The fascinating story of how Irish singer Hozier became a Sapphic icon
Hozier regularly speaks out in favour of the LGBTQ+ community, after releasing Take Me To Church in 2013. (Getty)
Irish singer-songwriter Hozier has become one of the most popular musicians across the world, selling out shows in London, Los Angeles, Zurich, Barcelona, and many more last year.
Hozier will be performing even more in 2024 across North and South America, as well as headline outdoor shows in the UK over the summer.
It’s safe to say that Hozier is adored by millions, but in particular, the singer is adored by the LGBTQ+ community – and by lesbians most of all.
In fact, he is referred to as their “favourite lesbian” among Spotify playlists or as “the only man that will never let [them] down”.
Plus, any time he tweets, the replies are filled with lesbians writing “let’s go lesbians” and “thank you Sapphic king”, mainly due to the longing and pining adoration he puts across in his music. There is even an entire sub-section of TikTok dedicated to working out why his music is alluring to queer women, which is likely because of the way he reveres women himself.
Listen to any one of his songs and you can hear him crooning about how even death or a higher power wouldn’t keep him from loving the woman he sings of until the end of time.
He also regularly brings Pride flags to his shows, in a variety of colours, to show his support for various communities, but his support for the LGBTQ+ community has been well-documented since the start of his career.
The LGBTQ+ meaning of “Take Me To Church” explained
“Take Me To Church” was released over ten years ago in 2013, and has since achieved over two billion streams on Spotify.
The song is broadly about the freedom to love who you want to love, but it has morphed into an anthem about gay rights and the hypocrisy of some religions who don’t support LGBTQ+ people.
In a interview with The Star Tribune, Hozier previously said: “The song is about how sexuality and love are such a basic, integral part of humanity.”
“For the church or any organisation like a government to question who you love or who you have sex with just seems to go against humanity. I’m not condemning the church or religion on the whole, just that one policy, which seems so wrong to me. And obviously I’m not alone in thinking that,” he added.
The music video for “Take Me To Church” highlights this by showing a gay couple being hunted by a mob of masked men, showing how many LGBTQ+ people are persecuted for who they love across the world.
When the video was released, Hozier told Fuse TV: “If you feel offended or disgusted by the image of two people kissing, if that’s what it is, but you’re more disgusted by that than the actual violence… I think you should take a look at your values, maybe. I don’t think there really should be a controversy when we’re talking about a basic human right and the equal treatment of people.”
Hozier regularly speaks out for the LGBTQ+ community
Since “Take Me To Church”, Hozier has continued to be an outspoken advocate for the LGBTQ+ community even though he is not himself a member of the community.
He previously called out Pope Francis for what he called the Catholic Church’s “lip service” towards accepting LGBTQ+ people, and said that the church “provides an excuse for homophobia” by not lifting any of the discriminatory policies that have existed for centuries.
In 2023, Hozier headlined the “Love Rising” benefit concert in Tennessee to raise money for the state’s LGBTQ+ organisations and while on stage, he blasted politicians for their “artificially generated fear-mongering” towards LGBTQ+ people.
He also said that supporting trans people is not complicated, but rather “a question of human decency” and treating people with respect.
In an interview with NME, he said he feels that its his responsibility to speak out for the LGBTQ+ community. He said: “There’s always been space in my work for my own conscience and the way I view our responsibilities to the shared society we live in.”
Hozier tour: how to buy tickets
Hozier will be embarking on his Unreal Unearth Tour from February 20, starting in Mexico and making his way across South America until March 22, where he finishes with an appearance at Lollapalooza Brazil.
From April 20 onwards, he will be performing in 25 states, concluding in Los Angeles in September.
While most of his time will be spent in the Americas, Hozier will be flying across the Pond for a homecoming show in Dublin’s Marlay Park on Friday July 5 and in London’s Finsbury Park on July 7 as well as a show in Chepstow and Glasgow the following week.
Tickets for his tour are available to buy from ticketmaster.com and ticketmaster.co.uk.
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