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  • COLUMN | Super(Gay)Man

    I was watching an interiors program the other night and, unsurprisingly, the majority of male participants were gay.

    This led me to ponder why it is that gay people are so talented in the fields of the arts? We’re prominent in theatre, dance and design. Fashion would be stuck in the doldrums without us. The world of hairstyling would be severely depleted and there’d be a lot less fancy window displays in the big shops. Do we have a special gene? Is it a class we all take at gay school? Are we just born amazing, with an eye for colour and where to put an accented scatter cushion?

    We’ve got comedy cracked with our acerbic wit. We can write, sing and paint with amazing results. We’re even infiltrating sports with our buffed physiques teetering on the edges of diving boards and our good legs managing to kick balls about whilst looking hot in shorts. Is there no limit to our talents?

    If you listen to our detractors; we can topple governments, corrupt children and make whole nations quake with just a click of our delicately manicured fingers. We can have whole countries living in terror of us, leading them to pass laws to suppress us, trying to make us impotent and powerless. Religions pass judgements on us just so that they can try to hide our clearly superior talents.

    Is there nothing we can’t do? Maybe we’re the master race. We’re a force to be reckoned with, strong, talented and amazing with a little bit of fabulousness and good skin to add to the mix.

    ..or maybe we’re just people. Maybe that’s why we terrify some people so much. We’re just a group of people who happen to be gay and are pretty much the same as people who don’t happen to be gay, with a varying range and mix of talents and characteristics.

    Now that must be truly terrifying for some people.

  • FILM REVIEW | A Most Violent Year, Playing it straight can work – Sometimes

    Abel Morales wants to pursue the ‘American dream’ the right way. However, his pushy wife Anna thinks otherwise. She is the daughter of the Brooklyn mobster who sold his small Heating Oil business to Morales in the first place, and Anna is well aware that if they are to be successful they will first have to effectively deal with thugs who run competitive businesses by far means and foul. Mainly the latter.

    It’s obvious from the start of the movie when yet another of Morales’s tankers are hijacked and the driver is badly beaten that whoever is behind these incidents means to put the Morales out of business. As Anna keeps nagging to remind him, they are effectively at war. The trouble is they are not quite sure who with.

    It’s the 1980s and in a crime-ridden New York City it is tough for a business like Morales not to have to resort to play dirty tricks to survive. He has signed the biggest deal of his career to date when he agrees to buy an Oil Terminal from a group of savvy Hassidic Jews, and if fails to complete the purchase on time he stands to lose everything, including the oversized ‘macmansion’ he has just bought in the suburbs. When news of the deal goes public, then the campaign of terror against him is stepped up to try and ensure that he will not have enough funds to close the deal.

    If that is not enough trouble, the Assistant D.A. is out to make a name for himself and be seen to be cleaning up the ‘dirty’ oil industry and is looking to charge Morales with multiple offences. This includes fraud and cooking the books, the latter being one of Anna’s more accomplished talents.

    This taut multi-layered tale of corruption and treachery is the third feature from writer/director J.C. Chandor who made such a splash with his debut movie Margin Call in 2010 that became a sleeper hit. Chandor keeps the tension packed until the final credits roll when Morales, determined to keep to the moral ground, realises he has to be tougher than both the thugs out to ruin him but also his wife who has no problem at all resorting to whatever it takes to keep her family together and the business in tact.

    With a really compelling performance from Oscar Isaac looking more like a new George Clooney matinee idol in every movie he stars in, who with his heavy Brooklyn accent is perfectly cast as Morales. He has such a commanding presence and its clear to see how he has jumped up into leading man status since his breakthrough performance in Inside Llewyn Davies. Plus Jessica Chastain forsaking her copper tresses and going bossy blond, is splendid as the matter-of-fact tough cookie Anna.

  • FILM REVIEW | Dallas Buyers Club

    ★★★★★ | DALLAS BUYERS CLUB

    The very scary fact thing about watching Dallas Buyers Club is always knowing that this is sadly a very true story.

