[2] The song was originally written by Tom Robinson for a London gay pride parade in 1976, inspired by the directness and confrontational style of the Sex Pistols.

The first verse criticises the British police for raiding gay pubs for no reason after the decriminalisation of homosexuality by the 1967 Sexual Offences Act.

The second verse points to the hypocrisy of Gay News being prosecuted for obscenity instead of magazines like Playboy or the tabloid newspaper The Sun, which published photographs of topless girls on Page 3.

[5] Over the course of his solo career, Tom Robinson has performed the song with its lyric updated to reflect current events.

[7] Later lyrics addressed AIDS ("The message is simple and obvious, please – just lay off the patients and let's fight the disease"), and extended attacks on the tabloid press.

[9] The 6 November 1977, episode of Granada Television's So It Goes featured a live performance of the song by the Tom Robinson Band.

In 1979, Tom Robinson performed at the Secret Policeman's Ball, a benefit concert staged by the British section of Amnesty International to raise funds for its research and campaign work in the human rights arena.