Brighton’s Gay Men’s Chorus have won the award for Favourite LGBT Community Social/Leisure Organisation at the 2013 Golden Handbag Awards.
The Golden Handbags show took place Sunday 23 June at the Hilton Brighton Metropole, with the winners voted for by readers of Gscene magazine. The annual awards show has been dubbed ‘Brighton’s Gay Oscars’, recognising people and organisations within Brighton’s LGBT scene whilst also raising money for good causes
Chairman Paul Charlton said:
“We are delighted to receive this award and I know it will mean a lot to all of the boys. There are lots of fantastic community groups in Brighton and Hove so it was a great honour to win! Our membership has increased to around 80 people in the last year, and each one of those members – with the musical expertise of our fabulous MD Marc Yarrow and Assistant MD Tim Nail – has worked so hard to make us the group we are today. I would also like to thank all of the people who voted us and hope to see many of you at our next show!”
Musical Director Marc Yarrow said:
“I’m delighted that the Chorus have been recognised with this award. I’ve worked with many different choirs before but what sets Brighton Gay Men’s Chorus apart is the fantastic feeling of inclusivity and support among the members. I also love that we are able to provide exciting musical opportunities for gay men in Brighton. It’s been lovely to help the boys flourish with fantastic achievements such as performing annually at Brighton Dome, recording a single and going to Manchester to win the 2013 Manchester Amateur Choral Competition. Thank you to all who voted for allowing us to add the Golden Handbag Award to that list, and well done to all of the other winners and nominees on the night.”
The award is more good news for the Chorus who were also the winners of the 2013 Manchester Amateur Choral Competition earlier this year.
The next chance to see the award-winning Chorus is in their forthcoming show ‘Brighton Gay Men’s Chorus: Taken From Behind (The Scenes)’, part of Brighton Pride Arts & Film Festival, Friday 19th and Saturday 20th June, St George’s Church, St George’s Road, Kemptown. The show is billed as an exclusive look at what really happens behind the scenes of a Brighton Gay Men’s Chorus show, with lots of backstage shocks promised. Tickets are £12/£10 and available at www.brightongmc.org, the Dome Box Office 01273 709709 and from the Prowler shop, St James St.
Singer and style icon, Sam Sparro (Black and Gold, Happiness) joined by DJ’s and electronic music duo Moto Blanco, Misha B, Queens of Pop, and Happy Mondays dance diva Rowetta, amongst others.
Manchester Pride is excited to announce openly gay Sam Sparro as the final act for this year’s Big Weekend Saturday night line-up. Sam is joined by popular production duo Moto Blanco, best known for their remixes of number one artists Adele, Lady Gaga, and Rihanna, who will be playing a live DJ set on the Main Arena stage.
Grammy-nominated musician Sam Sparro rose to fame with his 2008 smash hit single ‘Black and Gold’, which sold over 100,000 copies in the UK alone. Sam followed up his debut solo artist album working with dance producers Basement Jaxx and Mark Ronson. His second album, ‘Return To Paradise’, was released in 2012 to widespread acclaim.
Bobby Blanco and Miki Moto are the production aliases of South London dance music duo Danny Harrison and Arthur Smith, who have been deejaying and remixing as Moto Blanco since 2003. T
heir remixes of Adele’s ‘Set Fire To The Rain, and Lady Gaga’s ‘Paparazzi’ have filled dancefloors across the globe.
Sam Sparro and Moto Blanco are joined on the Main Arena stage by X Factor star Misha B, Internet sensations Queens of Pop, electro-pop five-piece Swiss Lips, pop-ska group Scarlett’s Roses, Sam Gray, Scarlet Street, Manchester boyband The Mend, and much-loved Happy Mondays vocalist Rowetta.
Manchester Pride Chief Executive, John Stewart said: “We are delighted to welcome Sam Sparro, who completes our fantastic Saturday night Big Weekend line-up, and underlines Manchester Pride’s commitment to showcasing LGBT artists. With a live DJ set from Moto Blanco, and performances by many more exciting acts, including Misha B, Queens of Pop, and Swiss Lips, the Saturday night bill looks set to be one of the many highlights of this summer’s Manchester Pride festival!
Big Weekend tickets are still available with a limited number at the Early Bird price of £16 from manchesterpride.com and selected outlets.
