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  • MYSTYLE | Raph Solo

    MYSTYLE | Raph Solo

    We catch up with out singer-songwriter Raph Solo to find out what his style is all about

    Raph Solo

    WATCH: I don’t wear a watch, I don’t like to wear much jewelry but if I had to, Cartier would my choice.

    FRAGRANCE: Fahrenheit by Dior the original, very musky and sexy! I like that!

    CLOTHING BRAND(S):
    UPTOWN: I don’t do much designer stuff, for stage and / or performances and videos – most of my
    out ts / costumes are custom made especially for me.
    DOWNTOWN: For every day – I like to keep it simple. Black is my favourite color and I am more into sporty/ athletic gear. When I dress up I like to keep it slick and classic.

    MYTOWN: I like house parties with people I know playing music drinking champagne and cocktails and talking about fun and silly things and catching up with friends. London is so busy it’s nice to get a chance to do that. Otherwise I like beach parties when I wanna do the clubbing circuit thing.

    FAVOURITE DRINK: I like tequila and Champagne and of course a sweet Rosé wine.

    FAVOURITE RESTAURANT: Pierre Victoire on Dean Street in Soho, London is great for food and good value for money.

    FAVOURITE PLACE TO GO ON A FIRST DATE: any low-key restaurant or a straight British pub to have a pint of lager (beer). Dinner can be cool but if it’s too fancy it doesn’t feel sexy for me. I like to slum it with a guy a little at rst and I am attracted to non- materialistic types.

    FAVOURITE TRAVEL DESTINATION: I like Spain. Miami.Greek Islands. Anywhere sunny.

    FAVOURITE BOOK: Friendship With God – still my favourite book and of course I am gonna plug my own book – The Memoirs of Angel King.

    THREE TOP SONGS ON MY PLAYLIST:
    “Say A Little Prayer” by Aretha,
    “Only Girl” by Rihanna
    “Sorry” (Pet Shop Boys Remix) by Madonna.

    FAVOURITE GADGET: My iPad.

    QUOTE TO LIVE BY: “Do unto others as you would have done unto you”.

    FINISH THIS SENTENCE: “What’s yours is yours and what’s not will never be…” I believe you do your best and the rest you  need to trust in some sort of predestined order. I still do my best to make things happen if I feel I can’t give up on it I
    follow my heart.

     

  • Andrew Hayden-Smith is curing the Friday thirst

    Andrew Hayden-Smith is curing the Friday thirst

    Out actor Andrew Hayden-Smith has taken some time to remind us that he’s capable of curing even the deepest thirst.

    CREDIT: Andrew Hayden Smith/ Instagram

     

    Actor Andrew Hayden-Smith, former cover star for THEGAYUK has taken to Instagram to upload a couple of cheeky gym shots to remind us to get working out for the summer.

     

    The actor who recently joined the cast of Holyoaks (along with Duncan James) is looking better than ever…

     

     

  • Tara McDonald releases gay anthem for pride

    Tara McDonald releases gay anthem for pride

    The undisputed queen of Dance Music, Tara McDonald (My My My) is setting the dance floor on fire with her brand new track I Need A Miracle.

    The new track, “I Need A Miracle” by Tara McDonald is the official track for EuroPride and has already made number 1 in Belgium and 25 in France. The video has racked up hundreds of thousands of plays on YouTube.

    Speaking about the decision to make the single the official Europride anthem McDonald said she was “overjoyed”.

    This year Europride is taking place in Amsterdam between the 23rd July and 7th August 2016.

  • Complaints made after gay contestant calls gay men “bum boys”

    Complaints made after gay contestant calls gay men “bum boys”

    Complaints have surfaced on social media after Big Brother contestant Sam Giffen, who is openly gay called BB love birds, Ryan and Hughie “bum boys”.

    Sam Giffen.

    Tensions have risen in the Big Brother house and contestants Sam Giffen is being accused of being homophobic after calling on air lovers, Ryan and Hughie “bum boys” during a dispute.

    (C) Channel 5
    (C) Channel 5
    (C) Channel 5
    (C) Channel 5

    During the dispute, Griffen yelled, “Everyone’s shouting in my face. I’ve done nothing wrong”, before adding that he wouldn’t be abused by “bum boys”.

