Boyzone took a moment to remember their fallen bandmate and “brother” Stephen Gately.
(C) BOYZONE / TWITTER
The nineties and noughties boy-turned man band, Boyzone, showed that they still have and hold Stephen Gately forever in their hearts. The band, who are on their final tour, took a moment, at their latest show in Leeds, to remember their “brother” Stephen Gately, who sadly died in 2009 when he was just 33.
The band is currently celebrating their 25th anniversary in the music business.
In a simple message on their official Twitter page, the band, shared an intimate picture of the four remaining members, Keith Duffy, Michael Graham, Shane Lynch and Ronan Keating in an heartfelt embrace, with the simple message, “Our moment for our brother”.
Stephen Gately, who came out as gay in a blaze of publicity in 1999 was found dead at his home in Mallorca in October 2009. This year will be the 10th anniversary of his passing. His death was determined to have been caused by pulmonary oedema, resulting from an undiagnosed heart condition.
In 1999 there were very few out and openly gay musicians, particularly in boybands. He decided to come out via the press after discovering that someone he knew was planning to sell a story detailing his sexuality to the media.
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Gypsy Queen, a play by writer and actor Rob Ward is about just that, and looks at how social and cultural expectations within the boxing world and the Travelling community impact on two of the sports best fighters. With homophobia in sport still in the spotlight and with more sportsmen starting to come out, THEGAYUK chatted to Rob about his play, what he feels would benefit gay athletes, putting theatres in gyms, and how a headscarf can change everything.
TGUK – Thank you for chatting to us Rob. To start with, can you tell us what Gypsy Queen is about?
RW – It is fundamentally a gay love story about two men who meet in, and come from, worlds which as far as sexuality is concerned, are two of the most difficult. They are both boxers, and both are in the midst of a testosterone fuelled environment as they fall in love and have to keep their love secret from their family, trainers and the media. The play looks at modern day masculinity; but for one of them, “Gorgeous” George O’Connell, he also has to contend with his traveller background, which is a community where attitudes towards homosexuality, masculinity and religion all combine. All of these elements come together to create discussions points arising from the play, but ultimately, and at its heart, it is a good humoured love story.
TGUK – And where did the story come from?
RW – A few years ago, boxer Tyson Fury made a number of comments about the gay community, appearing to conflate abortion and homosexuality with paedophilia and saying homosexuality will contribute towards the end of the world. At the time, I had a short 10 minute play about two gay boxers and I was trying to find way of expanding the story when Tyson Fury made his comments. I wondered why he was so hung up on people being gay, and I thought “what if he is gay himself?”, and this led to opening up of the character I now have in the play. At the time, there were calls for the BBC to remove Fury from the Sports Personality of the Year shortlist that year, but they didn’t. I really wanted there to be a reflection of this in the play. The media have a certain responsibility in my view, and there was a real sense of public feeling that the BBC were holding him out as a role model, when actually he should have removed him from the shortlist for his comments.
TGUK – There is a real issue with homosexuality in mainstream sport, how does Gypsy Queen address that?
RW – It’s really important to tell this story; it is about having gay sporting role models. I am interested in writing about outsiders, and for me growing up as a sports fan, I saw no gay role models in that world. I was brought up in a very sporting family. I was in a very male dominated world during my upbringing, I went to an all-boys school, I was in a family which were very sporty, and for me it was incompatible to be into sport and be gay. Things are very slowly changing. There are people like Tom Daley and Gareth Thomas who have come out, but there are few openly gay professional sportsmen.
Looking at the boxing world, there are still many homophobic comments made. There are still no out footballers in the UK – you still get incidents of homophobia in football; recently a Chelsea fan was suspended for making homophobic chants at an away match in Brighton. Last year, we had an ex-professional German [football] player come to see the show. He told us that he had come out after he had retired, even though he was playing as late as 2012 or 2013. He talked about how he kept his sexuality secret because of a lot of locker room banter from players; and homophobic comments being freely and openly made; for example, he spoke about how one of the other players was having a massage session with a physiotherapist, who said “if you were gay, I wouldn’t be letting you touch me”.
TGUK – What do you think is needed in professional sport to address the issue of sexuality?
