Aids: The Unheard Tapes

London, 1982. Thirteen years after the partial decriminalisation of homosexuality, the largest gay club in Europe opens its doors, and Heaven is packed. Whispers begin to circulate of a mysterious new disease, a `gay cancer' from New York, and Terry Higgins becomes one of the first people in Britain to die from what will become known as an Aids-related disease. Revolutionary activists and doctors come together to discover what they can about this new virus.

London, 1986. Four years after Aids first appeared in Britain and the death of Terry Higgins, more gay men than ever are believed to be infected with HIV, and the numbers receiving Aids diagnoses is rising. Amid increased calls from the gay community for a national public health strategy, government action is still yet to be fully realised. Those arriving at hospitals with Aids receive variable care or even open hostility.

In a blaze of hope, the first drug to be believed to prolong the lives of those with HIV infections is hailed as a potential `miracle cure'. Trials are underway and hopes are high. But soon, severe and debilitating side effects begin to show themselves, and many of those participating in the trials become desperately sick. The results of the failed AZT trials are released in 1993 and provoke backlash against drug companies and sometimes the doctors and nurses caring for Aids patients.