    Channel 5
    Channel 5

     

    It did not go down well with viewers who were on on social media who called Giffen out on his langauge and accused him of “making homophobic comments” and were surprised that a gay man would use the term “bum boy.”

    One BBUK fan tweeted,

    “Sam calling Hughie and Ryan bum boys. That’s whats wrong with the gay community. Gays making homophobic comments to other gays. Sick.”

    Another added,

    “BBUK on catch up! Just cos Sam’s gay doesn’t mean it’s ok for him to call Hughie and Ryan Bum Boys!! Bang out of order!! Sort him BB!”

  • Adam Lambert stuns in X Factor pictures

    Adam Lambert stuns in X Factor pictures

    Adam Lambert has shared the first pictures from his time as a judge on the Australian version of X FACTOR.

     

    Adam Lambert looks stunning in pictures he’s published from his first days as a judge on the Australian version of the talent show X FACTOR.

    https://www.instagram.com/p/BHQoaFKDQnX/?taken-by=adamlambert

     

    He’s already being hailed as the perfect judge, having come from a similar show, American Idol, and having managed to carve a successful career after the show’s end, selling millions of records around the world.

     

    https://www.instagram.com/p/BHQYaN0jfEb/?taken-by=adamlambert

     

    The openly gay 34-year-old “Never Close Our Eyes” singer looks relaxed and happy in the candid photos as he poses with co-judge Iggy Azalea and returning judge Guy Sebastian.

     

    https://www.instagram.com/p/BHPij2Dj7XX/?taken-by=adamlambert

    This isn’t the first time Adam has judged on a talent show he sat in as a guest judge with Jennifer Lopez and Harry Connick Jr. on American Idol

     

  • Service helping people living with HIV get back into work relaunched

    The Terrence Higgins Trust has relaunched its Work Positive campaign which aims to help people living with HIV back into work.

    CREDIT: ©-monkeybusiness-Depositphotos
    CREDIT: ©-monkeybusiness-Depositphotos

     

    The UK’s biggest HIV charity Terrence Higgins Trust has relaunched a service that aims to help people living with HIV in London, Essex, Brighton, Shrewsbury and Cambridge to get back to work.

    According to the charity, 25 per cent of people with HIV are out of work, and the Positive programme aims to provide work experience, mentoring, peer support, employment coaching and training for people with HIV who have been unemployed for two years.

    With funding from the Big Lottery Fund the service will relaunch for the sixth year. It is accepting application until 7th August

    Micael, who completed Work Positive last year, said,

    “I’d tried other back to work schemes before but I wasn’t getting anywhere and when I left for the day the support stopped, but with Work Positive I was made to feel like a real person, who could contribute to society.

    “Ruth gave me the opportunity to get out and get work, but the programme also gave me the wider support I needed to live a happy and healthy life, like helping me eat well – and on the morning of my graduation I was offered a paid job!”

    Ruth Burns, Work Positive co-ordinator at Terrence Higgins Trust, says,

    “The Work Positive Programme has gone from strength to strength over the last six years. Every year we see our participants transform into confident professionals who are a real asset to the workplace.

    “We want this year’s scheme to be just as successful, and we encourage anyone with HIV who feels they need a boost onto the career ladder to apply.”

  • Lord Paddick warns that Snoopers’ Charter could harm LGBT community

    Lord Paddick has warned that the Investigatory Powers Bill (Snoopers’ Charter) could have dire consequences for the LGBT community.

    Credit LD Flickr / CC

     

    The Liberal Democrat peer, Brian Paddick has warned against the Government backed Snooper’s Charter, which will allow police to seize the online data and communications from anyone suspected of a crime without a court ordered warrant.

    The proposed law would require internet service providers (ISP) to keep records of every website that everyone in the UK visits for 12 months. It would require ISPs to hand over those records to police without a warrant, if they suspect a crime has taken place.

    Speaking in the House of Lords, Lord Paddick said,

    “Homophobia has been encountered in the police service, as has unauthorised disclosure of confidential information. ‘If you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear’ is not the same as ‘If you have done nothing wrong, you have nothing to worry about.

    “Even if the police were to be trusted completely, massive pools — oceans — of data in the custody of private companies such as TalkTalk, one of the internet service providers that will be asked to store such data, would be sitting ducks for hackers, criminals, blackmailers and hostile foreign powers.

