Face life, with a little guts and lots of glitter

It may be Monday again - but the countdown to this Saturday's Gay Pride in London has begun!

Indeed, it begins on the remarkable - and heartening - note that the embattled Pride celebrations in Budapest, Hungary (under the thumb of that nasty piece of work Viktor Orban, whose regime has brought in draconian anti-gay legislation) went ahead on Saturday just gone... and an estimated 200,000 people joined the throng, many of whom had never turned out before!! [To put things in perspective, last year just 35,000 took part.]

A reminder, indeed, that Pride isn't just a carnival celebration - it is a protest that has real meaning!

Turning full circle, it is a Tacky Music Monday - a day for a song-and-dance "wake-up call" - and this classic number fits the bill perfectly:

Original London Cast 1985 - La Cage Aux Folles

Have a good week, dear reader - and keep cool. It's forecast to be up to 34C/93.2F in London today!

Once I had a love, and it was a gas...

Icon, inspiration, spokeswoman for a generation, Patron Saint, one of the most photogenic, most instantly-recognised stars to emerge from the era known as "New Wave" that followed the Punk explosion, Miss Debbie Harry is eighty years old on Tuesday!

Fuck.

There isn't really a helluva lot more I can say about such a goddess [or the band she fronts, Blondie] that I haven't already sad a gazillion times here on this very blog - other than to reiterate that I have absolutely adored her since my formative teenage years! - so I think a self-indulgent wallow in the myriad hits for which she is best known is in order...

Blondie - Denis

Blondie - I Am Always Touched By Your Presence Dear (The Old Grey Whistle Test)

Blondie - Hanging On The Telephone

Blondie - Sunday Girl

Blondie - Picture This

Blondie - Heart of Glass

Blondie - Atomic

Blondie - Call Me

Blondie - Maria

Facts [as previously featured here]:

• Debbie Harry is naturally a redhead.
• Her birth parents gave her up for adoption when their relationship broke up and her father went back to his wife and family.
• As a child, she fantasised that her real mother was Marilyn Monroe.
• It was while working as a "Playboy Bunny" that Debbie first met Chris Stein, with whom she was to have an enduring relationship, both personal and professional; as co-founders of the band that became Blondie.
• The Ramones landed their first show by opening for Blondie (before they were Blondie) at CBGBs in New York.
• Patti Smith resented Debbie Harry's early success so much she apparently tried to poach several of her Blondie band-members.
• Fashion designer Stephen Sprouse began his career making Debs' stage costumes in the '70s and early 80s; he was her downstairs neighbour at the time.
• She was the first choice for the role of "Pris" in Blade Runner, but the part eventually went to Daryl Hannah.
• Blondie's song for the Bond film for Your Eyes Only was turned down, and the title number went to Sheena Easton.
• Giorgio Moroder originally wanted to give Call Me to Stevie Nicks, but she was unable to record it for contractual reasons.
• Debbie's solo hit French Kissin’ in the USA was written by Chuck Lorre, writer, director and producer of US sitcoms such as Cybill, Two and a Half Men and The Big Bang Theory.
• In 2012 a group of photographers took her picture in New York, believing her to be Lindsay Lohan - she was 66 at the time; Lohan was just 25.

Many, many happy returns, Deborah Ann Harry (born Angela Trimble, 1st July 1945)

This blog will self-destruct in five seconds

Disclaimer: the above film did not feature a classic theme tune.

Another day, another departure for Fabulon...

There have been numerous tributes to the great Lalo Schifrin, who died on Thursday - prolific composer of TV and film music, including Cool Hand Luke, Enter the Dragon, The Amityville Horror, The Eagle Has Landed and the Dirty Harry films. However, I doubt anyone would easily bring any of those themes to mind.

This one, on the other hand, is ingrained in all our collective memories...

Lalo Schifrin - Mission Impossible [1966 - 1973 opening and closing theme]

Such was its legend that the concept was famously revived, thirty years after the TV show's debut, as a big-screen star vehicle for diminutive "action man" Tom Cruise in 1996 - and one half of megastar band U2 made Mr Schifrin's composition a massive worldwide hit all over again!

