One of the UK’s biggest pop stars, Will Young has gone on the record to admit to using nudey mags to “pleasure” himself.
Writing about his struggle to accept his sexuality, in his new memoir, To Be A Gay Man, the singer admitted that using gay porn magazines was part of the process of coming to terms with being gay. He said that he bought the magazines from newsagents “under a veil of guilt and shame.”
Will Young was the first winner of Pop Idol back in 2002. The day after he won the competition his sexuality became front-page news and was splashed across all the tabloid press in the UK.
“It took me a few weeks to build up my courage, but one day I went in and purchased three of these magazines,” Will describes in the memoir.
“As I went up to the till, the feeling of dread I had was almost overpowering.”
“I felt as though something awful was going to happen [like] the shopkeeper would make some comment or judgement, and people in the shop would point and stare at me.”
In his book he explains that he would take the mags into the train’s toilet and knock one out, before throwing the magazine away, ensuring “that there was no evidence.”
A letter signed by Stephen Fry, Will Young and Sadiq Khan and 127 others is urging journalists to stop using the phrase “commit suicide”.
The letter which was signed by 130 celebs, authors, politicians and community leaders is calling on journalists to stop using the terms “commit suicide” when writing about suicide.
Along with Stephen Fry, Will Young and Sadiq Khan, Fearne Cotton, Ed Balls and DJ Lauren Laverne have signed the letter urging media outlets to “portray suicide in ways which reflect our modern understanding of this phenomenon.”
The letter was released on 10th September, which is the World Suicide Prevention Day.
(C) BIGSTOCK
The letter calls for alternatives to be used, such as “died by suicide” as “committing suicide” suggests that suicide is “either a sin or a crime, or both.” Suicide has not been a crime in the UK since 1961. The letter also suggests that “committing suicide” also implies, “that to take one’s own life is a selfish, cowardly, criminal or irreligious act, rather than the manifestation of extreme mental distress and unbearable pain.
Each year over 6000 people in the UK die when they take their own lives – and worldwide this number is a shocking 800,000 people per year.
Reaching out to editors the letter states, “The language and images we see and hear in the media naturally shape our understanding and view of the world. This is why journalism will always be so important – we are influenced by the kinds of stories you choose to cover, the language you use in those stories, and the images that are chosen to illustrate them. This places an enormous burden of responsibility on editors, reporters, photographers, sub-editors, producers, presenters and all of the other people engaged in bringing us news, editorial and comment”.
THEGAYUK.com has updated its style guide and adopting the suggestion by TalkingSuicide.co.uk to change the language it uses and will no longer use the term “commit suicide”.
The Samaritans is available 24 a day on telephone number 116 123 if you are having suicidal thoughts, suffering from depression or anxiety or just need to talk.
The Brits are here, queer and releasing music by the millions…
Which gay British artist has sold the most records?
From Sam Smith to Elton, Freddie Mercury to Will Young but which are the biggest sellers? We collated this list from available sales figures available online. Actual sales figures may be higher or lower than printed here.
Joe McElderry <1 million
X Factor’s Joe’s debut single, a version of Miley Cyrus’ “The Climb” went on to sell over 800,000 copies in the UK. Like another constituent of this list, Joe’s sexuality was unknown during his time on the talent show which made him famous.
Pet Shop Boys 1 million (at least)
“Always On My Mind” ending up selling over 1 million records for LGBT+ identifying duo Pet Shop Boys. It’s the biggest selling single of their career.
Callum Scott 1.363 million
Relatively unknown and newcomer Callum Scott managed to secure a million-selling single with “Dancing On My Own”. Released in 2017.
Will Young 1.7 million
When Will won the first ever Pop Idol nobody actually knew he was gay, until the very next day when there was a huge splash across the tabloids. His debut single, “Evergreen” / “Anything Is Possible” went on to sell a huge 1.7 million records
Boy George / Culture Club 5 million
Culture Club, fronted by Boy George sold a whopping 5 million records globally with their song “Karma Chameleon”. The song was released in 1983 and became a huge disco hit for the group.
George Michael 6 million
George’s biggest selling record to date is “Careless Whisper”, which he released after splitting from WHAM! The song was a huge world-wide hit for the singer. It went to number 1 in 25 countries selling over 6 million singles. His most charted song is “Last Christmas” (2 million copies and counting) which reenters the top 10 almost every Christmas. It’s the biggest selling song to never get to number 1.
Freddie Mercury / Queen 8 million
“Bohemian Rhapsody” is one of the biggest selling singles (and apparently the most expensive ever made) of all time and it was written by Freddie Mercury. During his life, Freddie admitted his sexuality fears to his ex-girlfriend, apparently, that he didn’t know whether he was gay or straight.
Sam Smith 8 million
Sam Smith’s is the second newest artist on our list after Calum Scott, but he’s already racked up 6 number ones, including, incredible the only number 1 song for a Bond film. The song “Stay With Me” has sold over 8 million copies (digital).