     

    © belchonock Depositphotos

     

    He went on to outline that the proposal would cost an additional £1bn in set up costs. He also suggested that security services such as M15, M16 and GCHQ, for which this law would most likely aid, did not need the Snoopers’ Charter to do their job in protecting the UK, because the data that they collect can be gained by other means.

    “The RUSI panel set up by Nick Clegg when he was Deputy Prime Minister set out 10 tests for the intrusion of privacy. It is those 10 tests on which our opposition to parts of the Bill is based.

    “One of the tests is that there must be transparency: how the law applies to the citizen must be evident. How many people in the UK know that 12 months of their web history—albeit the website that they are looking at rather than any further pages on that website—will be kept in case the police want to see it, as a result of this Bill’s provisions?

    “The intrusion must be necessary in that there are no other practical means of achieving the objective. The security services MI5, MI6 and GCHQ say that they do not need internet connection records because they can get the information they need by other means.

    “The intrusion must be proportionate to the advantages gained, not just in cost and resources but also through a judgment that the degree of intrusion is matched by the seriousness of the harm prevented. Internet service providers reckon that this will cost more than £1 billion in set-up costs alone.

    “The measure may not provide the police with the website someone has visited because it is so easy to conceal it. It will not give the police any information about whether, or with whom, someone was communicating without making further inquiry of other companies such as Facebook, because almost all online communication is encrypted.

    “If a serious crime is involved—the Minister listed a range of serious crimes that the Bill is intended to cover, including child sexual exploitation and terrorism—the security services, which do not need internet connection records, are duty bound to assist the police with their inquiries. We therefore need some convincing that internet connection records are both necessary and proportionate.”

    ALSO READ: Why is the Conservative government so interested in the porn we watch?

     

  • Andrew Christian underwear model dies

    Andrew Christian underwear model dies

    A 26-year-old underwear model and soap actor has died after falling from the seventh floor of a luxury apartment.

    CREDIT: Jorge Ilich / Instagram

     

    A Venezuelan underwear model and actor, Jorge Ilich, 26, has died after apparently committing suicide. He was most famous for appearing in adverts from renown underwear designer Andrew Christian and for appearing in the Venezuelan soap opera, Heart Esmeralda.

    He was killed after he fell from the Flamingo Towers in Miami Beach, Florida on Sunday evening.

    CREDIT: Google Maps 2016

     

    It is believed he fell 7 stories and police do not suspect foul play at this time saying that his death looks like a suicide.

    CREDIT: Jorge Ilich / Instagram

    Speaking about his career in 2015 to friend Tom Peak, Ilich said, “I’m happy with my life.  I’m doing amazing”

    Ilich had been a model since the age of 15.

    If you are affected by this article and you need to talk to someone please call Switchboard on  0300 0330 0600 or the Samaritans on 116 123

  • 60 SECOND FILM REVIEW | Independence Day : Resurgence

    60 SECOND FILM REVIEW | Independence Day : Resurgence

    INDEPENDENCE DAY: RESURGENCE – The aliens are back to try and take over the world and destroy some more well-known landmarks 20 years after the first campy sci-fi classic. The effects have moved on greatly but has the story gone with it?

    (C) CREDIT: Fox

    Nutshell – Same format almost exactly but everything is a lot bigger and noisier this time. A random bunch of unconnected characters all have their moments just like last time and are all needed in some way to defeat a much bigger threat from outer space. This time the aliens mean business with only one ship but here it lands in the Atlantic ‘Which bit ? a character asks ‘the whole of it as this warship is 3,000 miles across’ is the reply and their plans are even more full on this time, but us humans have some new extraterrestrial help too.

    Time – 121 mins; Certificate – 12A

    Tagline – ‘We had twenty years to prepare….so did they’.

    THE GAY UK FACTOR – The younger Hemsworth brother the hunky Liam for a full two hours in military uniform is the main attraction here. His brother Chris (Thor) has been at the very top of our wank bank for years but his younger sibling has the same Aussie man’s man muscle look!

    Cast – Liam ‘megabulge’ Hemsworth, Jeff Goldblum, Vivian A Fox, Judd Hirst, Bill Pullman basically everyone is back except Will Smith who obviously knew something the others didn’t (and wanted far too much cash – see below).

    Key Player – Jeff Goldblum is pure class, he eats up the screen and brings his much loved puzzled scientist from, The Fly and Jurassic Park films front and centre here as he slowly works out at the same pace as we do what the big bad’s are really up too.