An analysis undertaken by Melbourne Ports Residents for Marriage Equality (MPRME) has revealed that globally there are now 607 million people living in jurisdictions with full marriage equality.
The resumption of same-sex weddings in California last week pushed the number of people living in regions with marriage equality above 600 million for the first time ever.
With England and Wales set to introduce marriage equality soon and with more and more US states coming on board, this figure is set to climb even higher over the coming months.
“What this shows it that marriage equality is not just a temporary fad,” said MPRME spokesperson, Tony Pitman. “It’s a wave of equality that’s sweeping the globe. It’s a fundamental human rights reform that’s an inevitable part of social progress.”
“It’s clearly inevitable here in Australia as well. Any Australian politician who says that this is an issue that will just go away is either seriously deluded or lying.”
PACE is delighted to offer a new low-cost couple counselling and relationship support service for people who identify as LGBT and their partners. PACE knows that experiencing healthy relationships can be key to achieving wellbeing in life.
Catching up with our favourite trolley dolly while she is on tour in America, Domenico Sansalone talks to her about everything from safe sex, opening for Cher and her new show at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane in December.
CREDIT: Pr Supplied
The Gay UK: I have a funny story actually, once when I was flying back from Mykonos to London and you were on the same flight and the attendants were falling all over you it was an Easy Jet flight but they loved you. Does that happen a lot?
Pam Ann: Well I had a f**king smacking hangover because I had come straight from the f**king club and I had these big glasses on right? Yeah I was f**king against the visor against the window. I will never forget that c**t of a flight. He gave me a bottle of water that is as much as they could give me.
TGUK: Well it is Easy Jet you have to pay for everything…
PA: Well no, she gave it to me for free, that was like champagne on BA. But yeah it happens. It happens a lot in Europe and Australia. I fly a lot on Jet Blue, but once you get into middle America, say on Delta, you can go to hell, you can f**k off! They don’t know who I am. They don’t care who I am. I get fisted on those flights! They don’t give a f**k. They lose my bag, they roll their eyes, they throw abuse at me and I am treated like everyone else, so I know what it is like.
TGUK: Amazing! Do you ever notice that flight attendants get nervous when they recognise you and feel like they need to give you better service?
PA: When I am sitting there and they are about to give the safety presentation they know. When they stand in the aisle about to give the safety demo and they kind of freak out when I am sitting right next to them, sometimes they crack up laughing but cause I look at them and take everything in.
CREDIT: Pr Supplied
TGUK: I read somewhere that you said the whole Pam Ann character was created when you were drunk. But you also said that it was the gays that created you, could you elaborate on how the gays created you?
PA: They didn’t create Pam Ann; they created my whole f**king life and my existence. That’s why I have not got married. I have not had kids. I am a f**king gay man, 99 per cent of my friends are gay so they can take responsibility for everything. My vocabulary is gay, I speak gay, everything is gay. I f**k like a gay so you know, I say they created my whole existence and Pam Ann. It’s their fault so they can take responsibility.
CREDIT: Pr Supplied
TGUK: We’ll own that! We’re responsible for unleashing Pam Ann on the world. I think that’s something to be proud of…
PA: When I get put into a straight world I start talking about felching and fisting and straight people look at me horrified. They are completely freaked out and when I am in the company of my gays it is just a normal conversation. There are no gasps of horror. You know “Oh, he grinded my arsehole last night” is just a lunch conversation. But in the straight world that is like porn, you know? Thankfully I live in a very open minded gay community. I am very privileged.
TGUK: I saw you at the Bloomsbury Theatre last year and I say that 99.9 per cent of the audience was gay men and then the other 0.1 per cent was female flight attendants…
PA: Annoying s**t faced flight attendants that need their f**king mouths stitched up. Everyone was so into it in the audience, it was just such a good atmosphere and vibe in that room.
TGUK: You are in the US touring right now. Do you notice a difference in the audiences in the States and the UK?
PA: Oh f**k no, they are hysterical here. I mean just see Seattle, that audience was f**king insane. It was on par with shitfaced Glaswegians. No conservative f**king people in Seattle I tell you.
TGUK: Well you know, marijuana is legal there now, right? Gay marriage and pot in the same election.