David Bowie 10 million
It’s impossible to know how exactly how many copies of “Let’s Dance” David Bowie sold, but the album with the same name sold 10 million copies when it was released in 1983, making it his best selling album and single of all time. Note: David Bowie never identified as gay, but his sexuality was often considered to be bisexual.
Elton John 33 million
The granddaddy of music, Elton John has sold millions and millions of records. His biggest-ever seller single was the 1997 tribute to Diana Princess Of Wales, “Candle In The Wind”. It apparently sold over 33 million singles. It has a double A-side – the other song was “The Way You Look Tonight”.
** UPDATE: A previous version incorrectly labelled David Bowie’s track “Let’s Dance”, “Just Dance” and has been corrected.
Will Young, the first ever winner of Pop Idol in the UK, has said that he may never return to his pop career. Instead, he’s said he is considering a job as a psychotherapist, a teacher or a gardener.
Will doesn’t miss his pop career at all and has said that he may never return to it despite releasing six hit studio albums. He had a string of hits in the early noughties including, “Leave Right Now” and “Light My Fire” both of which reached number 1 in the UK. Speaking to the Press Association, he said, “I don’t miss it, not at all.
“It’s not right for this time in my life. I don’t look back at it with negativity.
“I don’t know if I will go back to it or not, this is what I’m doing at the moment, but I might become a psychotherapist, a teacher or a gardener.”
But he will be returning to the stage as he’s about to star in the West End show, Strictly Ballroom, which starts on the 29th March 2018 at the Piccadilly Theatre.
So would you have Will Young digging up your weeds?
★★★★ | On New Year’s Eve in 1938, American writer Clifford Bradshaw arrives in Berlin, and finds his way to the Kit Kat Club, a burlesque club hosted by the enigmatic Emcee, where the fluidity of sexuality, gender and sexual expression flow as freely as the gin. There he meets Sally Bowles, an excitable, if naïve, English woman, who performs at the club; and the two of them embark on an affair. But as the Nazi party rises to power, their friends both at the club and within the community find that their lifestyle places them all at risk as the nation starts to divide.
Starring Will Young and Louise Redknapp, this classic musical written by Kander and Ebb, needs very little introduction. Including the songs “Money Makes The World Go Around”, “Maybe This Time”, “Tomorrow Belongs To Me” and “Cabaret”, the show contrasts the bright lights of the carefree club with a story which has a surprisingly dark streak to it.
The first act is awash with exuberant musical numbers, performed in a classic burlesque style; with the stage glowing in gold and orange lighting, and with an abundance of scantily clad and ridiculously attractive dancers, showing off a plethora of muscular pecs, torsos and biceps. The indulgence and pleasure of the Kit Kat Club then yields in the second act to a darker and more emotional story as the rise of fascism takes hold, impacting on the free-living community of the club.
Will Young excels in his portrayal of Emcee; making his performance seem effortless and natural and injecting the role with just the right balance of humour, ambiguity and campness to be charismatic and alluring. His performance of the shows musical numbers is excellent, especially in opening the show with “Wilkomen” and in a haunting rendition of “I Don’t Care Much”. Louise Redknapp has her moments as Sally Bowles, and to her credit can belt out the show’s tunes, but her acting ability does not shine through and any stage presence that she may have gets lost amongst the charismatic cast; whereas Charles Hagerty provides solid and tuneful support in the role of Clifford Bradshaw
The show is well staged, with a beautiful cast, thoughtful and interesting choreography and an impressive lighting design. The set is relatively stripped back giving the whole production a feel which is not too dissimilar to Kander and Ebb’s other musical, Chicago. It is beautiful to look at and Rufus Norris’ direction keeps the show moving along nicely.
The revival of this production is timely, to say the least. With the recent resurgence in far-right political parties, the treatment of the gay community in Chechnya and with homophobic hate crimes reported to be on the rise, the show maintains a strong message about the impact of passivity and naivety to these issues on the gay community; a message which continues to resonate with audiences many years after the show was first performed.
Cabaret is currently playing at Leeds Grand Theatre until Saturday 28th October 2017, before continuing on its national tour, calling at Milton Keynes, Manchester, Edinburgh, Bromely, Dublin and Brighton. Visit the tour’s website for details and tickets.
It seems as though Will Young’s d**k pics are out there – like he said, and someone might have just posted them.
The singer only last week was saying that he was surprised that nobody had leaked his penis pics, in fact he said he was “amazed” that the pictures hadn’t surfaced considering how many people he had sent them to.
In less than 48 hours after he made the comment, the picture, which purports to be of the singer’s erect penis was uploaded.
The singer rose to fame in 2000 after winning the first ever Pop Idol UK. He came out shortly after his win with a huge front page splash on the front of The News Of The World.
The star has yet to comment on whether the picture is his or not.
Pop star Will Young has been confirmed as the second celebrity contestant on the show Strictly Come Dancing.