    Not that we have anything except unfettered admiration for Ron Woodroof and his wild unorthodox schemes, but it is the reminder of the sheer number of countless deaths that could have been avoided if it hadn’t been for the complicity of the U.S. Food & Drug Administration Agency with the greed of the Pharmaceutical Companies that still rankles even now.

    Woodroof was a working-class Texan hedonist living in a Trailer, hanging out at Rodeos and partying very hard indeed. He was also a serial homophobe. When he collapses one day and is rushed to the ER the Doctors discover he is HIV + and with such a minute T cell count, they tell him that he has no more than 30 days to live. The year is 1985 and there is very little hope for anyone that gets full blown AIDS.

    At first he is in total denial and continues his life of drugs, drink and unprotected sex with hookers until his body starts to give up. When he finally accepts the truth, he also sharpens his resolve to beat this rap. He drags himself to the library and consumes all the information that is in the public domain at the time, which is very little. It is however enough to know that there is about to be a trial of AZT a new anti-retroviral drug …. the first if its kind … and because of the rapid explosion of AIDS, the FDA have agreed to fast-track it without its usual safeguards and checks.

    Woodroof pleads with the Doctors at his local hospital to be allowed some of this new wonder drug, but he is rejected on the grounds that he doesn’t qualify, so he seeks out an Orderly and bribes him to steal a supply. When this dries up, the Orderly recommends that he tries a Doctor in Mexico who may be able to help.

    He checks into Dr. Vass’s rundown Clinic over the Border and it is there that he first learns the enormous potential harm that unchecked toxic drugs such as AZT cause. At the supposition that they may stop the virus expanding, they also do such harm to the body that they expose them to countless opportunistic diseases. Vass’s solution is proteins and vitamins that will actively improve the general health of a person with AIDS making them in better position to be able to deal with the virus.

    When Woodroof learns that none of these are available in the USA, he starts an import business to supply them to other patients back in Dallas. He partners with Rayon a Trans person with HIV who he met in Clinic once as she can introduce him to all the people who would want to get their hands on these new drugs.

    At every step of the way, he is aggressively pursued by the FDA as even though none of the drugs/proteins he sells are illegal, they have not been officially approved and the FDA, egged on by the Drug Companies who fund them, want to keep total control of every aspect. One of the ways to get around the Law is not to actually sell the drugs themselves, but sell memberships to his Club (for $400 a month) and this entitles each member to have whatever drugs they want.

    As supplies get tougher to obtain, and new drugs come on the market, Woodroof widens his search worldwide to anyone and everyone who would sell to him. And the FDA would use every legal loophole and obscure law on the Statute Books to seize all his supplies and issue countless fines. Meanwhile at the local hospital it is getting very obvious that patients on the AZT trial are doing much worse than other AIDS patients, but the Authorities anxious to keep receiving the much need Payments from the Drug Companies are happy to suppress all the official reports that confirm this, and the one Doctor that dares to question her Bosses’s ethics is fired.

    Woodroof unquestionably started this venture purely to keep himself alive and to make money. He succeed with his first aim and lived 6 years after his initial diagnosis of just 30 days, and as he gradually got less paranoid of the gay community, he started allowing some people to have the drugs even though they couldn’t afford the Fee. It wast as much that he was any less of a homophobe, but as his own friends totally rejected him out of sheer fear, he started to be able to relate to being an ‘outcast’ like his fellow AIDS sufferers.