Adam Clayton & Larry Mullen - Theme From Mission: Impossible [1996]

I prefer the original, tbh.

RIP, Lalo Schifrin (born Boris Claudio Schifrin, 21st June 1932 – 26th June 2025)

Don't Stop...

Another weekend is almost upon us, and we need to plan a party. However, on reading the obits, it would seem "they're dropping like flies at the moment" - not one, but two all-time greats whose music has been the backbone of many a celebration have packed up their glitter boots and flares for the great underlit dancefloor of Fabulon.

So let us pay due homage, and let them commence the festivities!

First up, RIP Calvin Yarbrough:

Yarbrough & Peoples - Don't Stop The Music

...and also RIP Walter Scott, founder-member of The Whispers:

The Whispers - And The Beat Goes On

Thank Disco It's Friday!

Have a great one, dear reader!

I wanna take you to...

It's another snippets post, dear reader...

• You couldn't pay me to go there news: Glastonbury Festival 2025 - the 55th anniversary event - opened its doors yesterday. As one might imagine, the queues appear to resemble the Seventh Gate of Hell - let alone the prospect of camping for five days in a muddy field with all that racket going on!

• Brainbox news: A stash of academic papers by mathematician and gay figurehead Alan Turing - that were rescued from being thrown away in a house clearance - sold for £465,400 at auction!
• Queeny goings-on news: New plans for a memorial to HM The Queen in Green Park have been unveiled by design contest winner Lord Norman Foster + Partners. The Duke of Edinburgh is also to be honoured with a statue as part of the memorial - looking bored and grumpy, no doubt.
• Awww news: A pair of young brown bears escaped from their enclosure at Wildwood Trust's site in Ottery St Mary in Devon - and promptly headed straight for the food store, where they ate a week's worth of honey. Then went back to bed. Typical teenagers.
• Papa Don't Preach news: Madonna has found out she is related to the Pope(!!), and tweeted: "Would it be possible to meet up one day to discuss some important matters? I’ve been excommunicated three times. It doesn’t seem fair. Sincerely, Madonna.”
• And finally: There are plans afoot to open a gay bar at Chicago O'Hare airport! I wonder if their punters will be restricted to 100ml or less of fluids?

We know a song about that, don't we?

Electric Six - Gay Bar

And the weather? Warm and muggy, thanks - and another "heatwave" on the way for the weekend, apparently.

---

STOP PRESS - [20:00] Nuclear Wintour news:

Queen-of-fucking-everything Dame Anna Wintour has made the shock announcement she is quitting her role as editor-in-chief at American Vogue!

Today's headlines

Toys'r'Us?

Working-class man thinks Nutribullet is sex toy

A working-class man dating a middle-class woman has admitted being shocked and aroused by how openly she discusses her Nutribullet use.

Plasterer Wayne Hayes matched with solicitor Jo Kramer on Hinge and believes the relationship is going well, but was not ready to be told that she cannot live without the device and uses it up to three times a day.

He said: “It’s never the ones you expect, is it? She even mentioned using it with root vegetables and bananas, the dirty bitch.

“We were discussing diet when she veered off into an erotic digression I’m frankly still wanking to, all about its ergonomic shape and how it discreetly vibrates away until it’s done. She even sticks her finger in and licks it. I was so hard it was lifting the table.

“But I wasn’t sure when she offered me a go. I’m a modern man but not that bloody modern. I said, what if word got out to the lads that I was into that kind of thing? It could ruin me.

“Still when I go over to hers, she’s going to show me how it works right there in the kitchen. Fucking hell.”

Kramer said: “I’ve invited Wayne back to mine to check out the Nutribullet. He seems to live on pies. He won’t make it to 40.”

Hahahahaha!

The Daily Mash

Of course.

C'est toi l'plus Beau

Sigh. Back to the office time...

Never mind, eh?

On this Tacky Music Monday, we have the sublime Mlle Liliane Montevecchi and her gays de sécurité to "va-va-voom up" our mood!

Liliane Montevecchi with the Las Vegas company of the Folies Bergere [Hollywood Palace, 1964]

Fantabulosa!