RW – We have initiatives like Stonewall Rainbow Laces, but campaigns like these don’t get the mass media coverage which is needed, and you have clubs turning schemes like this down. It is almost like some clubs are paying lip service to the issue. There is a real need for change and it has to come from the boardrooms. There is, in my view, a real lack of understanding of diversity in sport, and the powers that be in the sporting world need to get to grips with it to affect long term positive change.
TGUK – This is the third tour for the show; was coming back to it like slipping back into a well-worn pair of boxing gloves?
RW – Absolutely. We are just about finishing rehearsals, and in respect of the main show we were able to get up to speed with it quite quickly; but this time round we have a special performance in a boxing gym in Manchester, and for this, we have planned a family friendly version of the show so that some younger members of the gym can come to see the play. Doing a toned down version has been interesting, as we have had to cut out the swearing and the nudity for that one show; and it is often difficult to avoid going into auto-pilot and sticking to the original script which contains both.
John Askew and Ryan Clayton (c) PR supplied
TGUK – So in terms of the main play, has it changed much from previous tours, and is there anything new for people who have seen the show before?
RW – The show has developed over the years. Early in the initial tour, when we had been able to gauge the reaction of an audience, we did develop some aspects of the play further to reflect how people had reacted, and to look at what worked well and what needed revisiting. As with any new piece of writing, you often never quite get the sense of how a scene works until it is in front of an audience, and so throughout the 2017 tour, and into the summer of that year at the Edinburgh Fringe, we got the show to where we were happiest with it. On this tour, we have had a great actor by the name of John Askew join us for part of the tour and when he came into rehearsals, he had some fresh ideas and suggestions. As a writer and a performer, I like rehearsals to be collaborative; you want people to express their opinions on things. It’s really useful to get a second perspective. We had it nailed down with Ryan Clayton, who will be sharing the role with John; but when John first came into the rehearsal room, there were some tweaks and changes, so in many ways, there has been a constantly evolving process with the play.
TGUK – What type of reaction have you had from the travelling community and the boxing community?
RW – One of the things we hope to achieve is to reach out to new audiences. The travelling community is difficult to access, but we have reached out to a travelling community in Newport, and we are hoping that they are able to come to the play.
It was really interesting, as when we were performing in London, we had a gay traveller come along to the show and he spoke with us afterwards, saying how one of the things he liked most about the show was the realism of it. He was a writer for the Traveller Times, and he had previously written about the how the comments made by Tyson Fury historically did not represent what Traveller men are like; he said that there was an image portrayed by the media in terms of the travelling community, and that in the play, whilst there are displays of masculinity and homophobia in the community, there is the possibility for individuals to be different and for them to move away from what has been the dominant view of the community historically.
We do try to show balance within the portrayal of the Travelling community, there is toxic masculinity and an old school catholic view, but it is important to show that not everyone subscribes to that mind-set. In terms of the boxing community, it has been very difficult because when you play theatres, you appeal to certain audiences; which are why on this tour, we are trying to reach out to gyms and groups with a sporting interest. This tour is the first time we are taking the show into a gym, and I’m really looking forward to seeing how they react. We have had people in theatres leaving when the two lead characters started kissing, but during the first run we did in Edinburgh, a friend was in the audience and told us that there were two Irish lads behind him who came out of the theatre saying “I wasn’t expecting that, I thought it was just about boxing, but it was alright that”.
Rob Ward (c) PR supplied
TGUK – Gypsy Queen has just two actors playing multiple roles. Was that a creative choice or more to do with the financial constraints of putting on a new piece of theatre?
RW – Initially, one of the themes of the play was to question “what is masculinity” and I liked the idea of two actors playing cocky, Northern, hard lads who, with something as simple as putting on a different shirt or a headscarf, transform into the camp boyfriend or the foul mouthed mother. As a general style, I have always liked seeing people playing multiple roles, as it is quite theatrical and, for the performer, it’s quite fun and playful. I ultimately want my writing to be fun to watch and fun to perform; and I think that the audience also enjoy spotting the visual cues about which character is coming on stage next. I liked the juxtaposition and thought it would be really interesting to go from these hard boxers to these softer characters, but as the show develops, you see that the characters that appear to be the softer, more gentile ones, such as Dane, the camp, flamboyant boyfriend, are actually incredibly strong in their own right, and this is reflected in how the story develops.
TGUK – Gypsy Queen is heading out on tour now, but what plans are there for the show after that?