    This film has been a long time coming. Scriptwrters Craig Borten and Melisa Wallack based it on the hundreds of interviews they had with Woodroof, and then waited 20 years for the movie to finally get made. Several directors and stars were attached to it until it ended up in the hands of Canadian director Jean-Marc Vallee who’s claim to fame (so far) is C.R.A Z.Y. a very neat gay coming of age so far. His two principal stars lost a ton of weight for the parts Jared Leto as Rayon dropped 30 lbs and Matthew McConaughey a scary 50 lbs. They both gave powerful dazzling performances which will has got them several acting awards including Oscar Nominations for them both. It was definitely a stunning change in direction for McConaughey in particular who has established his career so far mainly in rom-coms, but for my two cents (!) it was Leto’s heart-breaking turn as the drug-addicted Rayon that totally bowled me over. It makes one appreciate that Leto has been off our screens far too long (5 years whilst he was touring with his Band)

    These Clubs like Woodroof’s (there were others in other cities) played an important role alongside the wonderful ACT-UP movement to continually put the FDA on notice, and without their unceasing pressure, demands and activism so many of the drugs that would eventually help with people with AIDS would never have been made available in time.

    It’s a compelling story told with such passion and authority that both disturbs and delights. Unmissable.

    Available to buy / view on: Amazon | Amazon Prime | iTunes

  • MUSIC REVIEW | PJ Taylor – Twisted Love Song

    PJ is a singer/song writer from London. He admits himself that he is not an instrumentalist, but loves to create music and this comes across in his tracks to date.

    He began by recording covers of classic tracks, but has now moved into writing his own music. His self released album You Ain’t Seen The Best Of Me was released a while ago and he’s secured access to iTunes, Amazon and others for his new track and the entire album.

    Wills Room, a podcast, showcases some of PJ’s work and is available via iTunes

    His new single Twisted Love Song is reminiscent of the best of electronic pop, with his use of vocoder giving a gentle nod to the likes of Cher.

    He knows how to get your foot tapping, and he has a gift for lyrics. This is pop at its best, its not deep and meaningful, it’s not bed-sit sad, its not soul searching. It’s pure, unadulterated dance. PJ marries different influences into coherent tracks, sounding like he’s having fun along the way.

    He has several videos on Youtube that showcase his style and give you an idea of his style:
    http://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6Z3LbiY8cx6vHFQb5vNqDw?feature=watch

    He has a MySpace page:
    https://myspace.com/pjtaylor1

    And here is PJ’s Facebook page:
    https://www.facebook.com/events/773707892654709/

    Keep an eye on this guy – he makes good music, enjoys himself which is evident and produces infectious music. Suport him if you can.

  • FILM REVIEW | Teenage

    “This is a story that ends with a beginning…”

    Great phrase and one that captures the content of this documentary perfectly. The film, by Matt Wolf and based on the book, ‘Teenage: The Creation of Youth Culture 1897-1945’ by Jon Savage, charts the rise of the teenager as we know it.

    It shows its earliest form, as it emerges as a distinct period of human evolution. Initially we had childhood and adulthood, sometimes a grey area in the middle that the industrial revolution may have put paid to as child labour became the norm.

    When this was stamped out, or legislated out, what did we have? We were left with a chink of development in a child’s life, the passage into adulthood, the piece where weird things happen to your hormones and lets not even discuss the downstairs rumblings!

    This film doesn’t really explore the sexual side of development, it doesn’t need to because that is so wrapped up in everything else we do or did as teenagers. The way we looked, the way we dressed, what we did, what we listened to, who we attracted, what friends we chose – all part and parcel of being that thing, that developmental period with no real name.

    And thats the point of this film, right from the industrial revolution, world wars, depressions, racial integration, right up to the point when the New York Times printed its Teen-age Bill Of rights in 1945 and an entire culture was born and christened.

    With the end of WW2, almost as if the dropping of the bombs had brought this subculture to prominence, the teenager was born – and born worldwide. With GI’s spread across the globe, Hollywood churning out the movies in glorious technicolour, and big band swing and jazz the hottest thing around, the US was the main influence not just for adults, but also for those too old to be children and too young to be adults.

    This film charts the rise of the teenager using amazing footage, touching narrative – especially when discussing what effect war had on all sides or charting racial inequality.