Have a good week, dear reader.

Yeah, Baby, Yeah!

The sweltering heat (it hit 33C/91.4F yesterday!) appears to be subsiding, and the breeze is much fresher today. Thankfully.

Even so, I'm still having a lazy old time - although the garden will need another watering later...

Time, methinks for another wallow in the lives of glamorous people in exotic locations again - although this time it's Carnaby Street, which was only "exotic" for a brief time 60 years ago - courtesy of the simply faboo Soft Tempo Lounge:

Soft Tempo Lounge - That London Look

Groovy!

[Music: Chico Rey - Stiletto]

Strange voices are saying (What did they say?) Things I can't understand...

It's Midsummer, Summer Solstice, the Longest Day, St John’s Day, St. Hans Day, Fors Fortuna, Litha, Alban Hefin, Enyovden, Ukon juhla - whatever you call it, it's a milestone!

In the UK, of course, all the pseudo-Druids, Neo-Pagans, hippies and other assorted weirdos head for Stonehenge to celebrate. We'll stay at home, and will probably clink a glass in the garden or something.

Meanwhile, in Sweden...

From the Bilingual by Music website:

Midsummer's Day is one of the most important holidays of the year in Sweden, and probably the most uniquely Swedish in the way it is celebrated.

Raising and dancing around a midsommarstång pole is an activity that attracts families and many others. Before the maypole is raised, greens and flowers are collected and used to cover the entire pole. People dancing around the pole listen to traditional music and sing songs associated with the holiday. Some wear traditional folk costumes or crowns made of wild springs and wildflowers on their heads.

Music plays a big part at the Midsummer celebrations. The most famous song sung when dancing around the maypole is Små grodorna [which in English is “Little frogs”]:

Små grodorna (Swedish Midsummer)

The melody originates from a military march from the French revolution La Chanson de l’Oignon (“The onion song”), with the chorus “Au pas, camarade, au pas camarade / au pas, au pas, au pas!” (“In step, comrade”). The enemies of the French at the time, the British, changed the text with condescending irony to “Au pas, grenouilles!” (“In step, little frogs”).

Små grodorna in Swedish:

Små grodorna, små grodorna är lustiga att se.
Små grodorna, små grodorna är lustiga att se.
Ej öron, ej öron, ej svansar hava de.
Ej öron, ej öron, ej svansar hava de.
Kou ack ack ack, kou ack ack ack,
kou ack ack ack ack kaa.
Kou ack ack ack, kou ack ack ack,
kou ack ack ack ack kaa.

English version (direct translation):

The little frogs, the little frogs are funny to observe.
The little frogs, the little frogs are funny to observe.
No ears, no ears, no tails do they possess.
No ears, no ears, no tails do they possess.
Kou ack ack ack, kou ack ack ack,
kou ack ack ack ack kaa.
Kou ack ack ack, kou ack ack ack,
kou ack ack ack ack kaa.

How bizarre.

We have a far better way to mark the occasion (and the ongoing heatwave!) - with Bananarama!

Bananarama - Cruel Summer

However one chooses to celebrate, it is worth doing - for after today, the nights start drawing in once more..!

Make the most of it, dear reader.

---

[Footnote: If some of this seems familiar - yes, I did post about this over at the Dolores Delargo Museum of Camp in 2021]

Push it!

Now, that's what I call a party! [The send-off for our beloved Lady Shaston] - which made the news here and here, among others

After an unusual, but still taxing, week - three out of five days were taken up by all-day training, which means I've been stuck in our living-room doing work-related stuff for far more time than I would like [I'm not a "work-from-home sort of person"; I never did so before the pandemic lockdowns, and I have largely avoided doing ever since] - the weekend is looming. And it's forecast to be the hottest so far this year!

We need to get ourselves in the party mood, dear reader - and what better way than with a dance classic, from another genius who has recently departed for Fabulon, DJ/producer/singer John Reid? If the name is unfamiliar, his band's biggest hit certainly won't be...

Thank Disco It's Friday!

Nightcrawlers - Push The Feeling On

That song is (scarily) thirty years old - and still no-one has a clue what he's singing.