PA: I mean they are all bohemian f**ked up people up there. That’s why I love them in Seattle. I mean I am going to really great places. In LA they have a bit of a chip on their shoulders, they are a little bit like, prove it. So they can be a little bit more reserved in LA because they all think that they should be on the stage and not me.
TGUK: You have some competition in LA?
PA: A lot, and they all look kinda f**ked up. You don’t know whether they are laughing or they just looking at you straight on cause they’ve got so much plastic surgery.
TGUK: Do you ever change your jokes to localise them for whatever area you are in?
PA: Absolutely, the first hour is improvised about them. That is why the show is 2.5 hours. It’s like a hijack situation! So it is all tailored to them, to every place I go. That’s the best part of my show and what I enjoy the most is winding them up.
TGUK: I was watching a documentary on Joan Rivers and there is one scene where she is in Middle America and someone gets offended and talks back to her and she kicks them out of the room. A lot of what you say is outrageous, have you ever had an incident like that?
PA: Oh f**k yeah. I mean 24 people walked out of my show in Nottingham. To me, that is the kudos, thank you. Goodbye! It’s too much for some of these straight people. I don’t care. Leave. Please leave, you are not nailed to the armrest, you can go. I say that sometimes you can go at any point that you like because I mean really I couldn’t give a flying f**k.
TGUK: It’s really impressive just being on stage for two and a half hours. Do you ever get nervous about forgetting anything or is it just so natural now that you don’t even think about it?
PA: I feel so sorry for people that have to sit through it for two and a half hours. I really do. For me, two hours is probably when I am really on a roll. If you come to a show and its 1.5 hours then I really hate you. Right. So gauge this. If I am on for half an hour, I’m dying. If I am on for an hour, I could be restricted to that time because of the venue. If I’m on for an hour a half I’m not really that into you as an audience and I am on for two hours, we were really into each other. If I am for two and a half hours, I want to f**k your arsehole. So it all depends.
TGUK: There should be a little chart in the programme that you provide with that for your shows…
PA: There should. You know in Seattle, we had two hours. It was rocking; it was amazing. You see I always get nervous, I always think that they might not come. There are times when I have had stage fright and it always stays with you, it never leaves. Like Bill Cosby said once, when you go to an audience and you trust each other, that’s when all the doors open in your head and you think, where the f**k did that come from? You know? But if you come out and you’re nervous, then the doors shut and you go on autopilot.
TGUK: What gigs are you most nervous about?
PA: It is most nerve racking when it means a lot to you. Say the London Palladium which a f**ked up one night. Then the second night, I made sure I didn’t. It’s a mindset, sometimes the expectation is really high that you get nervous but you need to learn how to deal with expectation. That’s why a lot of people never go far because the expectation is too high and it takes them too much out of their comfort zone. So I think nerves come but when you break that barrier, you can build on that. Corporate events f**king scare the living daylight out of my arse. And I hate to do them. I hate doing them, that’s why it costs so much money, because I do not want to do them. So it is very hard to get me to do anything corporate. Booking comedy in an environment they see at the Bloomsbury Theatre and they say I want that and you put that into a hotel ball room with a bunch of corporate people that are mainly heterosexual and they ask “why didn’t it work?”! You know its like, Meryl Lynch asked me to do a gig and this gay guy who was obviously organizing it get on his knees. And the big boss hated me and I ended up running out and they didn’t want to pay because thy were like, “that wasn’t funny” and I’m like, “you c**ts.” I mean nobody wanted to laugh because they were all watching the bosses because they all didn’t want to laugh at something that could be seen a racist in their eyes. So, you’re dealing with that. I pushed the boundaries so if I do corporate events and they say can you tailor it so it is not so this or that, I say yes. But once a raving f**king sailor from the suburbs of Australia… I can be a lady sure. But it’s in your nature; you can’t change a tiger’s spots can you?
TGUK: What was it like working with Cher?
