It's Gay Icons Day

No internet at Dolores Delargo Towers again - and we are preparing to do battle with Virgin Media once more... Meanwhile, as there are a few anniversaries to mark today, let's have a little compilation of those femmes fatales beloved of we gentlemen who have "a touch of lavender" - all part of this week's countdown to Gay Pride on Saturday!

Opening this selection is Miss Lena Horne, whose 94th birthday it would have been today, with a little twist on a classic - it's the Boy from Ipanema (for a change):

Lena Horne - The Boy From Ipanema

68 years ago, the late Miss Florence Ballard was born. I am not sure, but I don't think she is actually singing about popcorn on this early Supremes number... Naughty naughty!

The Supremes - Buttered Popcorn

How about a little sin? Yes please! And who better to give it to us but the lovely Susan Hayward, who was born on this day 93 years ago?

Susan Hayward - Sing You Sinners

But of course all these ladies are merely an entrée to the real commemoration today. For 42 years ago, that doyenne of gay adoration Miss Judy Garland's star finally fizzled out. The link between this sad event and the subsequent Stonewall Riots is tenuous, to say the least, but suffice to say she remains adored here at Dolores Delargo Towers and still sits at the top of that mystical pantheon of gay icons.

Here is the great lady singing her rarely heard version of a very apt anthem for this weekend's (anticipated) million-strong Pride Parade...

Judy Garland - You'll Never Walk Alone

As the countdown clock ticks on, the campness level cranks ever upwards - enjoy!