In October 1982, Jonathan Blake walked into the Middlesex Hospital in London and was given a number. London 1. He was one of the first people in the United Kingdom to be diagnosed with HIV, told he had between three and nine months to live.
He is 76 years old. He is still here.
In this episode, Leslie Clarke talks to Jonathan about the life he was living before the diagnosis arrived, the winter of 1982 when he came close to taking his own life, and the chance encounter outside a Bloomsbury bookshop with a man in crimson pantaloons that changed everything.
They talk about Jonathan's founding role in Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners, the Pits and Perverts fundraiser at the Electric Ballroom, and the political chain of events that helped bring lesbian and gay rights into the Labour Party manifesto. About watching friends die through the epidemic years. About refusing to take AZT, and why he believes that decision is part of why he survived.
About being globally outed at the end of the 2014 film Pride. About U=U, and what it means to no longer feel like a leper. About the HIV science that made Covid testing possible, and why nobody talks about it.
And about now: the withdrawal of US aid funding, rising infection rates, and his message to governments who think the work is done.
One of the most important voices in LGBTQ+ history. An extraordinary conversation.
This interview is featured in Scene Magazine's Summer 2026 Pride Edition, on sale now. Read the full written feature at scenemag.co.uk/london-1
Scene+ members get early access to the print edition and exclusive digital content. Join at scenemag.co.uk
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