PA: Well that was, if you’re talking nerves that was the ultimate nerve racking experience of my life. I wanted someone to actually push me down some stairs. I was already on the stage. I wanted someone to push me down and break all my bones in my body so I didn’t have to go on. I need that extreme excuse, I was just like so scared, I paced so much my dancer said I wore a hole in the dressing room. I was beside myself scared of that. I used to run compulsively, excessively over my lines. I used to cross them off like I was in a prison cell. Nerve racking, I mean nerve racking. There were 14,500 people in the arena supporting Cher, a gay icon, no one knew who the f**k I was. I was club act from Bromptons, I mean really, don’t forget your roots. Seriously I said to a guy yesterday about agents and managers. He said my agency is grindmyarsehole.com. GMA. Because the biggest gigs I’ve got are with Elton John and Cher were all done from people seeing me at Bromptons or Two Brewers. Just go work in a f**king club. That’s where you get the jobs, you’re not going to get that at an agency.
TGUK: You’re in the US right now but are you planning to come back to the UK to do any shows over here?
PA: Yes I am about to book the Drury Lane. Hot news. It’s huge, I want to do two shows. I’ve booked the 15th of December and I am hoping to book the 8th as well. I am bringing the global alliance back. I’m bringing all the old characters and new characters back. So it’s going to be called “Plane Filthy”. And that hot news off the press, I’ve not told anyone. Its not 100 per cent signed off yet, but you can leak it.
TGUK: Finally, one last question as we know you are about to go on stage. The Gay UK is launching our new safe sex campaign. Can you give some tips on safe sex?
PA: Well to be honest with you, I understand promiscuity because I am promiscuous and have been in the past a lot. I have been unsafe and had unprotected sex so I am no f**king angel. So, for me it’s been trial and error. Sexually transmitted diseases are scary and I have no easy answers so just try and make a f**king effort to do it. I’m not going to say I’m so safe because I have not been, but I am really safe think promiscuity comes from low self-esteem. I’ve had unsafe sex because I have had low self-esteem and self worth so I didn’t care. Because I have done cocaine there is that element of I don’t really care even if I die, I don’t care right now. Once you start to build and work on yourself and go to the gym, get a healthy diet, is when you are going to start to take care of yourself sexually. If I had a cock I would have died in the 80’s. Unfortunately I would have because I would have been a dirty whore. And that’s just the reality of it… I’m not doing really great for your campaign am I?
Meet Katrina Leskanich, yes tis she, winner of Eurovision ’97, lead singer of the band that brought us ‘Walking On Sunshine’ and now author (with her trusty dog Peggy Lee). Lewis Fellows catches up with one of the most iconic voices of the 80s and 90s. (more…)
Stonewall today launches the fourth edition of Gay By Degree, the only guide showing how gay-friendly the UK’s 157 universities are. Gay By Degree 2014, now online at www.gaybydegree.org.uk, gives lesbian, gay and bisexual prospective students a single place to find out what each university has to offer them before they apply for places for 2014.
Gay By Degree judges each university against 10 criteria to show how well they support their gay students. These include whether the university has a policy to tackle homophobic bullying, whether there are societies and events for gay students, and what steps they take to support gay staff.
The average score across the sector is just 4.5. Currently only 40 universities engage with the wider community on issues affecting lesbian, gay and bisexual students, and just 27 have an anti-homophobic bullying policy accompanied by mandatory staff training. Just two universities, Liverpool John Moores and Cardiff scored 10 out of 10. The top 21 universities are all working with Stonewall through the Diversity Champions programme which helps employers to support gay staff.
Stonewall Head of Education Wes Streeting said,
‘With universities charging £9,000 fees, it’s right to expect them to provide a high quality experience for all students, including those who are lesbian, gay or bisexual. This year, we’ve unapologetically introduced stricter criteria to encourage universities to improve provision for students. Particular congratulations are due to Cardiff University and Liverpool John Moores University for being the only universities in Britain to score full marks.
‘It’s particularly concerning that only fourteen universities have diversity monitoring in place for lesbian, gay and bisexual students. If universities aren’t even counting the number of gay students, how can they assure themselves and prospective students that they are providing an inclusive experience? We hope that the findings from this year’s exercise prompts action by the higher education sector to properly monitor the experience of gay students from the point of application through to graduation.’
The team that brought the internet, NoHomophobes.com has started an online campaign to research homophobic trends online.
The project which is being labelled as NoHomophobes 2.0 is using crowd sourcing techniques to obtain labellers to identify tweets that use homophobic language. These human-generated labels will later be used in a machine-learning approach to this research study.