    The film could come across as a little too “worthy” but manages to avoid this by engaging you, helping you remember what it was like to be that age, the awkwardness of it all, the emotional turmoil, but showing you that we all go through it, we all share that experience, and that history can teach us something.

    History shows us the struggle others went through so that we can whine about not having the latest phone, or whatever the teenagers today moan about… but I bet you, the teenagers featured in this film whined and moaned too! It’s part of being “that” age.

    All in all, this film is a fascinating glimpse into an age before the “Me” generation, when youth clubs were dry, before injecting Cif into your eyeballs before a night out was cool – or whatever else hip cat teenagers are doing these days. It shows a more naive time, when teenagers were first pushing against those boundaries and sensing some freedom – and it’s a blinking good watch for it!

    Available to buy / view on: Amazon

  • PHE warns of Shigella Dysentery rise in gay and bisexual men

    A new campaign to warn gay and bisexual men about the risk of Shigella dysentery is being launched today by Public Health England (PHE) in partnership with Terrence Higgins Trust (THT), as new figures show a surge in cases likely to have been sexually-acquired over the past 12 months.

    * Shingella is a serious gut infection
    * Can cause prolonged diarrhoea and stomach cramps
    * Can be caught through Oral sex and Rimming

    In the UK, Shigella flexneri usually affects similar numbers of men and women and is linked with overseas travel, but 2013 data show an excess of more than 200 cases of the infection in men with no or unknown travel history, compared to women. London is most affected.

    GUT INFECTION
    Shigella is a serious gut infection causing severe, prolonged diarrhoea and stomach cramps. Among gay and bisexual men, Shigella is usually passed on through the faecal-oral route during sex, either directly or via unwashed hands – only a tiny amount of bacteria can spread the infection.

    Symptoms often develop around 1-3 days after sex, including:
    · Frequent and explosive diarrhoea lasting more than 48 hours
    · Stomach cramps
    · Feeling feverish with flu like symptoms
    · Some people report vomiting
    · Feeling weak and tired (accompanying the gastrointestinal symptoms)
    Men experiencing Shigella symptoms are advised to visit their GP or a clinic, specifically mentioning Shigella and requesting a stool sample test. The infection is treatable with antibiotics. Risk of infection can be reduced by avoiding oral contact with faeces during sex and washing hands thoroughly and showering after sex.

    Interviews with gay and bisexual men who caught the infection through sex found links to high numbers of partners, often met anonymously online or at sex parties. For many, using drugs, such as mephedrone, methamphetamine (crystal meth), ketamine and GBL, before or during sex led to lowered inhibitions and riskier sex. Worryingly, one in three men using these drugs had injected them (known as ‘slamming’). Most of the men interviewed had not heard of Shigella before and thought they had food poisoning.

    CAUSES OF SHIGELLA
    One of the men interviewed, who got Shigella through anal-oral sex (‘rimming’), said: “Getting Shigella was the lowest point in my life. I suffered uncontrollable bloody diarrhoea with severe stomach cramps. The ferocity of symptoms and dehydration headaches made me think I was going to die. Initially I blamed it on a bad curry and held off visiting my GP for a week, but really wish I had gone straight away. Although it was treatable with antibiotics, the illness cost me a fortune as I had to take six weeks off work on statutory sick pay.”
    As part of the awareness campaign, posters and leaflets are being distributed in nightclubs, saunas and other gay venues, plus sexual health clinics, highlighting the symptoms of Shigella, how it is transmitted and how to avoid it.

    ON THE RISE
    Dr Gwenda Hughes, PHE head of STI surveillance, said: “Shigella is on the rise, so it is vital gay and bisexual men know about it and how to avoid getting it. We’re also seeing increasing HIV and gonorrhoea diagnoses among gay and bisexual men in the UK – indeed, most of the men with Shigella had been diagnosed with other STIs including HIV. This is a reminder how important it is to use a condom when having sex with casual and new partners.”