RW – We are really excited to be taking the show to Canada and have just had confirmation of the booking there. We would like to tie this in the USA as well; so from a theatre point of view, we would like to get the show touring the US and Australia. We are also looking at the possibility of a screenplay for the show, so that is incredibly exciting in itself. But for now, our focus is on the current tour and putting everything we have at it to make it a piece of must see theatre for not just the gay community but also the wider community.
Gypsy Queen is now on national tour, details of which can be found at www.gypsyqueentour.com
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Back in 2018 the showman showed off his new boyfriends introducing them as Daniel and Mike – and then proceeded to give the best part about being with each of the boys, for Daniel he said, “his d**k” and for Mike, it was his brains “Mike is also very smart”.
But now despite “growing so much” from the relationship Frankie revealed that that the dymamic wasn’t working for him anymore with double the highs and double the lows.
“Double the highs and Double the lows”
https://www.instagram.com/p/BrR1Yjfl5q8/
He said,
“I’m super grateful for my last relationship. I grew so much in it, [but] at the same time, it wasn’t working out anymore
“You have double the highs, double the excitement… but also double the lows, double the drama,’
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Well, it’s a brand new game which involves timing how long it takes you to climax from the first touch, without using any visual stimulants or a “fluffer” but by just using the “filth stored in your w**kbank”.
We were alerted to the game by porn star, Jack Wilson, who demonstrated the concept with an astonishing game time of just 1 minute and 21 seconds.
Yes, basically it’s seeing how long it takes you to cum by masturbation without watching porn or having someone else helping you out.
Writing on Twitter Jack said, “THE GAME. Without using any porn or a fluffer how fast can you cum from flop to drop just by using the filth stored in your wankbank? #floptodropchallenge”
A ruthless teenager has been jailed for life after being found guilty of the brutal murder of another man, in his own home.
(C) GMP
19-year-old Daniel Kurmelovs (22/05/2000) of Dalton Road, Middleton was sentenced to life with a minimum of 25 years after being found guilty of the murder of a fifty-three-year-old man, Frank Lennon, at Manchester Crown Court, Crown Square.
Kurmelovs had strangled his victim to death and try to cover his tracks by splashing the body with toothpaste and cleaning products in an attempt to cover his tracks. After murdering Frank, Kurmelovs ransacked his victim’s home and stole cash, jewellery and other items.
Frank’s body was discovered by his siblings after they failed to hear back from him over the weekend. They went to his flat where they sadly discovered his body.
Strangled, fractured ribs and cuts to his ears
A post mortem determined that Frank had been killed by a compression to the neck. He also suffered fractured ribs and other injuries including cuts to his ear, which Kurmelovs had done with scissors in a bid to see whether Frank was still alive.
During the trial, the court heard how on the evening of Friday 20 July 2018, Frank had met Kurmelovs in a chance meeting in Manchester’s gay village.
The pair walked towards Chorlton Street bus station before catching a taxi to Frank’s home where they were intimate. They then walked inside his flat on Hamerton Road, Collyhurst shortly before 10 pm.
Six days later – having dramatically altered his appearance by shaving his head – Kurmelovs visited a friend in Middleton where he admitted to murdering a man for his cigarettes which he then attempted to sell.
Officers were alerted and Kurmelovs was arrested.
Senior Investigating Officer Bob Tonge, of GMP’s Major Incident Team, said, “Kurmelovs brutally murdered Frank in his own home. Not satisfied that he was dead, he even took some scissors and cut Frank’s ear – an attempt, he claimed, to see if he was alive.
“Frank also suffered fractured ribs at the hands of Kurmelovs who undeterred by his actions, set about ransacking his flat and stealing his possessions which he brazenly tried to sell just days later.
“Kurmelovs tried to suggest that his actions were accidental and eventually pleaded guilty to manslaughter but thankfully the jury were able to see through that excuse and today convicted him of murder.
“My thoughts remain with Frank’s family who have had to sit through the agony of a trial and the suffering of Kurmelovs’ excuses but I hope today can provide them with some comfort, knowing the man responsible is locked away where he can’t harm anyone else.”
“Loved by all”
(C) GMP
Paying tribute to Frank, his family said, “Frank was much loved by all his family and friends and had much life ahead of him.
“Frank was taken from us in July in completely unnecessary circumstances. We cannot express how devastated we are that his life has been stolen from him.
“Frank is missed every minute of every day.