The research team are looking for as diverse a set of individuals as possible to participate in this unique study. You do not have to be a Twitter user or have Twitter account to participate. You can help them by simply visiting our research project to sign up as a labeller to help code the tweets you will see.
“Not only is the labelling process important, it’s also a fun, educational, and eye-opening experience,” said a statement from projects website.
To get involved simply visit:http://www.nohomophobesresearch.com or the Facebook page:https://www.facebook.com/ResearchUofA
When we asked Twitter what they were doing to combat homophobia online, a spokesperson said:
“As a policy, we do not mediate content (see section 4 of our Terms of Service) or intervene in disputes between users. However, targeted abuse may constitute an infringement of the Twitter Rules”
Gaydar have released information on what its users consider to be the world’s sexiest man. In a poll of over 4000 participants, we reveal the world’s most wanted man.
Gaydar.net, one of the world’s most popular gay dating sites, has just surveyed its male members to uncover their thoughts on the most attractive elements of their favourite male celebrities. In a bid to create the sexiest looking man, members rated celebrity body parts and personality traits from David Beckham to Zac Efron.
Typically a heterosexually focused survey, Gaydar has taken the reigns and decided it’s time for the sexiest man to be identified from the gay male perspective, and here he is…
The Body
According to the poll, the sexiest man would be fortunate enough to have Ben Cohen’s chest with Taylor Lautner’s stomach, Ronaldo’s butt, Hugh Jackman’s biceps and personality, as well as David Beckham’s legs, tattoos and wealth.
The Face
Facially, the most attractive combination voted for includes Brad Pitt’s smile, Gerard Butler’s voice, Jake Gyllenaal’s eyes and nose, Zac Efron’s hairstyle, Tom Hardy’s lips and Jason Statham’s jaw.
What Are Top Priorities for Gaydar Guys?
Sex appeal is, by far, the main element in making the sexiest man with nearly a third of men picking this as their first preference and one fifth including it as one of their three preferences.
It’s confirmed: guys are also a sucker for a pretty face as the smile and eyes were the second most important factor (with 14% and 13% of votes respectively).
Personality and talent were also considered, with respondents choosing their ideal man to possess Gerard Butler’s personality, David Beckham’s sex appeal, Amir Khan’s sporting prowess and Jude Law’s dress sense. Surprisingly though, just 8% of guys identified a personality as a primary factor in attractiveness and only 1% said dress sense.
It’s fair to say that guys aren’t gold diggers because wealth is not seen as important either, with less than half a percent choosing this as a preferred feature.
The Celebrity Relationship Favourite
The sexiest celebrity overall is David Beckham. He is also the celebrity gay guys would most like to introduce to the parents (13%), yet a similar percentage of guys said they would actually avoid him (12%) suggesting that although sexy, not everyone thinks Becks is relationship material.
Former Disney starlet Miley Cyrus takes to twitter to congratulate Disney on the introduction of gay characters to a brand new show.
The 20-year-old entertainer tweeted to her 12 million followers:
“I commend Disney for making this step into the light of this generation, They control…so much of what kids think! Life isn’t bright sets & wardrobe & kids becoming superstars! This is INSPIRING,”
Disney is due to introduce a same-sex lesbian couple in a forthcoming episode of Good Luck Charlie.
Speaking to TV Guide a spokesperson for Disney said:
‘This particular storyline was developed under the consultancy of child development experts and community advisors.’
The Disney Channel’s first broadcast was in 1983 and in such time it has never shown any gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender characters.
Recently a boycott by US hate group One Million Moms was organised after they were made aware of an unofficial ‘gay day’ at Disney in Florida, the group urged families to boycott the corporation after it said,
“Tens of thousands will make reservations in Orlando, Florida, for the first weekend in June. Warning! Not everyone there will be excited, innocent children anticipating a fun weekend at Disney World. The first Saturday in June, homosexuals, bisexuals and transvestites will be at the Magic Kingdom with an agenda and purpose different than what would be expected at Disney.”
We sit down with one of pop’s most eligible contenders for the next big thing. Meet Sam Callahan, who isn’t afraid of getting naked or walking across hot coals to be remembered. Remember his name… (more…)
