Marc Almond got his first boyfriend at the age of 11

Marc Almond has revealed that he started going out with his first boyfriend aged just 11.

The Soft Cell star, 60, has recalled how his first relationship with a boy began naturally in his pre-teen years, but was sadly cut short after their closeness was spotted by the boy’s parents.

Marc, who attended school in Leeds in the late ’60s before going on to become one of the most prominent gay artists of the ’80s, touches on his upbringing in Leeds in the latest Attitude Heroes podcast.

The ‘Something’s Gotten Hold of My Heart’ singer recalls: “It was a great time for me… I was probably about 13 or 14 at that time and that’s when I had my first boyfriends at school.

“In fact I had my first boyfriend when I was 11. Boyfriend; it’s the wrong thing to call it. We just kissed each other. It wasn’t sexual. It didn’t have that sort of thing, it was just a lot of kissing.”

“He was the same age as me I should emphasise that! We became very, very close and we kissed each other and we were very close together.”

However, the relationship proved to be short-lived after his boyfriend’s parents became concerned about how close the pair were; society’s fear of gay relationships eventually driving the boys apart.

“We were together all the time until his parents told me that I couldn’t hang around with him anymore,” Mark recollects. “They noticed something.”

Listen to Mark’s full interview in the new Attitude Heroes podcast – available to download free from iTunes or other podcast platforms now.

Attitude Heroes is produced by Wisebuddah and sponsored by the GREAT Britain campaign, which welcomes the world to visit, do business, invest and study in the UK, and also Jaguar. For more product information please visit jaguar.co.uk.

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