In the UK, until the introduction of Civil Partnerships in 2004, and later same-sex marriage in England and Wales in 2013, lesbian and homosexual relationships were not recognised in law. In the 1980s (the setting for this rock opera) the Tory Party declared that lesbian and homosexual couples formed ‘pretend’ families.

They incorporated the homophobic Section 28 into the Local Government Act 1988, which stated that local authorities could not “intentionally promote homosexuality or publish material with the intention of promoting homosexuality’” and prohibited ‘promoting’ in schools “the acceptability of homosexuality as a pretended family relationship.” This law, coupled with our absence of rights, placed huge pressures on lesbians and gay men. It meant gay teachers lived in fear of being outed and fired, and led to lesbian mothers losing custody of their children. ‘Sandy and Jean’ shines a light onto that era, through a story about a love triangle.