In the film, set during the miners’ strike of 1984/5, Billy’s father and brother, both miners, are violently opposed to him attending a ballet class since ‘it’s only for lasses’ and boys who dance are ‘poofs’.
Of Billy Elliot’s situation he commented, ‘I identified with a lot of those feelings, those characters in the backstreets I knew very well. Now a world-famous baritone, Sir Thomas reflected on his journey as ‘unexplored territory’ and one ‘ paving the way’ for other male performers. Posted on 1 September 2021 by Chris Marlow © Photo by Yogendra Singh from PexelsĢ021 marks the twentieth anniversary of the film release of ‘Billy Elliot’, the story of a working-class boy from a north-east of England mining village who preferred ballet to boxing.Īlbeit fictional, Billy’s tale has parallels in real life, inspired as it was by Thomas Allen, also from the north-east, and his ambition to become an opera singer in the 1960s. Happy birthday, Billy Elliot: but how much is there to celebrate?