“Today his killer has been sentenced, and justice has been served.
“We can try to repair our heartache although no matter how long the sentence is, it will not bring Frank back or make our loss any easier.
“We need to attempt to move on and hopefully today will now provide closure for our pain over the last few months, however, we will never forget Frank or the many memories he has given us.
“We would like to thank everyone who has supported us over the past few months.”
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Bruce McArthur has pleaded guilty to the murder of eight men in the city of Toronto.
Bruce McArthur pleaded guilty on Tuesday (January 29) to the first-degree murders of eight men between 2010 and 2017. McArthur appeared at the Superior Court of Justice, in Toronto where he entered guilty pleas for the killings of Kirushna Kumar Kanagaratnam, Majeed Kayhan, Skandaraj (Skanda) Navaratnam and Abdulbasir Faizi, Selim Esen, Soroush Mahmudi, Dean Lisowick and Andrew Kinsman.
Despite pleading his crime he did not answer as to why he had killed the men.
Seven of McArthur’s victims were known to Toronto’s gay community, and some of them were also immigrants from South Asia or the Middle East.
During the trial, the court heard how many of his victims were dismembered and buried in planters. McArthur was a self-employed landscape gardener.
Toronto Police detective David Dickinson said, “We are pleased that McArthur has pleaded guilty, sparing the communities and families a lengthy trial.
“This is the best outcome… I hope we can start bringing some closure to the families and the communities.”
The police have not yet finished investigating cold cases with Dickinson adding, “It’s not ending any time soon.”
When asked why McArthur committed the murders, the Detective added, “I don’t know if we will ever know why.”
Arthur will be sentenced in early February.
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Christian business owners Joanna Duka and Breanna Koski in the US are even going to court to fight for the right to ensure they are not forced to provide services to gay people getting married. The duo makes and sell wedding invitations and say that their Christian beliefs are so strong that they shouldn’t be forced to make products for LGBT+ people getting hitched. They also believe that their freedom of speech is being curtailed.
They had their legal counsel, Kate Anderson from ADF Legal, speak to the rather silent media pool about their decision to take their case to the Arizona Supreme Court.
It all boils down to the fact that Joanna and Breanna feel that making gay marriage invitations would go against their religious beliefs and should be able to do this without being punished. This is despite the fact that they’ve never been actually undertaken a job to make invitations for any same-sex couples before they brought the case.
Duka and Koski’s business is called Brush & Nib Studios and is based out of Arizona, and Arizona state law forbids companies from discriminating against the LGBT+ community.
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The controversial journalist, Milo Yiannopoulos has shared pictures of his dress shirts he says were destroyed by airport security.
(C) Milo Yiannopoulos / Instagram
Milo Yiannopoulos has ranted on Instagram that the TSA in the US has “destroyed” two of his $1000 dress shirts and “stolen” a third. Publishing to the platform, Milo revealed that when he received his luggage back after a flight that two of his $1000 shirts had been smeared with a brown substance. Some users had even though that the stain looked as though it could be faeces or urine. (more…)
The boyfriend and family of a young man who died after taking his own life is to host a party in his honour to raise money for the charity, YoungMinds.
Lee, who died last year with his boyfriend, Nathan.
The family and boyfriend of a young man who died after taking his life last year are hoping to raise much needed funds for the leading mental health charity, YoungMinds by putting on a party to celebrate his life. He died just a month before his 18th birthday.
Lee’s family is fundraising for the charity via a GoFundMe page with the proceeds going directly to help with YoungMinds’ mission.
Writing on the page, Nathan wrote, “We are hosting this party a year on to celebrate his life and regroup as friends and family. I’ll go dressed as a unicorn, as I am sure my boy would want me to (he loved them!)”.
Lee with his Mum and his siblings
Speaking to THEGAYUK, Nathan told us about Lee saying, “He was warm, kind and exceptionally thoughtful. I knew from the moment we met that he would be a huge part of my life”.
The pair met in Liverpool, where on their first date, they “walked along the docks and read all of the padlocks”.
When Nathan went to university, the pair became penpals, Nathan told us, “He was my pen pal too, we would write each other letters, even though he would come and visit me at university”.
Nathan also told us what life has been like following Lee’s passing saying, “My advice is to talk. Make the most of the people you love and care about. Try not to be unkind.
Lee and Nathan together.