    Cary James, Head of Health Improvement at Terrence Higgins Trust, said: “Although on paper the number of documented cases of Shigella are quite small, the concern is that not all cases are being reported. Men with symptoms who haven’t heard of Shigella before might assume it’s a particularly bad case of food poisoning. However, the infection can be dangerous, even more so if you’re already living with HIV or Hep C. We would urge anyone who is experiencing symptoms, or who’s concerned they may have been at risk, to call our free helpline THT Direct or visit www.tht.org.uk/shigella.”

    Dr Hughes continued: “The Shigella awareness campaign is part of a broader commitment to helping improve the health of gay and bisexual men, including exploring the links between health and drug use. The level of injecting drug use is a particular concern as we know that this puts men at greatly increased risk of blood-borne viruses such as HIV and Hepatitis C”
    Individuals worried about Shigella or their drug use can find out more on the Terrence Higgins Trust website – including finding a local service to visit for further advice. www.tht.org.uk/shigella

  • BOOK REVIEW: Framed On Titan, By Stevie Gonzalez

    Ok, I openly admit it. I’m a sci-fi fan and also partial to the odd bit of erotic fiction so combining the two into one story is my ideal read!

    (more…)

  • ALBUM REVIEW | Hard-Fi: Best of 2004-2014

    Upon putting Hard-Fi’s greatest hits disc into my CD player I was immediately reminded of why I am such a fan of the band. As one of great underdogs of the music industry in modern times, I have frequently willed them on to succeed. Sadly the commercial success of their early days has not been sustained, but that hasn’t stopped the band releasing some great music.

    Although seeing Hard-Fi’s first album Stars of CCTV as their first collection of greatest hits, I welcomed the forthcoming release of the official best of album. It begins at the start of Hard-Fi’s career with the first few songs being the releases from Stars of CCTV. I can recall becoming a fan of the band and championing them, but it took some time for the rest of the public to realise their greatness. Eventually the album sold well and the band were critically acclaimed. With songs that people can relate to, such as ‘Cash Machine’ and ‘Living for the Weekend’, Hard-Fi seemed to come along at just the right time. Forward to ten years later and all of the songs from Stars of CCTV still sound great and relevant to the times we live in.

    From there the songs move on to Hard-Fi’s second album Once Upon a Time in the West. Another strong album that reached number one in the charts, spawning hits including ‘Surburban Knights’ and ‘Can’t Get Along’, this section of the hits collection is a further reminder of the band’s ability to craft songs that are real and relatable.

    Hard-Fi’s third album Killer Sounds is actually full of just that. Although not as commercially successful as previous efforts, it was still another strong album from the band. Although the singles were not as big as past chart entries, they were critical hits. ‘Good for Nothing’, ‘Fire in the House’ and ‘Bring it on’ are all worthy of their position on the album and demonstrate the band’s skill of crossing genres in their songs. Reggae, dance, rock, and pop are all present here. Perhaps it shouldn’t work, but somehow it works.
    The album ends with new song ‘Move Over’, which is a promising taste of things to come as the band work on their fourth album.

    Hard-Fi are masters of social realism in their lyrics and this collection of hits is a reminder that the band provide a great soundtrack to the streets of urban Britain. It’s music for working class people that has clearly resonated over the years. Hard-Fi may be underdogs of the music scene, but their songs are better than many other indie-pop bands and this is a five star collection worthy of investing in.

  • FILM REVIEW | Free Fall / Freier Fall

    Free Fall (or Freier Fall, to give it its German title) is an award-winning drama from director Stephen Lacant. It has been branded a sort of German Brokeback Mountain, and indeed there are parallels between the two movies, but in some ways Free Fall is more gritty, more rooted in the present day.