Will Young has been confirmed as the second celebrity contestant on the BBC entertainment show Strictly Come Dancing which starts its 14th series in September. The first contestant to be announced was politician Ed Balls.
The multi-million selling artist said,
“As a fan of Strictly for years, I have always imagined myself on the show, but the timing has not been right… until now! Music is my passion and the dancing I have done has always been with a microphone in hand. Now there will be no microphone or band, just me, my partner and the dance floor. Strictly is a show with fantastic live music and has an ethos of positivity and growth. I practice these two things every day, and I will try my hardest to be the best dancer possible,”
One question remains, as Will Young is openly gay, will he have a same-sex partner on the dancefloor?
Will Young has blasted the Education Secretary Nicky Morgan as not “giving a shit” about mental health.
Speaking at this year’s National Student Pride singer Will Young has strongly criticised Education Secretary Nicky Morgan for ignoring the mental health needs of LGBT youth in the UK. He said that he would be picketing her offices until she addressed issues facing the UK’s LGBT community.
After a private meeting with Morgan, Young said he left heartbroken.
He said,
“It breaks my heart that there are going to be more and more generations of young LGBT people that are going to continue to have a lack of nurture and have this internalised shame which can be changed within the education system.”
“The only conclusion that I can draw is that she doesn’t give a shit about it”.
Will Young who was crowned by THEGAYUK readers as one of the top 10 gay icons of Britain confessed he is “not a huge fan” of Nicky Morgan, stating his concerns about the MP dealing with mental health issues facing young LGBTS, “I don’t see the Education Secretary, who I am not a huge fan of at all, addressing this at all.”
He then announced that he would be picketing the politician until she gives answers and takes action in schools to help young LGBT people live openly and freely.
“I am augmenting a new White Paper and then I’ll picket outside the department of education until she gives me some answers.”
Will Young winning the first Pop Idol instalment back in 2002 seems like a bizarre memory. It is hard to remember him emerging into the music industry under the wing of Simon Cowell because he has proven himself better than those means and shaken free of the stigma sometimes associated with the X Factor like shows. The second Pop Idol instalment with Michelle McManus is thankfully much more forgettable. Or regrettable, you can delete accordingly.
★★★★
As an artist Will Young has mastered the art of producing a catchy yet vulnerable pop sound, maturing delicately with every new song. His last release Echoes back in 2011 promoted his growth as a talented singer songwriter with the likes of the breathtaking Come On and the underlining dance tones of I Just Want A Lover – the video for which saw him dancing around a supermarket car park partnered with a shopping trolley, unique to say the least. This intriguing music video history sets him aside from other mainstream pop acts around today. We have seen him moving from Blue Peter spoofs to taking part in dog training competitions, whilst causing a scene at an art gallery or making us cry in an emotional courtroom scene. Not forgetting about his portrayal as a pregnant man, of course. It all claps together in applause to his artistry.
Enter Love Revolution, the new single and first release from his upcoming album 85% Proof (scheduled for release May 2015). It throws us a funkier sound that we haven’t seen from him in a while, slightly nodding back to the soulful elements of his 2005 album Keep On. If you think the song sounds familiar then you’d be right, as it is a reworking of the 2002 dance anthem Loneliness bought to us by German DJ Tomcraft. Much less Euro-Dance though, I’m afraid, but much more summer soul that will get you dancing around your garden in no time at all.
The video depicts him as a preaching salesman trying to shift his Love Revolution products onto the apparent lonely singletons. It, albeit cheesy, is an entertaining clip that continues to set him aside from the generic pop routines around at the moment – and who here doesn’t enjoy a bit of cheese every now and then? If you said, ‘I don’t,’ then I have nothing more to say to you.
The timing of this single could be considered apt against the likes of the recent Dolce & Gabbana debacle, or the risk of Northern Ireland’s anti-gay amendment passing, which could have seen it legal to refuse service to any LGBT person. Not to mention the American ‘gay curers’ who were about to embark on our dear nation to cure us all from being our-wonderfully-natural-selves. Let’s follow Will Young’s lead, start a Love Revolution and dance with whomever we want, yeah?
Singer Will Young has taken to Twitter to say that he has been a victim of homophobia after being asked to stop hugging his boyfriend in public.
Yesterday Will Young took to his Twitter account to say that he had been a victim of homophobia saying, ‘Would you believe on the day of Gay Pride I have been the victim of homophobia. I am SO mad. #pride2014’
The singer who won the first Pop Idol in the UK came out in 2002.
He went on to say, ‘I shower love on the ignorant, hope for the bigots and light into the dark crevices if their unfortunate minds’
He said that he was asked to stop embracing his boyfriend.
‘Essentially I was asked to stop hugging my boyfriend in a spa because it was offending another ‘conservative’ (read homophobic) spa visitor,
‘I am looking forward to what the hotel have to say about this cos I am still seething. I actually can’t believe it’
The UK singer has released 5 studio albums and 19 singles since his win.
