He used to fish for oysters but he fled to the hedonism of London, where he was taken under the wing of Derek Jarman. But Andy Marshall was also a creator of dazzling furniture – and the star of a pioneering film about gay life
It was 1982 and young film-maker Paul Oremland was in an east London leather and denim pub, about to meet a character who would change his life. “Andy was pretty unforgettable,” recalls Oremland. “Full of amazing tales, and with a wealth of knowledge about people, places and quirky London life.”
Oremland had been talking to the fledgling Channel 4 about making a series of documentary films about gay life. This was the era of Aids, Thatcher and queer bashing – gay people only ever seemed to be on the television as the subject of shame or the butt of a joke. But the proudly out Andy Marshall – with his beguiling mix of toughness and fragility – didn’t conform to these stereotypes. Oremland decided to feature him in one of the films he created for the channel’s pioneering Six of Hearts series.