    Budget – $165 Million a full $100m more than the first film now that’s inflation for you and it doesn’t make it a better film one bit. It will make profit as all brands tend to do but it won’t make enough to kickstart a third film which is somewhat trailed here (and was the original plan).

    Best Bit – 0.31 mins; A very tense rooftop hospital rescue which is genuinely nail biting and you won’t guess how the scene ends as it has the movies best twist.

    Worst Bit – 0.33 mins; As London gets demolished instead of Washington DC and New York last time we hit special effect overload as the good guys attempt their escape. Its effects look poor because they are, the scenario does not work at all and it is ludicrously unbelievable, unthrilling and you won’t care about the outcome which is pretty obvious anyway.

    Little Secret – The original film ID1 was the second highest grossing film of all time when it was released behind Jeff Goldblum’s other hit Jurassic Park. Will Smith was due to reprised his role here but Fox Studio turned down his record-breaking fee of $50 Million.

    Further Viewing – ID 1, War Of The Worlds, Mars Attacks, Alien 2, Predator, The Day The Earth Stood Still & V The classic TV series.

    Any Good – ID 2 is fine, no more no less. It is not a classic like the first one and it hugely misses the presence of Will Smith and his ‘Welcome to earth’ one liners. The fault is with the same director Roland Emmerich who this time is simply just phoning it in, this needs a much better story and more threat. We cannot remember a film when less would have been so much more than we have here – the first film was truly superb and had so many great ideas crammed in this one doesn’t and isn’t.

    Rating – 74/100 (74th out of the last 100 films reviewed with 1 being best and 100 being a damp squib).

    ORDER From Amazon | iTunes

  • MPs up for PM role announced

    MPs up for PM role announced

    Five candidates have now confirmed that they are running for the top job in the UK.

    Theresa May, Stephen Crabb, Michael Gove,  Andrea Leadsom and Liam Fox have announced their intentions to become Britain’s next top politician.

    All have troubling pasts when it comes to LGBT rights, with No votes and absenteeism rife among the candidates during key LGBT+ legislations.

    Theresa May has managed to evolve on her LGBT stance, but Stephen Crabb and Liam Fox were vehemently opposed to LGBT rights during the same-sex marriage vote in 2013. Andrea Leadsom refused to vote on any LGBT legislation.

    To see the candidates’ voting history on LGBT issues check out our information page.

    ALSO READ: Gay4May campaign launches – with some in the LGBT community supporting Theresa’s race for Prime Minister

    ALSO READ: Stephen Crabb launches campaign for Prime Minister

  • Online campaign “Gays 4 May” launched

    A grassroots online campaign with members of the LGBT+ community supporting Theresa May has been launched.

    The Gays4May, campaign supporting Theresa May‘s bid for the top job of Prime Minister told THEGAYUK that they wanted “stability” and someone who would “deliver the best Brexit deal for Britain.”

    “We’re like everyone else – we also want stability and someone who’ll deliver the best Brexit deal for Britain.

    “May has also got a track record at the Home Office, managing one of the most difficult jobs in government over the last six years, and has consistently backed efforts to deal with hate crime which is a clear concern for LGBT Brits.

    “We need to see this work continued with a strong advocate for LGBTs at Number 10.”

    Theresa May launched her bid for PM today, saying,

    “My pitch is very simple. My name is Theresa May and I think I’m the best person to be PM of this country”

    https://twitter.com/Gays4May/status/748287667922673664

    The race for the next Prime Minister was triggered after David Cameron resigned after the UK voted to leave the EU last week.

    Speaking about May’s voting history on LGBT issues, a spokesperson for the Gays4May campaign said,

    “It’s fair to say Theresa’s been on a journey when it comes to gay rights. This will be familiar to many of us when we consider the reaction and attitudes of our friends and family.

    “Theresa’s track record in many ways reflects the country as a whole. We’re fundamentally a tolerant nation. So we can look at the votes of 20 years ago or we can look at her support for gay couples seeking to adopt of 2010, her whole-hearted support for gay marriage of 2013 and her work tackling extremism and promoting equality.

    This is a campaign to vote for the candidate and the programme that’s before us today.”

     

    If she is successful in her bid to become the next leader May will be the second female Prime Minister and the second woman to lead the Conservatives after Margaret Thatcher.

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