Have a great weekend, dear reader! Wear sunscreen.

Every trick in the book

Our Rosa "Veilchenblau" is a stunner! [click to embiggen]

Day #3 of my training...

...but at least it's the last one!

Meanwhile, when I read that Mr Lou Christie had departed, my immediate thought was - who? So I went off to investigate him while on lunch break.

Being a huge fan of the weird and wonderful, I am hugely pleased that I did..!

Lou Christie - I'm Gonna Make You Mine

Utterly bizarre - why is he singing in a scrapyard? In the middle of winter? And what does he have stuffed in those jeans? Answers on a postcard, please.

Right, onward and upward...

Not a solar buttfuck

The nation’s media has settled on ‘sun nuke’ as the phrase of choice to describe the pleasant weather approaching this week.

Having found ‘warm’ and ‘sunny’ inadequate to describe typical summery conditions, every outlet is to employ a phrase evoking thermonuclear armageddon to remind the public to wear shorts.

Sun editor Stephen Malley said: “We’ve found a meteorologist prepared to say it for £175. His peers will despise him until the day he dies.

“Even ‘scorcher’ doesn’t do justice to the magnitude of heatwave that’s coming, which is far less than that big one the other year. Plus we get to use a big picture of a mushroom cloud, which is fun and not misleading.

“This isn’t a hyperbolic phrase to drive sales. The sun is actually a load of nuclear explosions, apparently, so we also brainstormed ‘solar buttfuck’ and ‘Ra’s revenge’. We have impeccable journalistic standards to meet.

“Don’t get complacent. After, we’re due to be hit by a torrential rain dildo, category point two five wind genocides and a festive New Ice Age.”

Bill McKay of Gateshead said: “Sunblock cannot prevent the awesome powers of a nuke. So I’m not putting any on.”

The Daily Mash

Of course.

Yes, it is indeed hot here in London - and I am trapped in here on day #2 of training. Sigh.

Harder, Faster, Stronger

I am on day #1 of three days of training for work. Groo!

To help me through the tedium, here's a little something that I have loved for years:

Pentatonix - Daft Punk medley

Wish me luck!

Caramba, Carambita!

Oh, yes, dear reader, it is time to get up for work again - and I am not in the mood for this...

Hey ho. It pays the bills.

One of our late, great(est) Patron Saints the divine Raffaella Carrà would have celebrated her birthday this week, so I think it only polite to hand over the "duty" to cheer us all up on this Tacky Music Monday to her and her safety gays..!

Raffaella Carrà - Super Rumbas Medley

Bella, bella, Raffaella!

Raffaella Maria Roberta Pelloni (aka Raffaella Carrà, 18th June 1943 - 5th July 2021)

Have a good week, folks.

Never coming home

Happy National Beer Day!

Stil coming down to earth after the fantabulosa send-off on Friday night for The Shaston Arms/Lady Shaston [more on that later, no doubt - when anyone gets around to posting any photos!] (and an evening on the gin and cider with Madam Arcati's sister last night), today has been very, very quiet indeed.

Let's let our simply faboo "house band" take the strain, shall we? This one is one hell of a demonstration of Miss Effie Passero's vocal talents...

Postmodern Jukebox ft. Effie Passero - The Ghost Of You (My Chemical Romance vintage 1944-style cover)

I am in awe.

For anyone (that includes me) who is unfamiliar with the original - check here for the (surprisingly tear-jerking) video.

Arise...

...Sir David "Goldenballs" Beckham!

I've "arisen".

The King's Birthday Honours List 2025.

End of an Era

It is the end of another tedious week - and for that we are very grateful!

Inevitably, it's time for a party - and, indeed, we have one to attend tonight. However, it's a bit of a poignant one...

Way back in the mists of time, when Madam Arcati and I first arrived in London [26 years ago], our social orbit was limited, mainly revolving around West London where we lived at the time, and if we did go "into town", our pub of choice was the Admiral Duncan (before the bomb!). However, fates collided soon afterwards. One of the bar manager [the much-missed] Sinders' friends was a tall, striking, rather OTT blonde lady, who ran a pub in Soho. That was Sally. One of the Madam's colleagues while working at the Cafe Rouge restaurant chain who became a close friend had recently left the company to manage an outlet of another chain restaurant in Soho. That was Lou. And lo and behold, the two premises were opposite each other, and so a new social circle was created!