    Marc would seem to have his life sorted out. He’s doing well in the police force, his girlfriend is having a baby, and they have just moved into a house, next door to Marc’s parents. He is happy (or he thinks he is) and everything is going well for him. He meets Kay at a training camp and the two men become attracted to each other. Though Marc tries hard to fight his feelings, he later starts a relationship with Kay and subsequently finds his life spiralling out of control.

    I suppose the basic storyline has a certain resemblance to Brokeback Mountain, but there the similarities end. Whereas in Brokeback much of the romance is played out against the magnificent scenery of Wyoming, this relationship is much more claustrophobic, harder to hide as so much of their life is in plain view; not much chance for the men to get away from their colleagues and Marc’s family.

    Ultimately the movie is not just about Marc’s coming to terms with his homosexuality, it is more about whether he will allow himself the freedom to walk away from the life that has been set out for him by his parents, his colleagues and his girlfriend. Marc finds it impossible to choose between Bettina and Kay because he can’t decide between the two lives they represent, between comfortable domesticity on the one hand, and freedom, with all the danger and unpredictability that suggests, on the other.

    Ultimately that choice is made for him, and though we do not know how life will pan out for Marc, there is a suggestion that he will eventually break free.

    With superb performances from the two central actors,Hanno Koffler as Marc and Max Riemelt as Kay, not to mention Katharina Schuttler as Marc’s girlfriend Bettina, it is an engaging and involving movie beautifully filmed and subtly played out. Lacant directs with a sure hand which is honest and true.

     

  • Kylie Moves Into The Blue Release Date Forward

    Due to excessive demand for the Red Bloodied Beauty, the Into The Blue release date has been pushed forward.

    Kylie Minogue’s new single Into The Blue is due to be released on the 9th March and the album will be released on the 17th.

    Her new album Kiss Me Once, is the first record since working with her new management team Roc Nation.

    Kylie released the artwork for Kiss Me Once last week

    Watch the official lyric video for Into The Blue here

  • MUSIC REVIEW | Seven, by Lisa Stansfield

    And about bloody time too! Finally, after 10 long years, she’s back – but by god, it was worth the wait. Seven, Lisa’s seventh album, gives us 10 tracks that make you cry, make you dance and make you glad you have ears!

    The latest two releases form the album, “Carry On” and “Can’t Dance” give you an overview of what to expect…..that soulful voice, that range, the soaring strings, the….well, you get the picture.

    During my recent interview with the lovely Lisa, I stated that she had a sound, an instantly recognisable sound and the moment you heard that first intake of breath, you knew it was her and on this album, she doesn’t disappoint.

    She has a discernible style, and it ageless – like all true style. She’s the Chanel suit of music, the Little Black Dress of soul.

    Seven is full of soul and R&B, the stuff that Lisa is known for, the stuff she does best.

    “Can’t Dance” showcases Lisa’s amazing vocal range and has a wonderful ’70’s disco feel, very Chic.

    “Why” has a sexy, soulful and pared down introduction, with a big band finish! Feels very Westside Story – full of playful lyrics, flutes and strong vocals both upfront and backing.

    “So Be It’ and “The Crown” feel very old school Lisa, slinky and soaring.

    “Stupid Heart” would make Patsy Cline proud – its the kind of lyric that makes you listen, forces you to take in every word, and feel every emotion.

    “The Rain” and “Picket Fence” are beautiful songs, expertly crafted, sung by a commanding voice.

    “Love Can” and “Conversation” remind us that this woman sang some of the best slow numbers of our youth – and that she has the ability to bring you to tears!

    “Carry On” is a toe tapper and no mistake! I defy you not to dance round the coffee table to this one!

    Lisa has done what she always does, mixed it right: the right amount of upbeat versus slow down, the right amount of big band versus pared back.

    This album is a rare thing – each track feels truly handcrafted, each word carefully chosen and each note pitch perfect all with no filler, no fluff.

    Lisa is back and we’re all the richer for it.

    Lisa Stansfield appears in our Feb edition of TheGayUK, out first week of Feb 2014

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