“Someone’s mental state doesn’t bleed like a wound, nor can it be fixed with a plaster. It’s so much more complicated. You cannot see it, but so often people are bleeding.
“If you are hurting, remember that your pain is felt by many people. All people have bad days and most people get through them. Please find the strength to realise that everyone is blessed with the ability to listen. Your parents, your friends. Your doctor. Talking might not help at first, but it’s a start. Begin helping others and begin helping yourself”.
If you are in the UK, you can call the Samaritans on 116 123 if you are struggling with mental health issues. You can donate by clicking here.
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In the UK tipping in a restaurant is discretionary, but usually most people tip between 10 and 12.5 percent (sometimes that 12.5 percent is actually added on by the restaurant as an option, which you can ask to have removed, but most of us don’t).
In the USA however, tipping in restaurants is essential and it’s pretty steep in comparison to the British way of tipping. When eating out, you are expected to add a whopping 20 percent to your total bill, which can really add to your meal’s total.
Step in, Internet-turned-porn star, Chris Crocker, who opened the debate on tipping, posting a video of him giving a $40 tip on a $14 bill saying, “don’t complain about the tipping when it’s literally part of the dining experience, bitch, if you don’t want to tip, don’t dine the f**k out.
He continued, “We’re not living in Europe where their (servers) hourly pay is built into the situation,” before adding, “Waiters waitresses, bar tenders are juggeling college, children… they’re making $2 an hour, having to split their tips with their co-workers. If you’ve got a problem tipping, sit your ass at home bitch”.
Minimum Wage
In the UK there is a minimum wage (£8.21 for adults over the age of 25 from April 2019) which employers must pay their wait staff, however in the US employers do not have to pay the $7.25 minimum wage to tipped staff and can go as low as $2.13 per hour, as long as tips equals at the minimum wage.
Well, the Internet came at the situation from all sides.
Yes, 20% plus, is a fair tip….I have friends that bust their asses serving people….and those that give you good, friendly service and work hard, WELL deserve it! Cheers to all of them! ?????? pic.twitter.com/hw8YZXeeiv
So is it okay to tip at least 15%? Just curious…. I try to tip 15% or more if I’m able. I used to waitress and had to rely on my tips to feed my family and pay bills
Well, it was started during prohibition. Restaurants were dying and they encouraged tipping so they could pay servers less….It never ended. So yes, it is incredibly ridiculous. But this shit shouldn’t be an excuse to screw over the people stuck in this shitty situation.
Mdrrrr t’as raison mon pote. En France elles sont payées à l’heure et le concept du tips nous est totalement inconnu. Après est ce que si un jour je vais aux U.S.A je vais respecter la ” tips culture “? Aucune idée. Je ne pense pas.
No. No other job gets tipped. Doctors don’t get tipped. Police don’t get tipped. Teachers don’t get tipped. Why should someone who just brought you over food get tipped. Tipping is bs. They should be served minimum wage by the employer.
Fix the wages for servers. Because her eating shouldn’t be based on how generous people she doesn’t work for are. Tips should be her extra money. Not yet damned rent .
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A man who was racist and homophobic towards people heading to Brighton Pride has been jailed for more than four years.
Ryan Brown was heading to Pride himself when he threatened to ‘knock a woman out’ and shouted racist and homophobic terms at train passengers.
The incident happened shortly after 5pm on Saturday 5 August 2017.
The 31-year-old from Crawley, West Sussex, resisted arrest in Brighton and had to be restrained by BTP officers.
In his pocket he had a large number of small bags containing MDMA.
He was found guilty of possessing class A drugs with intent to supply and causing fear of violence through racially charged and homophobic language.
Brown was also sentenced at the same time for a separate matter which included affray, criminal damage, and assault with intent to resist arrest which he pleaded guilty to in December 2018.
He was jailed for four years and six months at Hove Crown Court on Thursday 10 January.
British Transport Police DC Imogen Sweeney said, “I would like to thank the victim in this case. She was subjected to a frightening ordeal by Brown, receiving homophobic abuse and witnessing racist abuse.
“She has remained determined to pursue justice throughout this investigation and I have nothing but admiration and praise for her strength.
“Brighton Pride celebrates diversity and equality, values that Brown clearly needs education in. I believe this sentence reflects the seriousness and particularly nasty nature of his offending on that day.”
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