The pub was The Shaston Arms, scene of many a night of debauchery (of the late-night-drinking "lock-in" variety), many birthday parties and other celebrations - and of course, the "home turf" of our Pride Day breakfast meet-ups, to finalise our outfits and charge our system with bacon butties and bubbly before the madness of the day kicks off!

Just last November we celebrated the 25th anniversary of the pub's opening (and of Our Sal being its landlady), when the brewery Hall & Woodhouse even renamed it The Lady Shaston in her honour!

Come 2025, and Sal broke to us at the Eurovision party some very bad news indeed. The landowner of the Carnaby Street area in which The Shaston is located is Shaftesbury Estates. For some reason only known to the gnomes who run that operation, they have decided they want to change the whole area - and served notice on Hall & Woodhouse to vacate!! So The Lady Shaston is no more, and closes this month.

The party tonight is its farewell.

Will we laugh? Will we cry? We will certainly say...

...CHEERS! And thanks for all the memories!

---

Meanwhile...

...After all that sombre news, and bearing in mind today also happens to be one to avoid if you happen to be paraskevidekatriaphobic, here's something joyful to cheer us all up:

Daft Punk and Pharrell Williams - Get Lucky ("Roller Boogie" version)

I doubt Pharrell and Daft Punk were even born when this film was made...

Thank Disco It's Friday [the Thirteenth]!

Have a great weekend!

Of cheese, gay landmarks, butler baiting, cheap shops, and turning granny into sealife

RIP, Brian Wilson (far left), the genius behind The Beach Boys.

Another snippets post today, dear reader...

• Cheese wars news: There's a battle-royal going on in Cambridgeshire, where the village of Stilton is fighting for the right [that for some bizarre reason under protected designation of origin rules is denied it] to produce the famous blue cheese that bears its name!
• Feliz Dia dos Namorados! In Brazil, 12th June is Valentine's Day, apparently...

• Historic gay venue news: A fave venue of ours in times past, the venerable gay pub the Black Cap has issued an update on its F*book page - although there were some promises made that its new owners, having won a long-fought battle against redevelopment, were to reopen the Cap in time for last Xmas, structural problems were uncovered that led to a major delay, but they're confident that the place will be reopening its doors by the end of 2025! Hoorah!
• In death do us - erm - reef? A newly-founded organisation has an innovative offer for grieving families - why not have your loved one’s ashes made into a reef and anchored to the British seabed to grow coral? I imagine the funeral would be a bit wet.
• Umbrella Jousting, Cucumber Sandwich Discus or Hop, Skip and G&T, anyone? Great news! The legendary Chap Olympiad is back! Expect jolly japes and merriment, as suitably vintage-clad participants compete in such marvellous events as Ironing Board Surfing, Moustache Wrestling, Tea Pursuit, Riding Crop Rumpus, Tie Knotting, Butler Baiting and Not Playing Tennis. "There is a dress code, of course - of elegant finery, military wear, formal wear, dandy wear. No sportswear except cricket whites and absolutely no denim. Please be advised that during the Games themselves, anyone testing negative for alcohol content in the bloodstream will be disqualified, and sent to the emergency gin tent for urgent retonification." Right up our street, methinks.
• And finally - news that jokes are made of: Tacky budget shopping chain Poundland has been saved from bankruptcy and sold - for a pound! It's still a shit shop, regardless.
• Oh, and it is the lovely Robyn's birthday today:

Robyn - Dancing On My Own

[An all-time favourite choon - that I have never featured on this blog before! How?]

And the weather? Warm, but all over the shop. Cloudy, sunny, showery, windy, muggy - we've had it all in one day today!

Bye Bye, "Bi"!

A woman has vowed to be a good ally by being bisexual for the entirety of Pride month.

The global celebration of gay, lesbian, transgender and queer lives has prompted Lauren Hewitt, aged 23, to not let her heterosexuality get in the way of joining in.

