THEGAYUK

Tag: Will Young

All the latest breaking news on the singer Will Young. Browse THEGAYUK’s complete collection of news, articles and commentary on Will Young.

  • Will Young to headline LGBT mental health charity benefit

    PACE, the LGBT mental health charity, is holding a very special event on Thursday 27 February at Café de Paris to mark their 30th anniversary, dubbed ‘Bright Night: a bit of a do about something that matters’.

    The night will feature PACE’s new Patron, Will Young alongside the brilliantly acerbic comedian Jen Brister, and is being held to raise much-needed funds to help this charity to continue providing vital services to the LGBT community. There will be an auction, lots of music, dancing and laughter.

    Some of the auction prizes are quite astonishing, including a specially-made Grayson Perry sculpture, a Versace suit worn by Elton John, a ski holiday in the French Alps from European Gay Ski Week, a private capsule on the London Eye and many others (see the full list below).

    PACE provide face-to-face and online support, counselling and advice services covering all aspects of life, including relationships, coming out, mental health and domestic abuse. Although London-based, they provide services nationwide so LGBT people anywhere can access the support they need.

    Unfortunately, recent funding cuts have meant that PACE is facing some tough times ahead and Bright Night is an opportunity to raise the essential funds that keep their services running.

    Tickets for this glitzy and fun night are £55 (or £120 for VIP, which includes a meet and greet, private lounge and VIP bar). We have negotiated a 30% discount for our readers by entering promo code LTDGAYUKPROMO at http://bright-night.eventbrite.co.uk/

    AUCTION PRIZES:
    A ski holiday in the French Alps
    A specially-made piece by 2003 Turner Prize winner Grayson Perry
    A fabulous Versace suit worn by Sir Elton John
    A private capsule on the London Eye for up to 12 guests including priority boarding, 3 bottles of champagne and entry to the 4 D cinema experience
    Two tickets to see Jane MacDonald with the opportunity to meet her after the show
    A 3 night stay in 5* Lanlas Farm, West Wales for up to 5 people with an energy healing session or yoga session with deep relaxation
    Vouchers and Wine from Tesco
    Lush gift set
    Will Young’s signed autobiography
    5 signed books from Sarah Waters
    A signed copy of Stephen Fry’s The Fry Chronicles
    Money boxes from the Paul O’Grady Show
    Signed memorabilia from Clare Balding
    A signed book from Gok Wan

  • BOOK REVIEW | Funny Peculiar

    Will Young has finally joined the scores of celebrities who have books about themselves on the shelves. The usual tomes are full of “shock” revelations and tedious romps through celebrity debauchery, usually ending on a redemptive note as the star reclaims his or her life back.

    This book is as far from that genre as you can get and as such is thoroughly refreshing to read. Will penned the entire book himself and has a distinctive writing style. Rather than a straightforward autobiography, he presents us with a series of beautifully written anecdotes, musings and diary entries. There’s something altogether quaint and charmingly British about the whole thing, reminding me of celebrity memoirs from previous decades. The book even has a series of cartoonish illustrations by Kathryn Pinker, rather than the usual glossy photographs you’d normally expect, which adds to its retro charm.

    The themes certainly aren’t old fashioned though and the book retains freshness and is written in an original and engaging style. He addresses the thorny issues of coming out in the media spotlight, experiencing depression, winning a TV talent contestant and what it’s like to have to undergo a make-over in front of the cameras on “This Morning”. He also writes candidly and with self-awareness about suffering from poor self-esteem and bouts of crippling depression as well as portraying his passion for what he does.

    He details lots of hapless exploits and is self-deprecating in his descriptions of his actions. The anecdotes, which often feature Will as hapless yet entirely normal, cover how not to behave at London Fashion week, what not to do when meeting the Beckhams or Julia Roberts and what not to shout out to a row of disabled people at a gig.

    The book is both funny and poignant and although Will isn’t reticent or coy in what he writes about, he manages to maintain a strong sense of dignity, a rarity in modern celebrity culture.

    I’d recommend this entertaining and original book to anyone, whether they’re a big fan of Will Young or not.

    “Funny Peculiar” is available from Amazon