Alexandre Abbuehl interviewed by Fiona Slater

Interview with Alex Abbuehl recorded by Fiona Slater on 13 February 2026 at Mott Macdonald office, Birmingham. Duration: 2 hours 27 minutes 37 seconds [Start, track 01] childhood in Northern Italy, family background, Russian and Swiss parents, multilingual upbringing, Swiss German identity, feeling different from Italian peers. [00:05:59] School, friendships, lack of gay or LGBTQIA+ visibility in childhood, delayed development, Italian and Swiss cultural differences; early interests in trains, railways and music. Train journeys to Rome as a gateway to a bigger world. [00:28:15] School in Switzerland, friendship with girls, LGBTQIA+ not talked about, inability to join conversations about girls and football, shared understanding of being different; relationship with mother as single parent. [00:42:32] Friendships exposed him to different cultures; interest in singing, Gianna Nannini as a public lesbian musician and idol, piano and singing technique. [00:52:59] Visits to Rome by train built independence; early “girlfriends” aged 10, start of gay consciousness, lack of romantic feeling towards girls and noticing men in films. [01:00:00] Move to Lucerne, bullying due to accent, making LGBTQIA+ friendships, misogynistic and homophobic jokes, refuge in friendships; dislike of sports due to male atmosphere and changing rooms, lack of LGBTQIA+ role models, no reference point to realise he was gay. [01:12:49] Music, reading, dancing, school achievement, languages including German, French, English and Italian; considering careers as train driver, writer or musician and moving to Milan aged 16. [01:31:08] Standing up to injustice, being gay only discussed mockingly, attraction to men aged 16–18 while dating women and not realising relationships with men were possible; songwriting, bar performances, recording a CD for school project. [01:34:16] Supportive American English teacher encouraged singing and interest in USA/UK culture; positive image of gay people through British media, Miranda television show; Milan school, peers supporting interests, teacher steering him towards Oxbridge while he wanted music. [01:47:41] Moving to Liverpool for songwriting and performance course, learning recording and performance skills, liberal university culture, exploring sexuality, discovering the possibility of being gay, positive queer community, self-acceptance, close friendships and social life. [01:58:24] Wariness over being out, frustration over straight crushes; serious recording, improved songwriting, networking, promotion, Spotify and blogs, releasing two songs, second reaching New Music Friday playlist, earning money and industry interest. [end of track 01] [Track 02] Music industry, London deal opportunity, co-writing with professionals, commuting Liverpool-London, recording EP [Extended Play]; Covid-19 pandemic, EP released online, inability to perform or meet people, loss of interest in music as profession and being let go. [00:06:10] Lockdown in Liverpool, social care work on minimum wage with long hours for 2.5 years, Masters in Marketing, moving to head office, belonging in Liverpool, considering railways, writing or civil service. [00:10:59] Joining Department for Trade, corporate world, move to London, performances, civil service friendships, reasons for leaving role then; year out, relationship with Turkish boyfriend, learning Turkish, considering career. [00:16:00] why he chose to work for the railways, reasons he was not interested in a train driver role, concerns about frontline work as a queer man; discovering Network Rail office careers, joining graduate scheme, long-term prospects; back-of-house versus frontline work for LGBTQIA+ people, privilege of accepting environment, hostile attitudes in wider society and among customers, fears about UK society’s direction, and Network Rail efforts to improve LGBTQIA+ inclusion with senior leaders support. [end of interview]

This interview was made as part of People Pride and Progress (PPP) project. The project was initiated in 2023 to record the stories and memories of the LGBTQIA+ community in a new oral history archive over two years. It aimed to connect past, present and future through intergenerational interviews, offering opportunities for colleagues across all parts of the rail industry to connect, reflect on and learn from each other’s lived experiences while creating an archive of oral history interviews.