She said: “Pride Month is the only time of year that I feel free and uninhibited enough to be the person I’ve always wanted to be: a straight woman, but more interesting.

“Despite having a boyfriend and a sexual history consisting exclusively of men, I fully identify with the vibe. I might not be completely bisexual, but I am half-bisexual in that I sleep with one of the two sexes.

“It’s just for the month. After that I’ve no intention to continue this level of engagement with LGBTQ+ culture, following in the footsteps of allies like Marks & Spencer and BrewDog.

“Ladies, watch out. No James, this does not mean you’re getting a threesome.”

A Stonewall spokesman asked about Lauren’s claimed bisexuality said: “We don’t really care. This type of thing mostly bothers other straight people.”

The Daily Mash

Of course.

I'm gonna add some bottom

And so farewell then, Mr Sly Stone, who has ascended the underlit-dancefloor-style stairway and departed for Fabulon to join that great, glittering funk band in the sky...

In the annals of "most influential musicians ever", Mr Stone was at the pinnacle. For where, without him and his "Family", would the whole genre that became known as Disco be? Would there have been a Rick James? Or Prince? James Brown is often credited with creating "Funk" (with Bootsy Collins by his side) - but as pop culture historian Jason Ankeny once said: "James Brown may have invented funk, but Sly Stone perfected it."

Suffice to say, he left one hell of a legacy...

Sly and the Family Stone - If You Want Me To Stay

[I always loved this song, but only knew the divinely decadent cover version by the uber-cool Ronny - hear her version and read more about the lady here - long before I found out that it was Sly's song...]

Sly and the Family Stone - Everyday People

Sly and the Family Stone - Family Affair

Sly and the Family Stone - Dance To The Music

All we need is a drummer
For people who only need a beat, yeah

I'm gonna add a little guitar
And make it easy to move your feet

I'm gonna add some bottom
So that the dancers just won't hide

You might like to hear my organ
I said ‘Ride, Sally, ride’

RIP, Sly Stone (born Sylvester Stewart, 15th March 1943 – 9th June 2025)!

My hair, my teeth, my boobs, my nose

Yup. Monday again. It comes around too soon..!

Hey ho - on this Tacky Music Monday, I have a faboo new discovery to cheer us up - how about none other than "Baywatch Babe" Pammy's take on "Roxie Hart"?!

That'll do nicely...

Pamela Anderson - Roxie (Chicago, 2022)

The name on everybody's
lips is gonna be... Roxie
The lady raking in the
chips is gonna be... Roxie.
I'm gonna be a celebrity,
That means somebody everyone knows
They're gonna recognise my eyes,
My hair, my teeth, my boobs, my nose.

From just some dumb mechanic's
wife I'm gonna be... Roxie
Who says that murder's not an art.
And who in case she doesn't hang,
Can say she started with a bang.

Roxie Hart.

Boys...

They're gonna wait outside
in lines to get to see...
Roxie
Think of those autographs
I'll sign, "Good luck to ya!"
Roxie
And I'll appear in a lavaleir that
goes all the way down to my waist,
Here a ring, there a ring
every where a ring a ling
But always in the best of taste.

Mmmm, I'm a star...
And the audience loves me,
And I love them.
And they love me for lovin' them
And I love them for lovin' me
And we love each other
And thats 'cause none of us got
enough love in our childhoods
And that's showbiz...
Kid

She's givin' up her humdrum life
I'm gonna be, sing it!
Roxie
She made a scandal and a start
And Sophie Tucker'll shit I know
To see her name get billed below
Roxie Hart!

Have a good week, dear reader.

A Tati Party

After yesterday's washout, I managed to get out into the extensive gardens here at Dolores Delargo Towers (and even enjoyed some spells of sunshine!) to get more pottering bits and pieces done. With about 300 plants in pots, there's always something that needs some attention...

Time, methinks for a light musical interlude, courtesy once more of the geniuses at Soft Tempo Lounge:

Soft Tempo Lounge - 60's Dinner Party!

Ah, that's better.

[Music: Syd Dale - Brass But Lightly; Original Film: Jacques Tati's Playtime (1968)]

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