’s the sort of thing you say: lyrical, witty nonsense, when things are so bad, what else do you do but have a laugh. That’s all you can do. The song is really personal to us and we really love it. It’s out today wherever you like to listen to music. It’s really good, I recommend it, it’s music that energises. There is something that you can do: buy the song, and if you get the chance, watch Gaydar live.

Photo credits: Andi Talbot (they/them) – @andichrist19 on Instagram